I’m using iCloud Photo library and due to my almost-full storage, i activated ‘Optimise iPhone Storage’ for a while. Then the last week i changed it to ‘Download and Keep Originals’ and now whenever i edit a photo, the edits get lost tomorrow or later. I’m not sure that’s the reason why my photo edits are getting lost but i can’t see my previous edits too. So, i‘d be glad if someone knows how to fix this.
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
I understand you are using iCloud Photo Library to synchronize your photos between your Apple devices. It sounds like you optimized the photos on your iPhone to free up space, but then you reversed that action by choosing to download and keep the originals. If you do not have enough space on your iPhone, that could be the reason for the delay or the missing edits.
So, the first step is to go to www.icloud.com from a computer and see how many pictures are showing online.
Then open the Photos app on your iPhone and see if you are showing the same number of photos.
Next, check to see how much storage space you have available on your iPhone and in iCloud.
Manage your photo and video storage
If you don't have enough storage available on your iPhone you will need to turn the optimize setting back on. (Refer to the resource above.)
Note: You cannot delete photos on your iPhone with iCloud Photo Library enabled. This will delete the photos on all of your devices because iCloud Photo Library is a syncing service.
If you have a computer, the better option would be to export the photos or videos that you want to keep, but not take up space on your iPhone, to a folder on your Mac. You can export the images by "album" to a corresponding folder on your Mac. Exporting preserves all of the metadata for the images (date/time taken, camera settings, etc.). Once you confirm they have exported correctly, then you can delete them from the "System Library" which will free up the space on the iPhone and iCloud.
Designate a System Photo Library in Photos
For example, I do this with video files in my iCloud Photo Library because they take up so much space. When they are exported to a folder on my computer, then I can drag them into another application like iMovie or Final Cut Pro and edit them. Or, I can create a new library on my Mac and import the folders to the new library, which will reside on the computer, but not take up space in the iCloud Photo Library.
plmuhvrdzq, please reply to this thread with a little more information and we'll help you determine the best course of action for managing your photos and videos.
Take care.
Import to your PC
You can import photos to your PC by connecting your device to your computer and using Windows Photos app:
- Make sure that you have the latest version of iTunes on your PC. Importing photos to your PC requires iTunes 12.5.1 or later.
- Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your PC with a USB cable.
- You might need to unlock your iOS device using your passcode.
- You might also see a prompt on the iOS device asking you to Trust This Computer. Tap Trust or Allow to continue.
Then, follow the steps in these Microsoft knowledge base articles to learn how to import photos to Windows Photos app:
When you import videos from your iOS device to your PC, some might be rotated incorrectly in Windows Photos app. You can add these videos to iTunes to play them in the correct orientation.
Photos and videos that you sync from your computer to your iOS device using iTunes can't be imported back to your computer.
Learn what to do if you can‘t import photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer.
If you wish to continue using iCloud for photos and other documents, then you may need to increase the amount of iCloud Storage. You can also download iCloud for Windows to help you manage this data on your Windows PC.Make space on your device
If you see a message that your device storage is full, you can free up space on your device when you delete photos and videos.
Before you delete anything, make sure that you back up the photos and videos that you still want. When you use iCloud Photo Library and delete a photo on one device, it deletes on your other devices too. iCloud removes the photos from every device that you're signed in to with the same Apple ID.
Tapto delete photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. When you delete a photo, it goes into your Recently Deleted album. They'll stay in there for 30 days and then they're gone forever.
Delete photos permanently
If you want to permanently delete your photos or videos within 30 days, you can remove them from the Recently Deleted album. When you delete a photo from this album, you can't get it back.
- Open the Photos app and go to the Albums tab.
- Open the Recently Deleted album and tap Select.
- Tap each photo or video that you want to permanently delete.
- Tap Delete.
Thanks for your response.
Firstly, I’ve already done the first step, i’ve gone to icloud.com and compared the number of my pictures. Not all of them were showing there. I knew i wouldn’t see my whole photos because of my upload speed. For example, I can never upload photos to the app “Files” quickly. It’s so slow that i can’t upload as much as i want to.
I started to use iCloud Photo Library after i got not-enough-space notifications. I thought it could increase space on my phone. (My iPhone has 32 GB storage and now 1,93 GB is available. I have 50 GB iCloud storage and 42,9 GB is available.) I was already keeping my pictures on my computer to make sure i can reach them in any case so they’re fine.(By the way, i don’t have a Mac so i can’t use that way to keep my pictures). But my plan wasn’t keeping their low-resolution versions on my phone and the original ones on iCloud Library. When i open them, they need to load and use internet. But i want to see all of my pictures on my phone (i usually delete the unnecessary ones anyway).
So, my photos are safe even though their edits disappear everyday. But i have questions. Like if i turn off the iCloud library; do my photos that synchronized into iCloud disappear on my phone? (this situation occured once) Because i’d rather use iTunes, if i’m not gonna use iCloud completely for what i need. And if i reset my phone then restore, will my pictures show up again? I actually will reset my phone in summer because it has unnecessarily full storage.
Once and for all, if i quit using iCloud and use iTunes instead; will my contacts, voice memos, notes, music that i downloaded by my computer etc. restore too, if i restore my phone by iTunes? I know i made it complicated but the things i store on my phone are seriously important for me.
Thanks again for your attention!
My photo edits are not saving
