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Mac Photos App Stuck on "Updating..."

I recently added several thousand old photos to my iCloud Photo Library. I can see them all on iCloud through my web browser and my iPhone.


When I open Photos on my Mac, iCloud Photo Library is turned on, but it has been stuck on "Updating..." for about 24 hours. Is this normal and should I just let it keep running to sync all the recently uploaded photos? Can this take several days or more?

iMac with Retina 5K display, macOS High Sierra (10.13.6), null

Posted on Aug 10, 2018 8:46 AM

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Posted on Aug 10, 2018 12:56 PM

I recently added several thousand old photos to my iCloud Photo Library.

How did you do that? From the Photos.app on your Mac or from a different device?


Is your Photos Library on your Mac stored locally in your Pictures folddr or on an external drive?


Typical reasons for the Photos Library hangin on "Updting" could be a lack of iCloud Storage, lack of storage on your mac, or third -party security software interfering. are you using a VPN software or an antiVirus filter, for example?

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Question marked as Best reply

Aug 10, 2018 12:56 PM in response to RBL

I recently added several thousand old photos to my iCloud Photo Library.

How did you do that? From the Photos.app on your Mac or from a different device?


Is your Photos Library on your Mac stored locally in your Pictures folddr or on an external drive?


Typical reasons for the Photos Library hangin on "Updting" could be a lack of iCloud Storage, lack of storage on your mac, or third -party security software interfering. are you using a VPN software or an antiVirus filter, for example?

Aug 10, 2018 9:55 AM in response to léonie

Thanks for the response. Here is the info:


1. Uploaded old photos to iCloud using Photos.app from a different Photos library stored on the same Mac.

2. Photos Library is stored locally in pictures folder.

3. Tons of extra iCloud space and storage on Mac, no VPNs or anti-virus running on host Mac.

Aug 10, 2018 9:38 PM in response to léonie

I created the smart album and its empty.


The size fo the Photos library I'm updating is about 12,000 photos, and the number of additional photos I uploaded to the cloud from the old library was about 7,000. If I log into iCloud in a browser I see all 19,000 photos, and also see all photos on my iPhone. It's just my Mac that is stuck on updating...

Aug 12, 2018 10:57 PM in response to RBL

So I'm not sure if this was a solution, but I quit Photos and restarted it by double clicking on the Photos Library in Finder, not by starting the Photos app.

This ensures that Photos is opening the correct Photos Library. But usually Photos should remember, which library has most recently been used, unless there is a problem with the home folder permissions.

Mac Photos App Stuck on "Updating..."

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