sync problems with photos and iCloud

Question

sync problems with photos and iCloud

Tahoe OS on MacStudio

Basically poor sync of iCloud photos to the Mac and Photos.

1) Sync of photos stalls

2) When I try to edit a photo in Photos, it seems as if it downloads the image but stops short. The Circle at the bottom right of the photo seems complete but the image is never allowed to be edited or exported.

The most reliable way to bring iCloud images into the Mac for Lightroom or any editing seems to be to log into iCloud and it's photos section and download the preferred images and then upload them where I want them. I had tried to only have full resolution images on photos by using the "Download Originals to this Mac" setting in Photos but it doesn't seem to work. I had "fixed" the photos library as well.

The issue of incomplete and slow sync to Photos is old.

Mac Studio (2022)

Posted on Sep 30, 2025 2:41 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Richard.Taylor

Level 6

16,615 points

Oct 1, 2025 8:48 AM in response to Robert Rosenberg3

How much free storage do you have on your Mac?

System Settings>General>Storage.

On my 1 TB MacAir I had really crazy stuff going on when I had only 130 GB free. It cleared up when I got over 150 GB free. Apple recommends keeping at least 10% of the storage free, but I've become convinced it should be at least 15% minimum, or even more.

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Answer 2

Oct 1, 2025 10:21 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Thanks for the thought but that's not the problem.

For some reason Photos on my Mac is unreliable for syncing with iCloud. The worst part is that when I try and export if an image isn't "available" is just hangs. The only way to know which image is the problem is to quit Photos. If multiple are a problem i need to find them one at a time.

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