Apple Photos: export incredibly slow

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Apple Photos: export incredibly slow

I am trying to export 22K photos from my Photos library to a fast external SSD. I am using a 2019 Intel-based iMac with a fast internal SSD, plenty of RAM. The photos are already stored locally, so the iMac is not downloading files from the cloud. I also asked to export unmodified original copies (but, in any case, they are all original).

It is incredibly slow. In 8 hours, it was able to export 17% of the 22K photos, i.e. less than 3800 photos and videos. I have no problems when copying the same files from the same iMac to the same SSD: the copy proceeds fast.

I tried several settings: export using the "moment", export with simply an incremental number as filename etc. but the copy remains unbearably slow.

I am curious: how can that application be so slow? Is there anything I could do to speed up the process?

iMac 27″, macOS 15.5

Posted on May 26, 2025 8:20 AM

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Answer 1

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Old Toad

Level 10

216,722 points

May 26, 2025 9:17 AM in response to LordThistle

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

Launch your library with the Option + Command keys held down to repair the library.

Next, create a new library, import a few photos into it and try exporting to the same location. Then open your current library and test exporting again.

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Answer 2

May 26, 2025 8:31 AM in response to LordThistle

Export Originals should be very fast because it copies originals (the other export setting is slower especially with movies because it must re-encode them). What format is the external drive (not that it should matter if Finder copies are fast)?

Do you have any 3rd party apps like anti-virus that might explain this? An EtreCheck report would eliminate much guesswork:

How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

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Answer 3

May 26, 2025 10:40 PM in response to LordThistle

LordThistle wrote:

The external drive is formatted as ExFAT.

So you are exporting originals, right? And no 3rd party anti-virus apps installed, right? And no 3rd party disk utilities installed, right?

Does it work as expected if you export originals to the internal disk (do not export to Documents or Desktop if you have that setting enabled in iCloud Drive because that uploads to the cloud)? Or if you export to an APFS formatted external fast SSD (that does not choke to slow HDD speed with large sustained writes as some cheap SSDs do, not to a flash/thumb drive)?

Apple has updated exFAT under the hood and it might still have teething problems so that's why I suggest testing this with APFS.

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Answer 4

LordThistle Author

Level 1

78 points

May 26, 2025 11:42 PM in response to Matti Haveri

"Apple has updated exFAT under the hood and it might still have teething problems so that's why I suggest testing this with APFS."

As I said, copying files to ExFAT shows no performance issues at all.

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Answer 5

LordThistle Author

Level 1

78 points

May 27, 2025 2:14 AM in response to Matti Haveri

The external drive is formatted as ExFAT. As you have already noted, copying files is fast.

In almost 24h, Photos has exported only 58% of the 22K photos (that corresponds to one year - I have two more years to export). With Google Photos, I was able to prepare archives to download photos from the cloud (corresponding to more than 10 years) and copy them on an external drive (using a Mac) in 3-4 days.

[Edited by Moderator]

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