Photos not downloading to my Mac

How do I kick it to start it syncing again

MacBook Pro (M1, 2020)

Posted on Jul 16, 2025 01:43 AM

Reply
1 reply

Jul 16, 2025 08:00 AM in response to steveu75

We don't give us much information. I wonder why it's not syncing? Can you tell us

  • Are you synchronizing Photos with an iPhone, as well?
  • Do you have "Optimized Storage" turned on in Settings>Photos for the phone?
  • Do you have "Optimized Storage" turned on for the Mac?
  • Do you have at least 10% free storage at on your Mac, on your iPhone, and at iCloud.com?
  • On the phone, at Settings>General>iPhone Storage, what does it say? For instance, mine says 76.64 GB of 128 GB used.
  • At Settings>Apple ID>iCloud, what does iCloud storage say? mine says 110 GB of 200 GB used.
  • What does your Mac's storage indicate?
  • At Settings>Apple ID>iCloud>iCloud Drive, is Sync this on?
  • On the Mac, have you tried tapping "Sync Now" at the bottom of the Library?


What happens if you

  • Restart the computer (of course)
  • Re-start in Safe Mode. This bypasses certain potentially disruptive processes, and it often helps. Safe Mode is different for different computers, so see this: 

           Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support 

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Photos not downloading to my Mac

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