Is anyone else having problems importing photos in Tahoe 26.1 or 26.2?

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Is anyone else having problems importing photos in Tahoe 26.1 or 26.2?

Photos import in Tahoe is broken -- brand new iMac (M4 chip), running Tahoe 26.2, and the Photos app cannot import new photos from an iPhone or import photos sent via AirDrop.

When I try to run an import from the iPhone, the only thing that happens is that a series of icons at the top of the window jutter back and forth for a few seconds, and then stop. (see attached image capture of those buttons) The latest tech I spoke with says this is a known issue for multiple users and that we will have to wait for a Tahoe update before we can import photos again.

I would love to know what got broken, as I've never had problems importing photos while running Ventura or Sequoia on older machines.

(While incredibly frustrated, I also feel like I ought to light a candle for the techs who will be fielding questions about this throughout the holidays...)

iMac (M4, 2024)

Posted on Dec 18, 2025 7:03 PM

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Answer 1

RhetRx Author

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Dec 19, 2025 8:10 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

I can perform the AirDrop part....what doesn't work is then bringing the image into Photos. I can easily open the image in Acorn, so there's nothing wrong with the file. It's Photos that isn't cooperating with any of the import options.

Glad your system is working, though!

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Answer 2

Dec 19, 2025 7:46 AM in response to RhetRx

AirDrop is working OK for me-- macOS26.2 on M3 PowerBook and iOS26.2 on iPhone16. Also iPadOS26.1 M4 iPad.

A change is that the AirDropped picture comes in from Photos with the original modified date rather than today's date, which makes it hard to find in Downloads. (I does arrive selected.) I would prefer original creation date and today's modify date, as before. Weird.

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Answer 3

Dec 19, 2025 8:20 AM in response to RhetRx

Ah, well, I misunderstood. But, indeed, I can import an AirDropped picture into Photos.

If you haven't, you should try these things:

Restart the computer (of course)
Re-start in Safe Mode. This bypasses certain potentially disruptive processes, and it often helps. Safe Mode is different for different computers, so see this:

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

Use another library if you have one, or make a small test Library with a few pictures in it and see if the same thing happens. You can create a new Library by closing Photos and then option-clicking on the Photos icon.
Make a new user and see if the same problem recurs with it. This is a bit harder, because a new user can't access a different user's stuff. You would need to temporarily move your Library out of your own user's Pictuers folder up to the general "Users" folder.

The idea is to find out if the problem is with the Library, with your account, or with caches and login items, and stuff like that. One of these steps may fix the problem, but their failure to work also helps figure out what's happening.

Let us know what happens…

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Answer 4

RhetRx Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 19, 2025 2:18 PM in response to Richard.Taylor

Thank you for your suggestions. While on the phone with Apple, we explored starting the machine in Safe Mode, and ensured that no login items were interfering. It was at that point that they told me I was experiencing a known System issue, not something with my brand new account, that needed to be repaired by an upcoming Tahoe update.

I will try opening a different Library to see if that makes a difference, although now I am on to the mystery of why Music isn't recognizing the Library that I backed up from the older machine. (I'm noticing a trend here...)

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Answer 5

RhetRx Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 21, 2025 1:51 PM in response to RhetRx

Additional details: Tried using Image Capture. Pictures do appear on the Desktop, but when I try to import to the Photos app, I get the error messages

"This item cannot be added to your Photo library because it may be an unrecognizable file format or may not contain valid data" and

"There was an error attempting to free up disk space for import"

The Photos Library is on an external disk, but that disk is mounted and has no trouble running Music or Scrolling through the Library.

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Answer 6

Dec 22, 2025 7:02 AM in response to RhetRx

And how is your external drive formatted? To avoid damaging the Photos Library an external drive must be formatted in either APFS format or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. The drive must be connected directly to the Mac by cable, not networked, clouded, NASed, etc. Additionally, the drive can not have had Time Machine on it since it was formatted. There have been so many problems with using incompatible drives that the newest macOSs won't even allow a Library on a non-Mac formatted drive to open, since there is a chance of damaging the Photos database. See this:

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

Other apps seeming to work does not imply that this drive is safe for Photos. If this drive is in a an incompatible format, stop running Photos with it immediately! A Photos Library can sit on an incompatible drive, but running it may corrupt the database.

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Answer 7

RhetRx Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 22, 2025 9:26 PM in response to Richard.Taylor

I agree -- the Apple techs didn't mention the possibility I was using a drive that was incompatible with running a Photos library. I knew to reformat my new Time Machine disk, but since the LaCie was able to display and index my photos using the Photos app, I didn't immediately realize I had missed a key preparation step.

So yesterday I moved my files to a different SSD drive, formatted the LaCie this afternoon, and just finished porting the files back to it a few minutes ago. I'll let you know if that resolves the problem, or if there really is a bug in Tahoe...

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Is anyone else having problems importing photos in Tahoe 26.1 or 26.2?

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