iCloud Photos question - part 2

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iCloud Photos question - part 2

Further to my well answered previous question about iCloud Photos, I have 4 more (sorry).

1) I have an MBA and iMac (both latest OS). The MBA stores a 64GB photos library on its HD and the iMac stores the same (copied between devices) photos library on an external SSD. Q - will iCloud Photos sync to both of these libraries seamlessly?

2) On my MBA, to switch iCloud Photos on, I accessed system settings/Apple ID/iCloud/Photos and expected to see the 'Sync this Mac' switched off as I only currently have the free 5GB of iCloud storage and only 200MB used. It is already switched on. Q - If this is the case, then why isn't my whole photo library trying to sync with iCloud Photos already (which I accept the storage space is not yet big enough to support the whole library)?

3) Do you actually have to log onto your iCloud account and kick start the photo syncing?

4) On the 'Set up and use iCloud Photos' page (HT204264), the forth heading mentions 'Download copies of your photos and videos'. Why would you ever want to do this if photos and videos are synced automatically?

Apologies for the above but I thought it was going to be easy doing this but, as you can see, for me at least it hasn't been as straight forward as I'd have liked.

iMac 27″, macOS 10.13

Posted on May 31, 2023 4:17 AM

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Answer 1

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muguy

Level 10

81,649 points

May 31, 2023 4:59 PM in response to RCully

Any library logged into your Apple ID will sync all photos across all devices. If you have a copy of the library on one system I’d either create a new library or delete the content of one device to avoid issues of duplication. You can create a new library by holding down the option key when opening photos.
it may not have started the process given that you do not have enough space. but, check your settings in the Photos app. Photos - preferences - iCloud and ensure that your library is the system library. Designate a System Photo Library in Photos - Apple Support
you need to log into iCloud on your device, yes.
To keep backups of your photos. You’ll want a backup just in case. You can download individual files or use Time Machine to create a backup.

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Answer 2

RCully Author

Level 1

36 points

Jun 2, 2023 2:54 AM in response to muguy

muggy, thanks for the very useful advice.

1) Once I'd set the external library on my iMac to be the System Photo Library then I can confirm that this the synced to iCloud Photos as expected. I also deleted the photos library on my MBA before connecting to iCloud so this is still in process of syncing. Annoying that syncing stops when the MBA goes to sleep.

2) Once I'd started a subscription for iCloud+, things burst into life and started syncing photos.

3) I logged into iCloud and, under 'Storage', I could see photos syncing

4) I use Time Machine so this is covered.

My last question is to do with my iPhone. Do you recommend deleting all photos on it before switching on iCloud Photos to stop any possibility of duplication? I'll also be switching on optimise photos so they don't take as much space on my iPhone so unsure if smaller file sizes of photos will over-ride the originals and automatically give me space back - that's if I don't delete all photos first.

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Answer 3

muguy

Level 10

81,649 points

Jun 2, 2023 11:17 AM in response to RCully

I've always started with a clean slate. But, if you're using the latest version of MacOS, there is a duplicate checked built in which will find duplicates as your icloud library is built. So, it shouldn't matter unless you have thousands of images.

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iCloud Photos question - part 2

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