I have used iCloud for photo storage and syncing across devices for years. I have 65+ thousand photos in my Library. Currently, my MacBook Pro Photos app is stuck on "uploading 2 items." The photos are syncing fine to other devices. How can I get the MacBook Pro Photos app to work? I'm using macOS 12.7.2, Monterey.
MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.7
You may also want to check for referenced items. That may be causing the same problem. Are there any items in a smart album with the rule "Photo is Referenced"?
Are you seeing any white thumbnails, when you are scrolling the All Photos tab?
If the smart albums cannot point out any problematic items, you will have to test systematically for items that cannot be processed by photos.
I would start with the most recently imported items, the ones you imported directly before iCloud could no longer upload all photos.
The usual suspects for incompatible items in your library are PDF files, older videos, images shared with you, scanned photos, photos downloaded from a website as a web link, or older videos, imported before the upgrade to macOS 10.15 Catalina, when Apple deprecated the support for some legacy image and video formats.
You may also want to check for referenced items. That may be causing the same problem. Are there any items in a smart album with the rule "Photo is Referenced"?
Are you seeing any white thumbnails, when you are scrolling the All Photos tab?
If the smart albums cannot point out any problematic items, you will have to test systematically for items that cannot be processed by photos.
I would start with the most recently imported items, the ones you imported directly before iCloud could no longer upload all photos.
The usual suspects for incompatible items in your library are PDF files, older videos, images shared with you, scanned photos, photos downloaded from a website as a web link, or older videos, imported before the upgrade to macOS 10.15 Catalina, when Apple deprecated the support for some legacy image and video formats.
Thank you. There are no referenced photos and no white thumbnails. However, I have found which item I suspect is the culprit. It is a large (150mb) video shared to me from an iPhone 12 Pro Max. I AirDropped it directly to my MacBook Pro, so it shows fine from there. However, it is not on the iCloud Photos web or my other devices. I am on a cruise ship, which may limit my ability to upload/download. However, all other devices are continuing to sync with iCloud. I will try deleting the video and see if that helps.
You may have some items that cannot be uploaded for some reason. The first step is to locate them.
Check to see if you have an "Unable to Upload" line in your left sidebar. If so, it should list them.
You can also create your own Smart Album to list any items that cannot be uploaded:
It worked! Deleted culprit video in Library and Recently Deleted, then quit Photos. Waited a few minutes before re-opening Photos. All future pictures then re-loaded.
Thanks to markwmsm and leonie for your responses.
Thank you. However, I already checked that. There are no photos listed as unable to upload. (I checked again after your reply, just to make sure.)
Photos on MacBook Pro is stuck on "uploading 2 items"
