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Photo Library Not supported

This is just non sense. My Mac mini can run at the most High Sierra but the photo library I created now cannot support its format and I have to upgrade photo? How do you do that? Buy a new mac device? Weird is I was able to open it before until all these updates. Apple just wants you to buy new device in the name under the guise of security?

Mac mini, macOS 10.13

Posted on Jan 8, 2022 9:14 AM

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5 replies

Jan 8, 2022 11:02 AM in response to edwinf08

Which system version did you use, when you created the Photos Library, that you no longer can open in Photos on High Sierra?


The Photos.app is a part of the system and can only be updated by system updates or upgrades.

Thus, the Photos.app can only open Photos Libraries that have been created or updated with the system version currently installed on your Mac or older Photos Libraries.


Directly after the upgrade to High Sierra there may still have been an alias to an older version of Photos on the Desktop or an outdated icon in the Dock. Try to launch the Photos.app directly from the folder Applications and avoid all Dock icons or alias.

  • Select Photos in your Applications folder.
  • Hold down the options key ⌥ and keep holding it down until the Library Chooser dialog appears. Release the options key.
  • Select your Photos Library from the list of libraries and click "Select Library".

Can Photos open the library this way?


Jan 11, 2022 1:04 PM in response to léonie

I only have one mac that I use for personal. And this is that mac mini. So all these photos are created here in the same system. I am already on the highest OS that this can support so these photos at the least should be backward compatible.


That's how I open photos because I have multiple libraries. So yes it can open that way. In fact, I can open one of the library but the other I cannot. But both of them were coming from this same system. So I don't see the reason why I cannot open both of these libraries since there's no way I could have created them on a newer version of Photos considering that I am already at the highest OS that my system can support. So unless apple made mistake long time ago about OS compatibility, I don't understand the problem

Jan 11, 2022 1:34 PM in response to TonyCollinet

Step by step for opening a photo library ? What else can there be in opening a photo library? I can even choose the library file itself and by default photo opens. I also did what was suggested which is to open photo while holding option to select the library. But then the Error "The library is from a newer version of Photos. Please upgrade Photos to open this library."

Jan 11, 2022 2:16 PM in response to edwinf08

There are differnt ways of opening a library. You can just start photos (from the dock, from the launch pad, from the applications folder). You can also use the option start method, or you can double click a photos library.


It is possible that if you are starting photos from the dock, that the icon is pointing to an older version of photos.


Try starting it from the applications folder.

Photo Library Not supported

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