You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
💡 Did you know?
⏺ If you can't accept iCloud Terms and Conditions... Learn more >
⏺ If you don't see your iCloud notes in the Notes app... Learn more >
⏺ If you can't accept iCloud Terms and Conditions... Learn more >
⏺ If you don't see your iCloud notes in the Notes app... Learn more >
I use photos and have an iCloud account. My photos are on an external hard drive which is always switched on when I'm using photos, but the photos do no seem to be backing up to iCloud. I have all the necessary buttons switched on so am not sure quite what I'm doing wrong. Any help would be much appreciated.
iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 13.1
Have you designated it as your System Photo Library?
See item 5 in the following Apple Support article for information on Photos on an external drive: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
Have you designated it as your System Photo Library?
See item 5 in the following Apple Support article for information on Photos on an external drive: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
If you open the Photos app on you Mac, click Library in the sidebar and then scroll to the bottom of the main window, it will show the status of the sync.
Also, you're probably already aware, but it is a sync, not a backup. Any photos that you delete in the Photos app on your Mac, that deletion will immediately sync with iCloud an delete there as well. There is an approximately 30 day recovery period.
I think I've done everything you suggested and the photos on the external disc are now designated as the library ones that I use on the iMac. Not a lot has happened since doing this, I have 20k images on my external photos disc, but only about 2.5k on iCloud, mainly recent ones over the past 3 or 4 years, but none going back any further.I'm am in the process of trying to get this library in proper catalogues order, and am making progress.When that is done I might try iCloud again, or am considering using google photos. I'm grateful for your help in this.
It's all a bit of a journey into deep space for me!
I have now! Thanks for your help, very grateful. I will take a look tomorrow to see if it has managed to back it all up from there. Kind regards Paul
Just one more small question, is there a way of knowing if iCloud is backing up when photos is on?
iCloud Photos and external drive
