Cannot access iCloud albums on iphone

Question

Level 1

36 points

Cannot access iCloud albums on iphone

Hi all - I recently started using the iCloud photo library. I noticed when I sign into iCloud.com it is a mirror image of my Mac OS Photos app and I can access every picture that is on my computer. However, on my iPhone, for some reason, despite making sure the iCloud photo library is turned on, I cannot access the pictures from iCloud, I can only access the pics that were taken on my phone. I have looked under "albums" in the photos app on the iPhone.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance

iPhone X, iOS 11, null

Posted on Nov 11, 2017 3:14 PM

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Answer 1

raina_b22

Community Specialist

Nov 12, 2017 2:06 PM in response to MacSince85

Hi MacSince85,

Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Community. I understand that even though you have iCloud Photo library turned on for your iPhone, you're not seeing the same photos that are on your other devices where you have iCloud Photo Library enabled.

Since you're not seeing the photos from your iPhone on the iCloud website and the photos from your Mac are not showing in your iPhone, I recommend to first confirm that you are signed in to the same iCloud account on all of your devices. Being signed in to different iCloud accounts will cause the photo libraries not to sync. Your photos from your iPhone also may not show if they were copied to the device from iTunes. You can find more info on this here:

What if some of my photos and videos are missing after I turn on iCloud Photo Library?

Look for your missing photos and videos in the Recently Deleted album of your Photos app, and make sure that you sign in to iCloud with the correct Apple ID.

Any photos or videos you copy to your device through iTunes are not copied in iCloud Photo Library. To add your original, full resolution versions, follow these steps:

On your Mac with OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 or later

To upload original versions of your Mac library, click Photos > Preferences and turn on iCloud Photo Library.

You can also use AirDrop to copy the photos from your computer to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

Make sure that you're signed in with the same Apple ID on your computer and iOS device.

Unlock your iOS device and turn on AirDrop.

Open a new Finder window on your Mac and choose AirDrop in the sidebar.

Drag the photos to the icon for the iOS device in the Finder window.

Get help with your iCloud Photo Library
Take care.

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Answer 2

MacSince85 Author

Level 1

36 points

Nov 13, 2017 7:37 AM in response to chris_g1

Thank you. What I ended up doing was deleting all pics manually from my iPhone after turning off iCloud. With an empty photos app, I then turned on iCloud photo sharing and voila. They appeared immediately.

Odd, but it worked!

Thanks for your time

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Answer 3

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Nov 12, 2017 6:04 PM in response to MacSince85

Hey MacSince85,

Thanks for the update. Depending on how long ago you turned on iCloud Photo Library, the photos may still be trying to upload. How long has it been since turning iCloud Photo Library on? You can also try to sign out of iCloud on the iPhone and then sign back in. This action can force the iCloud Photo Library photos to re-sync. If you try to sign out of iCloud and then back in and still aren't seeing the photos syncing across all of your devices, you may want to Contact Apple Support for further assistance.

Best regards.

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Answer 4

MacSince85 Author

Level 1

36 points

Nov 12, 2017 4:57 PM in response to raina_b22

Thank you for attempting to help

Yes, I verified there is only ONE iTunes account signed in across platforms. Photos still do not show up.

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