iCloud Photos not syncing

Question

Level 1

6 points

iCloud Photos not syncing

Since the last iOS update my photos weren’t syncing. I followed instructions from here to turn iCloud off and on again (I can see the photos on my other device).

Turning this off has deleted the photos from my iPhone but since I’ve turned it back on, they’re not downloading. I have plenty of space. I get the following message when I turn them on:

iCloud Restore in Progress iCloud Photos will begin syncing when this device has finished restoring from backup.

I've been waiting for a week but nothing’s happened.

iPhone 11 Pro, iOS 17

Posted on Oct 23, 2023 11:34 PM

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Answer 1

Ali_E1

Community Specialist

Oct 24, 2023 06:55 PM in response to Tom-nz

Hi Tom-nz,

When you restore an iCloud backup it can take awhile to completely restore, depending on the size of the backup and your Wi-Fi network. It's also possible the backup paused if you had to move away from the Wi-Fi network during the process of the restore and it never resumed.

Try to complete the restore with these steps to ensure you have the optimal environment to allow the backup to continue:

* Plug your device into power and make sure that you're connected to Wi-Fi. You can't restore from a backup over a cellular Internet connection.

* Check your software version and update if needed.

If restore from iCloud backup failed - Apple Support

Note that Low Power Mode pauses background activity, if you tend to leave your iPhone in this state, it will cause your restore and the iCloud Photos that are syncing to pause.

Regards.

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Answer 2

mingoslkd

Community Specialist

Oct 26, 2023 05:14 AM in response to Tom-nz

Hi Tom-nz,

Depending on how many photos/videos you have, and the network speed, it can definitely take awhile. Usually you'll see apps loading first, then the iCloud data.

We'd suggest keeping it plugged in, with Wi-Fi overnight again, and see if the next morning you've got some progress.

Here's some additional info which you can check:

About missing information after you restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iCloud Backup - Apple Support

Take care!

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Answer 3

Tom-nz Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 26, 2023 01:54 AM in response to Ali_E1

Thanks for the reply Ali,

I’ve followed the instructions and it’s still not working. The restore is complete, and my photos are stuck saying ‘syncing’ but nothing is actually changing, despite being plugged in and on Wi-Fi.

any other advice would be appreciated! Thanks

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Answer 4

Oct 29, 2023 08:17 AM in response to mingoslkd

I have this same problem, and it has lasted several days with no visible progress. How do I see if I've made any progress? The only indication that anything at all is happening is that Photos says "syncing". This solution is not working for me. I have ~2000 photos at around 7GB, so this is hardly a large amount of data.

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