Q: why do i not have a photo stream album

The "My Photo Stream" album will only show on your Mac, if there are photos in My Photo Stream. Can it be, that My Photo Stream is empty?

On my iMac I have my photo stream and iCloud photo sharing checked (NOT iCloud Photo Library, as 99% of my photos are referenced instead of importing to photos library).

Is this enabled in both "system Preferences > iCloud" and "Photos > Preferences > iCloud"?

Yet, I have no photo stream album showing anywhere.  Why would this be the case?

Your iOS devices will not show My Photo Stream, since you have iCloud Photo Library enabled  Your Mac should show the album, if there are photos in My Photo Stream.  Make sure, that your iOS devices can upload to My Photo Stream.  They need to be connected to Wi-Fi and the camera.app need s to be closed and the devices need to be properly charged. Try again to take a new photo with your iPhone, Then connect it to Wi-Fii and close the camera.app.

If the problem persists after signing out of iCloudPhotos  and signing in again, there may be a problem with the process that is downloading from iCloud, the cloudphotosd.   Have you checked the Console window if there are any diagnostic messages, when you try to access your photo stream?

If you see any messages with respect to cloudphotosd,  the process cloudphotosd may be hanging or having invalid cached data.

Then try the fix in this post:  Re: Yosemite Photos iCloud photo sharing not working

LaCollisionMay 1, 2015 6:21 PM
Re: Yosemite Photos iCloud photo sharing not workingin response to pendlebumHelpful

VERY interesting, thank you!!

 

I had the same problem after a Time Machine backup.

 

I've found a solution :

 

1. Quit Photos

 

2. Remove the folder:

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.cloudphotosd/Data/Library/Application Support/com.apple.cloudphotosd

 

3. Restart

 

4. Launch Photos

 

… and everything works again!!

Your user library may still be hidden.

To reveal the hidden User Library:

• Bring the Finder forward by clicking on the Desktop or the Finder icon in the Dock.
• Select your user/home folder (with the house icon in the Finder sidebar)
• With that Finder window as the front window, press the key combination ⌘J to bring up the View options.
• In the View options panel enable ’Show Library Folder’. That will make your user library folder visible in your Home folder.
• Open your Home folder, then the Library folder, then Containers.
• Move the complete folder ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.cloudphotosd/Data/Library/Application Support/com.apple.cloudphotosd to your desktop. Move the entire folder, not just the contents.

Now restart the Mac and try again.  If all is well, delete the folder from the Desktop.

She does not have iCloud Library enabled.  My Photo Stream, Upload Bursts, iCloud photo sharing are enabled.  In her photos albums she has one that is called My Photo Stream.  Would this be because she does not have iCloud Library enabled?

It does  not depend on the iPhone model 5c or 5s.  Which version of iOS does she have installed? With iOS8 "My Photo Stream" and "Camera Roll" will only be showing, if iCloud Photo Library has not been enabled.  The Favorites, & Bursts albums will only show, if there are Favorites and Bursts in the Photos Library on the device.

Dear Léonie,

Thank you. For one month my  photo stream was not updating on my Mac Air but it was on all my other devices.  Your suggestion with the console  worked.  Thank you so much. 

That's great!  You're welcome