I have a family shared album (not started by me, but shared) that shows on my iPhone, but not my MacBook Air. I had previously always been able to see this shared album on both my Mac and my phone. How can I get the shared album to show on my Mac again?
MacBook Air (M2, 2023)
This is clearly a bug in macOS Photos app.
For me (macOS 14.5), MacBook Photos wouldn't even show that there is a Shared Library (Settings / Shared Library would show "Enable" button even though the Shared Library is in use). Out of desperation I rebooted the machine, and now Photos at least shows that Shared Library is enabled in Settings, but the Shared Library appeared empty and no syncing appeared to be ongoing.
Out of desperation I went to settings, iCloud and enabled "Download Originals to this Mac". The "Downloading x Originals" text appeared, but after a while photos started to pop up appearing in my Shared Library as well! The process is still ongoing, but it looks promising now.
This is clearly a bug in macOS Photos app.
For me (macOS 14.5), MacBook Photos wouldn't even show that there is a Shared Library (Settings / Shared Library would show "Enable" button even though the Shared Library is in use). Out of desperation I rebooted the machine, and now Photos at least shows that Shared Library is enabled in Settings, but the Shared Library appeared empty and no syncing appeared to be ongoing.
Out of desperation I went to settings, iCloud and enabled "Download Originals to this Mac". The "Downloading x Originals" text appeared, but after a while photos started to pop up appearing in my Shared Library as well! The process is still ongoing, but it looks promising now.
Where is your current Photos Library stored? Is it in your Pictures folder or on an external drive? You can see the location of your current library, when you open the Photos > Preferences and look at the General tab. The first line in the panel is showing the path to your library. Click the "Show in Finder" button to reveal it. Photos may have lost the connection to the System Photos Library, if you moved the library to an unsupported location, for example, to a NAS. If you cannot click the "Use as System Photos Library" butto, you may need to move the library to a supported location. Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
Only for the system Photos Library can the iCloud features enabled.
Try to create a new library for testing.
Do they now come back?
Stored in the Pictures folder. Also had moved it to an external drive. Away from home right now, so don't have access to the external drive. When I clicked on Use as System Photo Library the colored wheel came up and has not stopped now for a few hours. I can't open my library at all now. :( This is what I get.
Is the Shared Family album the only shraded album you are using? If not, can you see the other shared albums on your Mac?
If you cannot see a single shared album on your Mac, check if the disclosure triangle to the left of Shared Albums in the sidebar is pointing down as it should, or is the shared album section collapsed?
Are the Shared albums enabled in the Photos > Preferences (or Settings) > iCloud on your Mac?
Yes, shared family is the only shared album. Yes, disclosure triangle is pointing down. When I go to settings in photos for iCloud this is the message that comes up: iCloud features for Photos are only available in the System Photo Library
Shared Albums are only available on the System Photo Library.
And this too.
I just tried that and this came up. Which do I use - iCloud option or import option - to re-populate all of the photos that were there? It makes it seem that I am starting all over?
I tried import from file but that did not work. Using iCloud also did not work, just get the spinning circle. Back to square one with no access to photos.
shared album photos not showing on mac
