iCloud Photos Folder Slow Performance

I have around 5000 images on my icloud and I have icloud for windows installed on my PC.


Every time I open the iCloud Photos folder it seems to load the thumbnails each time even though I have clicked on "Always keep on this device".


Locally stored image folders that are not online do not seem to have this issue irrespective of the size of the folder which leads me to believe it is an iCloud issue.


My PC is an 11th Gen i7 processor with 64Gb RAM and NVMe drives so its not the hardware.


Anyone got any clues why its mind bendingly slow?

Posted on Jun 27, 2023 6:09 AM

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5 replies

Jun 28, 2023 11:36 AM in response to Caesium78

Hi Caesium78,


We recommend reviewing your settings to ensure your photos are download. Keep File Explorer open during this process as closing it may stop any ongoing downloads: Set up and use iCloud Photos on your Windows PC - Apple Support


In iCloud for Windows 11.1 or later

New photos and videos you add to iCloud Photos are shown on your PC automatically. To download the file from iCloud when you view it, double-click its thumbnail. You can also keep your photos downloaded on your PC with these steps: 
1. Open File Explorer.
2. In the Navigation pane, click iCloud Photos. 
3. Select the images you want to keep on your PC.
4. Right-click the selection and choose "Always keep on this device."
If you change a photo or video on another device or on iCloud.com, it updates automatically on your PC. 

In older versions of iCloud for Windows

New photos and videos you add to iCloud Photos will automatically download to your PC. You can also download older photos and videos with these steps: 

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Click iCloud Photos in the Navigation pane. If you don’t see iCloud Photos, click Pictures in the Navigation pane, then double-click iCloud Photos.
3. Click the Notification area in the taskbar, then click Download Photos in the iCloud Photos notification. Choose the photos and videos you want to download by year.
Your photos and videos download to the location you set in iCloud Photos Options.


Regards.

Sep 19, 2023 10:04 AM in response to Drew_7

I have an high end PC with Windows 11 and plenty of storage tons of memory and awesome internet service. I also have 79,000 photos and videos in iCloud photos.


Opening iCloud Photos with Windows explorer takes 15 minutes up to hours to load and sort by date. Most of that time Windows explorer is hung.


After it eventually comes back, I often cannot open or copy even 1 file at a time. It times out and throws an error. Sometimes it works for the first few and then hangs intermittently after that, or sometimes every time after. It's getting worse over time.


I'd really like to be able to make a copy of all my iCloud Photos that is separate from Apple, one a disk I own, or maybe to another cloud storage provider. (Just in case someone in my family deletes something on iCloud by mistake.) That's my end goal, but not close to achieving it.




iCloud Photos Folder Slow Performance

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