iCloud Photo Library

Question

Level 1

8 points

iCloud Photo Library

Hi,

I have around 8000 photos in my iCloud photo with the majority stored in the cloud and ‘optimised for storage’. However, occasionally when I look at my library...the total number has decreased to 4000.

I previously resolved this by restoring my iPhone from a previous back up but I don’t really want to keep doing this as it means all of my apps etc. need to be redownloaded which is time consuming.

Does anybody know why this happens and am I at risk of losing any of my old photos from the iCloud Photo Library e.g. if my photo count drops from 8000 to 4000 and then my phone backs up to the cloud overnight...will 4000 photos be erased from the cloud?

Many thanks for your help!

Posted on Nov 12, 2017 2:36 AM

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Answer 1

sionnicjones Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 12, 2017 2:49 PM in response to Eric Root

Hi Eric - thabks for your reply.

I do have a recently deleted album but it is empty.

This has happened to me twice where I suddenly notice my photo count on my iPhone has dropped significantly although my iCloud storage usage remains the same. I’m just worried that if my phone backs up when the photo count is lower, my iCloud will be overwritten and half of my photos will be lost! :) I haven’t and wouldn’t delete any photos manually so I think it is an iCloud sync issue?

Any help you can provide would be much appreciated.

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

684,033 points

Nov 13, 2017 11:43 AM in response to sionnicjones

You are welcome. If you are syncing photos to the iCloud Photo Library, your photos aren't included in an iCloud backup.

Can you see all the photos at iCloud.com/Photos?

Try Settings/Your Name/iCloud and slide off syncing. Wait a few minutes and then slide syncing on.

Last resort - have you tried signing out of iCloud and then sign back in?

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Answer 3

sionnicjones Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 14, 2017 6:28 AM in response to Eric Root

Thanks again Eric - that’s good to know that an iCloud back up won’t overwrite all of my photos!

All photos returned whenever I restored my phone from an iCloud back up which actually involves signing out of iCloud so maybe this is all I need to do.

Unfortunately I don’t have access to my laptop for the next few weeks due to travel and I can’t get on to icloud.com/photos using my phone’s browser so I can’t get an answer for that question sorry.

I will try the steps you mentioned above and let you know how it goes!

Thanks again for your help!

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