Problem backing up iPhone photos to Photos app

Maybe I'm in the shrinking minority of non-cloud users but with the iPhone 15, I'm stuck unable to backup photos to the Photos app. This has always worked fine, and I prefer the manual backup to my MacBook Pro, but is this no longer supported? I tried chatting with Apple but only found fairly slow-witted agents who didn't have any ideas of what to do.


Is it a photo format/size issue? I get either that phony "Preparing to import..." message, or sometimes, "No Photos." I have a ton of photos and like keeping a fair number on the phone, though after I back it up, I delete many. It appears I'm being forced to pay for iCloud storage...


Any thoughts or help out there?

Thanks!

iPhone 7, iOS 15

Posted on Oct 4, 2023 08:54 PM

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2 replies

Apr 22, 2024 09:07 AM in response to Seracious

At any time did you get a notification like this when you connected your iPhone to your Mac via it's charging cable?



I get one after nearly every system update or upgrade. Did you install it?


Give Image Capture a try. With it you can download manually selected photos to a folder on the Desktop or import directly into your Photos library. See if it works for you.


Additionally before the above give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.


NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files


NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.




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Problem backing up iPhone photos to Photos app

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