iCloud Photos from 2025 not syncing to iCloud - just upgraded phone and need these photos :(

So the problem isn't with the new phone not syncing-- it is accurately copying everything at iCloud Photos. The problem is that the old phone has not been synchronizing with iCloud. What have you tried with that phone?

Do you have a backup of those new pictures? Remember, iCloud isn't working with it! There might be some thing to try, but if you can back that phone up to a computer, that would be safer.

You say "showing up on iCloud backup," but it's impossible to look inside of an iCloud backup. Are you using iCloud Photos (which is not a backup) to hold your pictures, or are you depending on iCloud Backup? Pictures can't be in both places.

You didn't give us much information to work with. If you're using iCloud Photos:

• Are you using Optimize Storage?
• How much free storage do you have on your new phone? Is it more than 10% of the total storage space?
• How much free storage do you have on your old phone? Is it more than 10% of the total storage space?
• How long have you had the new phone?
• When you go to Photos at iCloud.com, do you see all the pictures there?
• When look at Photos at iCloud.com, how many pictures does it say are there?

• When you look at Photos on your new phone, how many pictures does it say are there?

Mine are exactly the same.

• When you look at Photos on your old phone, how many pictures does it say are there?
• Is your Library view on your phone sorting by Date Added or Date Captured? Do you see a difference when you switch?
• Is your Library view on our phone using a Filter?

Let us know…

So you have about 4000 pictures on the old phone that aren't synchronized with iCloud Photos, and those are all, or nearly all, taken in the last year-- is that about right?

• Are you using Optimize Storage?

When you look at some of the new pictures that are not syncing, can you edit these pictures? When you go into Edit Mode, does it show you all the normal edit tools?

As long as you enable iCloud Photos on both devices, your photos will sync provided that you have enough storage space in iCloud to support the files being synced.