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User profile for user: mmp1964a
mmp1964a Author
User level: Level 1
27 points

photos not syncing

I've been using iCloud Photo Library for quite some time and have had no issues, but for whatever reason, iCloud photos taken on my iPhone are suddenly not downloading to my Mac. I have made no changes to any settings on any device - and I have "download originals to this Mac" checked - but Photos has been stuck on "Downloading 289 Originals" for at least a week. I've tried rebooting, killing the Photos processes using Activity Monitor, etc., but nothing has helped.


I've considered signing in and out of iCloud, but want to avoid the whole re-syncing process that can take days.


Any ideas?

Mac mini, iOS 11.2.6, 2014 i5 1TB

Posted on Mar 8, 2018 6:36 PM

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User profile for user: LarryHN
LarryHN
User level: Level 10
106,124 points

Posted on Mar 11, 2018 1:39 PM

several things


A sync will not lose anything, it is a merge - if anything has been deleted form any device the deletion will by synced so the "deleted" photos will be in the recently deleted album for 30 days


And do NOT store or "backup" your Photo library on Google Drive, DropBox or any other web service that syncs files, they will destroy it rendering it useless - has the problem library ever been on any such synced web storage?


And as to repairing your library be sure to always remember that this is the very last resort as repairing it will trigger a new total upload of all photos in the library to verify its integrity - this takes a long time and may require increasing your iCloud Storage to allow it to complete (in your case it does not look like it will) -- If iCloud Photo Library cannot be turned on again because of lack of Cloud storage after moving or restoring the Photos …


the test you did does indicate an issue with your local library but if you have had it on Google Drive it probably can not be repaired but will require restoring a backup from before it was synced by third party software


LN

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User profile for user: LarryHN
LarryHN
User level: Level 10
106,124 points

Mar 11, 2018 1:39 PM in response to mmp1964a

several things


A sync will not lose anything, it is a merge - if anything has been deleted form any device the deletion will by synced so the "deleted" photos will be in the recently deleted album for 30 days


And do NOT store or "backup" your Photo library on Google Drive, DropBox or any other web service that syncs files, they will destroy it rendering it useless - has the problem library ever been on any such synced web storage?


And as to repairing your library be sure to always remember that this is the very last resort as repairing it will trigger a new total upload of all photos in the library to verify its integrity - this takes a long time and may require increasing your iCloud Storage to allow it to complete (in your case it does not look like it will) -- If iCloud Photo Library cannot be turned on again because of lack of Cloud storage after moving or restoring the Photos …


the test you did does indicate an issue with your local library but if you have had it on Google Drive it probably can not be repaired but will require restoring a backup from before it was synced by third party software


LN

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User profile for user: mmp1964a
mmp1964a Author
User level: Level 1
27 points

Mar 9, 2018 5:47 PM in response to Eric Root

OK. Did that about four hours ago - it has done nothing. It is stuck on re-syncing the library: "Uploading 8,806 items." It also deleted ~350 "low res" images that were on my Mini. Presumably they are still in the cloud. I can check on the web.


I'll let it run overnight. If nothing, then I guess I'll contact Apple support.

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User profile for user: mmp1964a
mmp1964a Author
User level: Level 1
27 points

Mar 10, 2018 3:04 PM in response to mmp1964a

Hi - as an update, I spent about 40 minutes on the phone w/ Apple. Set up a test account, and Photos seemed to start updating properly. That doesn't really help me though - so my options are to restore from a Time Machine backup prior to the first occurrence of this problem; Create a new Photos library and let it sync with iCloud; Create a new Photos library, export all of the pictures from the other library and import them to the new library. Based on export tests today, that seems like the export option would take a lifetime. The new library/sync w/ iCloud option seems the best, but I'm a bit worried that I would permanently lose the photos that were unable to download to my Mini.


I also have an 11" MacBook air and am trying to sync that library as well, but it also does not seem to be working.


While I ponder these various options, I installed Google Photos and am backing up my library to Drive. $1.99/month seems like a good deal for some extra protection.


Thanks to everyone who has offered your suggestions. Greatly appreciated.

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User profile for user: mmp1964a
mmp1964a Author
User level: Level 1
27 points

Apr 6, 2018 9:55 AM in response to mmp1964a

Hello.


Just to clarify - totally agree that I don't want to backup my Photos library on Google or DropBox (I believe I did that many years ago and the outcome was less than ideal). What I'm doing is just using the Google Photos app to create a redundant backup - so that when I take a picture on my phone, it is simultaneously saved to both iCloud and Google Drive.


And - as a final follow-up to my issue - I ended up restarting my modem and router - twice - and that ultimately solved the problem. I spent a fairly long time on the phone with a more senior Apple support person (maybe 2nd level support?) - and we gradually eliminated all other possibilities.


Thanks again for all of your help on this!

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photos not syncing

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