Rob-zh
Level 1 (4 points)
iCloud

Q: How to download fotos from iCloud to iOS10

I would like to know what to do to trigger my iPhone 7 to download all photos from iCloud.

 

I had an iPhone 6 with 128GB which reached its capacity limit on 10,000+ photos and 500+ videos and the phone became very slow and unresponsive. To free up space I used the "optimisation" feature and uploaded 90GB of photos and videos to iCloud. (After upgrading iCloud storage)

With the new iPhone 7 256GB I would like to download the pictures again to have them back on the phone. Apart of switching off the "optimisation" feature (i.e. store originals on the iPhone) I could not find any setting that would start the downloading process. I am afraid the setting will only work for new photos, especially since nothing happened and I still have 213GB free on my iPhone. I connected the iPhone to the wall charger and waited, similar to the uploading process. Wifi connection is good with 40MBit/s. When uploading photos to iCloud its status is shown in the photos app on the iPhone, but nothing similar is available for showing progress on downloading.

 

Anyone having an idea what to do to trigger the download to my iPhone? I would like to cancel my iCloud subscription.

Also where do I see whether the phone has completed downloading all pictures and videos?

iPhone 7, iOS 10.0.1, null

Posted on Oct 4, 2016 1:32 PM

by zinacef,Solvedanswer
zinacef zinacef
Level 5 (6,072 points)
Applications
A:

If you want the photos on your iPhone, without using iCloud, you will have to disable iCloud Photo Library (Settings > iCloud > Photos), however I must warn you that if you do that, you will realize very quickly that that amount of photos and videos you have will not be able to simply hold on your iPhone.

 

You will realize that you will need to either use iCloud and continue paying for the extra iCloud storage, or you will have to use another third-party application to store your photos and videos.

 

If you're thinking that you can do without iCloud and save yourself some money, and store the photos and videos on your phone, then you are mistaken because iCloud doesn't work that way.

Posted on Oct 4, 2016 1:31 PM

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Rob-zh

Q: How to download fotos from iCloud to iOS10

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  • Helpful answers

  • by zinacef,Solvedanswer

    zinacef zinacef Oct 4, 2016 1:31 PM in response to Rob-zh
    Level 5 (6,072 points)
    Applications
    Oct 4, 2016 1:31 PM in response to Rob-zh

    If you want the photos on your iPhone, without using iCloud, you will have to disable iCloud Photo Library (Settings > iCloud > Photos), however I must warn you that if you do that, you will realize very quickly that that amount of photos and videos you have will not be able to simply hold on your iPhone.

     

    You will realize that you will need to either use iCloud and continue paying for the extra iCloud storage, or you will have to use another third-party application to store your photos and videos.

     

    If you're thinking that you can do without iCloud and save yourself some money, and store the photos and videos on your phone, then you are mistaken because iCloud doesn't work that way.

  • by Rob-zh,

    Rob-zh Rob-zh Oct 4, 2016 1:42 PM in response to zinacef
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 4, 2016 1:42 PM in response to zinacef

    I usually do backups sync'ing with my MacBook Pro, however, over the past few months I was not able to hence I used iCloud. Since I travel a lot with often slow internet connection I need to access all my photos and videos at all times. iCloud was only a temporary solution until the new iPhone was out.

     

    When I try to disable iCloud Photo Library I get a message saying that my photos could not be loaded and disabling the  photo library will result in my local (low res) copies being deleted. So it does not solve my problem.

  • by zinacef,

    zinacef zinacef Oct 4, 2016 1:54 PM in response to Rob-zh
    Level 5 (6,072 points)
    Applications
    Oct 4, 2016 1:54 PM in response to Rob-zh

    That error message was correct, i.e. if you switch off iCloud Photo Library your photos will no longer sync across all devices, and whatever copies you have on your phone will indeed be deleted.

  • by Rob-zh,

    Rob-zh Rob-zh Oct 4, 2016 2:03 PM in response to zinacef
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 4, 2016 2:03 PM in response to zinacef

    Actually, the phone started downloading the pictures now... the only way to see the progress of the download is when trying to turn off the iCloud Photo Library. The message counts how many items had not been loaded yet. As the download progresses fewer items are listed. Now, the photos app also starts using more storage.

     

    Thanks for your support.

  • by zinacef,

    zinacef zinacef Oct 4, 2016 2:05 PM in response to Rob-zh
    Level 5 (6,072 points)
    Applications
    Oct 4, 2016 2:05 PM in response to Rob-zh

    You're most welcome!  Glad to hear it's resolved. 

  • by Rob-zh,

    Rob-zh Rob-zh Oct 4, 2016 2:30 PM in response to zinacef
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 4, 2016 2:30 PM in response to zinacef

    Yes, me too... unfortunately it's all not that fast and responsive as I expected. To upload my library took a week or two, despite my 40Mbit/s connections (for up- and downloads). iCloud needs to become way faster. When playing with the new memories feature on Photos, which I really like, I often get error messages saying that not all items were loaded from iCloud. This gets annoying when trying to manually edit the memories videos. Especially, when manually editing the app does not allow to retry downloading (as opposed to the automatic edit proposed by the app, there you can retry).

     

    These are some of the reasons why iCloud does not fully work for me. That is why paying for it is sort of pointless for me. I rather put this money into local SSDs where I have full control and speed.

    But of course others have other needs.

  • by zinacef,

    zinacef zinacef Oct 4, 2016 2:27 PM in response to Rob-zh
    Level 5 (6,072 points)
    Applications
    Oct 4, 2016 2:27 PM in response to Rob-zh

    Larger libraries will take particularly long to upload especially if one doesn't have a reliable WiFi signal.  Personally I don't use iCloud Photo Library myself and defer to third-party options which seem to meet my needs quite well.

  • by Rob-zh,

    Rob-zh Rob-zh Oct 4, 2016 2:33 PM in response to zinacef
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 4, 2016 2:33 PM in response to zinacef

    What are you using?

    I was never a fan of the apps Apple produced for photo archiving and editing. I am looking for a new solution that supports external drives. Previously I had been using Picasa. Currently I am considering Lightroom, but I am not yet fully convinced (and suffering the lack of time to do a trial run).

  • by zinacef,

    zinacef zinacef Oct 4, 2016 2:55 PM in response to Rob-zh
    Level 5 (6,072 points)
    Applications
    Oct 4, 2016 2:55 PM in response to Rob-zh

    I use Google Photos as it meets my needs at the moment.  You may want to look at other options like Dropbox or Flickr as well.