Photos albums from Mac gone from phone after deleting phone-based albums

Question

Level 1

9 points

Photos albums from Mac gone from phone after deleting phone-based albums

MacBook Pro, Sonoma 14.7.6 [can't upgrade until I have successfully learned a replacement for Finale]; iPhone 11, iOS 18.5

I may have multiple issues.

My phone suddenly claims it doesn't have enough room to sync; it had no such problems yesterday. (I backup over wifi; I sync via USB.)

In Photos on the phone, I've always been annoyed that "My Albums" displayed some albums that I didn't create [WhatsApp, Twitter, etc] and I had to swipe to find the albums I synced from my MacBook. I deleted the bogus albums, thinking that it would put my actual albums on the main screen.

Instead, my MacBook albums are nowhere to be found.

I have shut down and restarted both the iPhone and the MacBook. Nothing changes.

What gives? Any advice? [I don't/won't sync via the cloud.]

iPhone 11

Posted on Jul 24, 2025 09:08 AM

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Answer 1

markwmsn

Level 6

16,643 points

Jul 24, 2025 10:22 AM in response to dalelyles

Sounds like your holdings have finally grown to the point where the albums you are trying to sync from your MacBook plus all the other stuff on your phone don't fit on your phone.

Can you try syncing just one or two albums to test that proposition?

Let us know how full your phone is after that.

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Answer 2

Jul 24, 2025 09:34 AM in response to dalelyles

So, can you tell us a bit more?

What does your Mac's Photos say at the bottom of the Library? Like this"

Are you using iCloud Photos to synchronize your devices?
Do you have “Optimize Storage” checked in Photos’ Settings on the Mac or the iPhone?
Do you see all your iPhone pictures at iCloud.com?
Do you see all your Mac pictures at iCloud.com?
Are all the Albums gone on the Mac?
Are all the Albums gone on the phone?
What do you mean by "MacBook Album?"
Do you have more than 10% free storage on your Mac? System Settings>General>Storage
Do you have more than 10% free storage on your iPhone?
Do you have more than 10% free storage on your iCloud account?

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Answer 3

dalelyles Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 24, 2025 09:54 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Thanks for any insight you can give me!

What does your Mac's Photos say at the bottom of the Library? Like this
- 31,000 photos, videos.
Are you using iCloud Photos to synchronize your devices?
- No.
Do you have “Optimize Storage” checked in Photos’ Settings on the Mac or the iPhone?
- Since I don't use iCloud, there is no Optimize Storage option.
Do you see all your iPhone pictures at iCloud.com?
- vid.sup.
Do you see all your Mac pictures at iCloud.com?
- vid.sup.
Are all the Albums gone on the Mac?
- The albums are all there on the Mac.
Are all the Albums gone on the phone?
- The albums have vanished on the phone.
What do you mean by "MacBook Album?"
- An album that I have created on the laptop in Photos.
Do you have more than 10% free storage on your Mac? System Settings>General>Storage
- Yes.
Do you have more than 10% free storage on your iPhone?
- Yes.
Do you have more than 10% free storage on your iCloud account?
- vid. sup.

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Answer 4

dalelyles Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 24, 2025 10:13 AM in response to dalelyles

Here's what the MacBook is claiming is being synced with the Phone:

None of these show up.

I thought of restoring a backup from yesterday before I deleted the iPhone-generated albums, but...

Apparently the only backup I have is the one I just did.

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Answer 5

dalelyles Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 24, 2025 12:25 PM in response to markwmsn

It is. It was bizarre. Lots of things escape my attention these days, but I don't think the option to display "From My Mac" was there to begin with, and if it were, how did it get unclicked? Oh well. It's fixed.

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Answer 6

Jul 25, 2025 07:30 AM in response to dalelyles

Picture "From My Mac" are those that are transferred from the Mac (duh!) Be careful-- these pictures are not "owned" by Photos on the phone, and you'll see (I think-- I've used iCloud so long I don't really remember this well) that those pictures can't be deleted or edited without using the computer.

Am I right? Does Photos give you the option to trash these "From My Mac" pictures?

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