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User profile for user: TodFromIndiana
TodFromIndiana Author
User level: Level 1
56 points

Sync photos across devices + iCloud

How can I ensure that my collection of some 25,000 photos is synchronized between my Mac (Monterey), my iPad (15.4.1) and iCloud?


I'm running duplicate finders and want to be sure that duplicates found and trashed on my iPad are likewise trashed on my Mac and in iCloud.


My iPad Photos settings are: iCloud on, Optimize iPad storage on.


My Mac photo settings are: Photo Library is in Pictures folder, Pictures uses Photo Library as the System Photo Library, iCloud settings includes Photos.


I ask because there is a disparity between my devices regarding the number of images (24,528 on Mac, 25,703 on iPad), and Albums (none on Mac, 4 on iPad).


What's the best way to resolve these differences? I can't locate where photos or the Photo Library is stored in iCloud or on my iPad.


Thank you.

Posted on May 5, 2022 8:49 PM

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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
197,297 points

Posted on May 5, 2022 9:36 PM

You can see the number of photos and videos in iCloud on your iCloud webpage . Open the webpage www.icloud.com in a Browser on your Mac, sign in with the same AppleID you are using for iCloud on the iPad and your Mac, then open the Photos.app from the web page.

At the bottom of the web page you can see the number of photos and videos in iCloud Photos. is it the same number as on your iPad or your Mac? Is the status bar below the number of photos and videos showing updated just now?


You may also want to check the status bar below the All Photos album in Photos on your Mac and on your iPad. Check the status of your library in Photos for macOS - Apple Support


Before you can compare the number of photos you have to wait for the syncing to finish. It can take more than a week for a library with more than 20000 items to sync completely. As long as you are seeing items listed as "unable to upload" or "on this Mac only" the syncing may not succeed - you will first have to fix the problematic items. The albums will appear once the syncing of all photos and videos has been completed.


One more thing - you mention you have been using duplicate cleaners. Some of them can damage a Photos library very badly, beyond repair. Which duplicate cleaner have you been using? Apple is warning against these tools: Using third-party apps to remove duplicate photos might damage your Photos for macOS library - Apple Support

Do not use tools, that will delete the photos directly, only tools that are adding duplicates to an album in Photos, where you can use the Photos.app to delete the duplicates.

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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
197,297 points

May 5, 2022 9:36 PM in response to TodFromIndiana

You can see the number of photos and videos in iCloud on your iCloud webpage . Open the webpage www.icloud.com in a Browser on your Mac, sign in with the same AppleID you are using for iCloud on the iPad and your Mac, then open the Photos.app from the web page.

At the bottom of the web page you can see the number of photos and videos in iCloud Photos. is it the same number as on your iPad or your Mac? Is the status bar below the number of photos and videos showing updated just now?


You may also want to check the status bar below the All Photos album in Photos on your Mac and on your iPad. Check the status of your library in Photos for macOS - Apple Support


Before you can compare the number of photos you have to wait for the syncing to finish. It can take more than a week for a library with more than 20000 items to sync completely. As long as you are seeing items listed as "unable to upload" or "on this Mac only" the syncing may not succeed - you will first have to fix the problematic items. The albums will appear once the syncing of all photos and videos has been completed.


One more thing - you mention you have been using duplicate cleaners. Some of them can damage a Photos library very badly, beyond repair. Which duplicate cleaner have you been using? Apple is warning against these tools: Using third-party apps to remove duplicate photos might damage your Photos for macOS library - Apple Support

Do not use tools, that will delete the photos directly, only tools that are adding duplicates to an album in Photos, where you can use the Photos.app to delete the duplicates.

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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
197,297 points

May 6, 2022 11:36 PM in response to TodFromIndiana

The syncing of the albums should catch up, once the photos and videos have all been transferred and if you have enough free storage on all devices.


The most items seem to be in iCloud. Does the "Brownies" album from the iPad appear in iCloud, including all photos?


I had also trouble to get the Mac again to sync after the upgrade to Monterey.

After waiting a week for the Mac to catch up, I solved it by recreating the Photos Library from iCloud.

  • First I copied the Mac Photos Library to an external drive to keep it safe and archive the projects. The projects are not synced to iCloud Photos and cannot be recovered from iCloud. Manually assigned faces are also not always restored from iCloud.
  • Then I deleted the internal Photos Libraryand created a new empty Photos Library in the Pictures folder.
  • With the new Photos Library open in Photos I set the Photos > Preferences > General: use as System Photos Library
  • Then "Photos > Preferences > iCloud: iCloud Photos"

Now I waited for the library to download back from iCloud. This is essentially rebuilding the library from iCloud. I just had to confirm a lot of faces again.



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User profile for user: TodFromIndiana
TodFromIndiana Author
User level: Level 1
56 points

May 6, 2022 12:01 PM in response to léonie

@léonie: Thanks for your detailed answer.


Here are some numbers:


on iCloud.com/photos: 27,701 photos, updated 2:27pm (the exact time I accessed the web page)

on Mac: 24,509 photos (no update time listed)

on iPad: 25,703, updated "yesterday"


I am not seeing the "unable to load" or "on this Mac only" messages though I haven't scrolled through my entire photo collection.


The iPad has an album named "Brownie's" with a dozen images that doesn't appear on Mac.


Thank you for the advice about using third-party apps to find and delete Photos Library images; one of these, (Duplicate Annihilator) put images to be deleted in a "duplicates" album on my Mac, which I then I manually deleted. I don't recall about the other two apps. Incidentally, each duplicate finder leaves actual duplicates that others manage to find. None of these apps is perfect, but they've helped identify and remove many similar and exact duplicates in a Finder Pictures folder (not the Photo Library).


So, in sum I guess the two devices and iCloud numbers are close enough that I don't need to worry. Eventually they'll catch up I suppose.

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Sync photos across devices + iCloud

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