HT201313: Keep your photos safely stored and up to date on all your devices

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Walt Courtney

Q: Does the advice in "Sync your photos manually with iTunes" in the "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201313" article still work in El Capitan? Only folders, not "Photos" appears.

Does the advice in "Sync your photos manually with iTunes" in the "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201313" article still work in El Capitan? Only Folders, not "Photos" appears as a choice when syncing Photos in iTunes. I'm using iOS 9.3.5 in my iPhone 6s, OS X 10.11.6, Photos 1.5, and iTunes 12.5.1.21. I want to sync "Photos" albums onto my phone without using iCloud the way I always have all the way back to iPhoto.

Posted on Sep 17, 2016 3:03 PM

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Q: Does the advice in "Sync your photos manually with iTunes" in the "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201313" article still work in ... more

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  • by gail from maine,

    gail from maine gail from maine Sep 17, 2016 3:21 PM in response to Walt Courtney
    Level 7 (26,148 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 17, 2016 3:21 PM in response to Walt Courtney

    OK, so I'm a bit confused. Do you have iCloud Photo Library turned off on your iPhone and in the Photos app on the Mac?

     

    When you say only "Folders" appear, not Photos, what are you referring to exactly?

     

    This is what you should be seeing once you click on your device icon in the top bar:

     

    Screen Shot 2016-09-17 at 6.15.32 PM.png

    Screen Shot 2016-09-17 at 6.19.31 PM.png

     

    Does that help?

     

    Cheers,

     

    GB

  • by Walt Courtney,

    Walt Courtney Walt Courtney Sep 17, 2016 3:47 PM in response to gail from maine
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 17, 2016 3:47 PM in response to gail from maine

    iCloud is off. When "Sync Photos" is checked when syncing in iTunes, one is given a choice, "Copy photos from:" followed by a dropdown menu. Before I had a choice of the "Photos" app or a particular folder of pictures, as in the above mentioned article. Now I don't see "Photos" as an option, only Folders. Your 2nd picture no longer appears.

  • by gail from maine,

    gail from maine gail from maine Sep 17, 2016 4:48 PM in response to Walt Courtney
    Level 7 (26,148 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 17, 2016 4:48 PM in response to Walt Courtney

    Can you please share a screenprint so we can see what you are referring to? Take a screenprint of it, and then click the little camera you see above, and browse to find the screenprint.

     

    Cheers,

     

    GB

  • by Andrew Mcvinnie,

    Andrew Mcvinnie Andrew Mcvinnie Sep 22, 2016 6:49 PM in response to Walt Courtney
    Level 1 (33 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 22, 2016 6:49 PM in response to Walt Courtney

    Using macOS Sierra and iOS 10, I don't think it possible to sync your "Photos" library to the iOS device anymore. They are forcing us to use iCloud Photos to sync.

     

    Syncing Photos Library is no longer an option.

     

    Screen Shot 2016-09-22 at 8.47.24 PM.png

  • by gail from maine,

    gail from maine gail from maine Sep 23, 2016 12:17 AM in response to Andrew Mcvinnie
    Level 7 (26,148 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 23, 2016 12:17 AM in response to Andrew Mcvinnie

    Not correct. You can still sync photos the old fashioned way. Not sure why you are only seeing the "Folder" option. The screen print you have showing clearly indicates that. You wouldn't have a source to select from if you were not able to sync selected photos from your library on your computer to your iOS device:

     

    Screen Shot 2016-09-23 at 3.08.05 AM.png

     

    Your screen print cut off the statement - "You can choose which photos from your computer are copied to your iPhone"

     

    Not sure why you are not seeing the iPhoto/Photos options, but it is a separate issue that does not in any way imply that you are going to be forced into using iCloud syncing service.

     

    Keep your photos safely stored and up to date on all your devices - Apple Support

     

    Cheers,

     

    GB

  • by Andrew Mcvinnie,

    Andrew Mcvinnie Andrew Mcvinnie Sep 23, 2016 6:59 AM in response to gail from maine
    Level 1 (33 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 23, 2016 6:59 AM in response to gail from maine

    I started typing a reply but have changed it to the following:

     

    In the middle of typing this post, I went and got my cable so I could take another screen shot. When I connected my iPhone, iTunes launched and I went to the photo syncing area. I clicked on the popup menu where Photos should be a choice and the menu opened and showed only the Folder option, then I got the Spinning Beach Ball of Death for about 20 seconds, then Photos magically popped into the menu...

     

    So I am not sure what was causing Photos to not show up. But it is there now for me at least. I really this does not help others with the same issue. But I would suggest trying to close and reopen both iTunes and Photos as that is all I have done between last night in my first post and this morning.

  • by gail from maine,

    gail from maine gail from maine Sep 23, 2016 7:38 AM in response to Andrew Mcvinnie
    Level 7 (26,148 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 23, 2016 7:38 AM in response to Andrew Mcvinnie

    Those last two tips are excellent tips, and easy for folks to try without a lot of fal-da-rah, so thanks for posting back with your experience! Glad you are good to go now

     

    Cheers,

     

    GB