iPhone 15: Cannot delete photos/videos, trashcan grayed out

As markwmsn says, some pictures that are transferred through a cable from a computer, perhaps with iTunes, can be shown by Photos, but they're not "owned" by Photos. So these pictures can't be edited or deleted by Photos, and they can't be synchronized with iCloud Photos. The idea is that the originals are kept on the computer, and they are transferred to the phone temporarily. One way to delete them is to use the computer to transfer an empty set of "pictures" to the phone, and the empty set will replace the others. In using iTunes for this, it may give the option to deselect the pictures that are already there. On a Mac we might do it with the app Image Capture in the Applications folder, but that's just with a Mac.

Another way to get rid of all the non-deletable pictures is to momentarily turn on iCloud Photos. You get a scary warning that these will be deleted. When you say OK, then they're trashed, and then Photos will start to transfer the other pictures to iCloud.But you can turn off iCloud and stop the sync before it happens.

If you want to save some of these non-deletable pictures, then you can use "Share" to save them to Files. Then re-import them from Files to create fully useable versions.

When users encounter photos/videos on their phones that cannot be deleted, the usual reason is that the items have been forced onto the phone from a computer (using iTunes in the old days, more recently Finder on a Mac or some other program on a Windows PC) using a hard wired connection. (This uses the same hardware connection you mention for transferring in the other direction.) Such items are "synced" into a special area of the phone that can only be updated by another use of similar "sync" tools (iTunes/Finder) to install a different set of items.

Why would you have to copy the photos back from the iPhone to the computer? Did you not keep them on your Mac mini after you synced them to the iPhone? The synced photos on the iPhone may be in a lesser resolution than the originals on your computer. The synced photos used to be downsized to save storage on the iOS devices. They are just for viewing on the small iPhone display. And the manual syncing with the Finder is only one-way. There is no convenient way to sync them back all at once.

When I moved from Android to iPhone, various files and photos didn't migrate, and so I found ways to move them and got stuck with what you describe. It sounds like I have to move everything BACK to my mac mini to preserve things then turn on iCloud , which I hate having anything watching over me, let it delete everything, then move things through iCloud back, then empty iCloud again, because I don't want Big Brother out there surveilling me.

DominoChance wrote: …t sounds like I have to move everything BACK to my mac mini to preserve things then turn on iCloud , which

As léonie suggests, it seems like your pictures would already be on the Mac. Moving them back and forth, especially have pictures leave the Photos environment, risks losing information.

As I had said, "If you want to save some of these non-deletable pictures, then you can use "Share" to save them to Files. Then re-import them from Files to create fully useable versions."

I hate having anything watching over me, …I don't want Big Brother out there surveilling me.

What is done at iCloud is encrypted and invisible to Apple or anyone else you haven't give access to. This isn't Facebook or TikTck.

I second Richard's opinion on iCloud. Apple does not use any of your personal information stored in iCloud other then the information necessary to provide the service. That is explained here: Legal - Apple Privacy Policy - Apple, see the paragraph "Personal Data Apple Collects from You".

The only drawback I am seeing when signing up for iCloud Photos is, that we have to pay for it, but it is making it much easier to keep the Photos Libraries on all our devices perfectly in sync. It is highly convenient to have perfectly identical photo libraries across all my devices, the iPad, the iPhone, my Macs, my Vision Pro. I don't have to remember which photos I have transferred or if I have transferred all edits and titles, etc. It is fully automatic. As an added bonus I have an off-site storage. When my devices get damaged or lost I can recover my photos from iCloud. I was very happy to have all important data in iCloud, when the roof over my office got damaged and the melting snow on the roof leaked through the roof and flooded my office. Three Macs ans all backup drives were drenched and stopped working. iCloud made it very easy to restore all documents and data, once I got a replacement Mac.

Murpy's Laws 😀

Another way I lost my Mac and the backup at the same time has been when making a backup during a thunderstorm -I cannot recommend to try that. A power surge killed the Mac and the connected backup disk.

So I learned the hard way we need two backups, and we have to keep one backup off-site.

léonie wrote: … making a backup during a thunderstorm -I cannot recommend to try that.

While I don't think that I ever follow this rule, it's best to use the Mac (and backup drive) on battery during thunderstorms. I could, but I don't think of it. I will take your story to heart.

léonie wrote: … Three Macs ans all backup drives were drenched and stopped working.

Wow!