I have a shared iCloud Photo Library that works well to share photos with my partner on both our iPad and iPhones. I do not seem to be able to access the shared library on either mine or my partners profiles on our rather ancient iMac that (can only) run Big Sur 11. Is there something I am missing or is it not possible to access shared photo library on Big Sur?
Earlier Mac models
For requirements for a shared photo library, see the following from: How to use iCloud Shared Photo Library - Apple Support
To set up a Shared Library, you need a device with iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, or macOS Ventura or later with iCloud Photos turned on. If you're under 13, you can only join or create a Shared Library with members of your Family Sharing group.*
and
To join a Shared Library, you need a device with iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, or macOS Ventura or later with iCloud Photos turned on. If you're under 13, you can only join or create a Shared Library with members of your Family Sharing group.*
So the answer to my question about a Mac running Big Sur is no. Any suggestions about a work-around? If the photos were in the shared edia folders on the mac, I am not clear how that would affect the upload to icloud.
There is a work around. By installing Open Core Legacy Patcher on older hardware you can upgrade your Big Sur Mac to Ventura or later to be able to use this feature. Especially machines post 2012 fitted with SSD run the newest OS's in een decent speed. And with almost all features. It's not really hard to do actually
This is different than the new Shared Photo Library feature but may do what you want and it is available on older versions: How to use Shared Albums in Photos on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Apple Support
Thanks, I’ll give that a go when I see my sister in the New Year. It’s her old Mac!
Shared iCloud Photo Library on Mac with Big Sur
