Do photos upload to iCloud over cellular?

[stanw]

I just subscribed to the upgraded iCloud plan and shot some recent photos with my 6S+ and I am noticing that they are not appearing on my Macbook Pro inside of the Photos program. I am not at home and my 6S+ is using cellular data and my Macbook Pro is on an open WiFi connection.

Do photos from the 6S+ upload over cellular? OR do they only upload over WiFi?


Thanks.

 

[dennysanders]

pretty sure it will only upload to the cloud over wifi and the device also needs to either be plugged into power or have a full charge

 

[mattopotamus]

Wifi is required for the photo to upload. It does not have to be plugged in.

 

[cynics]

iCloud Photo Library requires Wifi and patience.

 

[stanw]

Thanks for the replies. I have unlimited data with VZW so I was hoping that I would be able to have my 6S+ upload photos and videos over data so I could start sharing them no matter where I am. That is what I previously did with DropBox and OneDrive. If I'm out and take photos and videos and want to share them before I get home to my WiFi or to some other WiFi connection, am I out of luck using iCloud sharing options?

Thanks.

 

[IowaLynn]

I use Google Drive, free for unlimited down-sized photos and those I think will upload on cellular. To me, if you are out shooting you want cellular and while wifi is capped for me at 2.5Mb/sec and slow so i prefer to not use wifi/ My cellular plan is more than I will use in a month also.

Video or size probably does matter, as well as resolution. (My old Sammy S6 takes huge photos, MB's in size, which was an issue. Changed to lower resolution in next S7.

Love the ^s+ best ever!

 

[stanw]

I use Google Drive, free for unlimited down-sized photos and those I think will upload on cellular. To me, if you are out shooting you want cellular and while wifi is capped for me at 2.5Mb/sec and slow so i prefer to not use wifi/ My cellular plan is more than I will use in a month also.

Video or size probably does matter, as well as resolution. (My old Sammy S6 takes huge photos, MB's in size, which was an issue. Changed to lower resolution in next S7.

Love the ^s+ best ever!

Are you saying that the photos uploaded to Google Drive get down-sized/compressed?

 

[cynics]

Thanks for the replies. I have unlimited data with VZW so I was hoping that I would be able to have my 6S+ upload photos and videos over data so I could start sharing them no matter where I am. That is what I previously did with DropBox and OneDrive. If I'm out and take photos and videos and want to share them before I get home to my WiFi or to some other WiFi connection, am I out of luck using iCloud sharing options?

Thanks.

Share them how? Couldn't you just do that from the iPhone you took the picture on?

If you wanted to do some editing on your MBP prior to sharing them I'd recommend just using AirDrop for those photos. Then delete them off your phone. Once you edit them and add them to photos the edited version will be uploaded to your phone via iCloud Photo Library...

 

[zorinlynx]

I wish Apple would add an "Upload photos over cellular now" button to the Photos app. Sometimes you're away from Wifi for a while and it'd be nice to back up your photos. I'm paying for a large data plan; why doesn't Apple want to let me use it?

 

[stanw]

Share them how? Couldn't you just do that from the iPhone you took the picture on?

If you wanted to do some editing on your MBP prior to sharing them I'd recommend just using AirDrop for those photos. Then delete them off your phone. Once you edit them and add them to photos the edited version will be uploaded to your phone via iCloud Photo Library...

Well, after taking lots of photos and videos, I'd like to be able to make a folder of lots of items and send out a link to them to people right than and there. I could do that with Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. I could send out some photos via email from the phone, though there are the file size limitations, and video is more problematic...

 

[stanw]

also, part of the reason I upgraded to the $.99 cent a month plan was because I was hoping that I would be able to share my photos/videos while on the go over cellular because I would have the extra storage to do so.

The other reason I did it was to simply get my photos/videos from my iPhone on to my Mac wirelessly. If I was not paying for the $.99 plan and just wanted to get my photos and videos synced from my phone to my Mac when I got home to WiFi, how can that be done? Can you get photos/videos off the iPhone to a Mac wirelessly without paying the upgrade fee?

Thanks.

 

[cynics]

also, part of the reason I upgraded to the $.99 cent a month plan was because I was hoping that I would be able to share my photos/videos while on the go over cellular because I would have the extra storage to do so.

The other reason I did it was to simply get my photos/videos from my iPhone on to my Mac wirelessly. If I was not paying for the $.99 plan and just wanted to get my photos and videos synced from my phone to my Mac when I got home to WiFi, how can that be done? Can you get photos/videos off the iPhone to a Mac wirelessly without paying the upgrade fee?

Thanks.

iCloud Photo Library is a library not a means of mass sharing photos like some other cloud based storage solutions offer.

The 99 cent fee that I believe you are referring is just a cloud upgrade in storage capacity from 5gb to 50gb. iCloud Photo Library works the same regardless of how much storage you pay for, well until you exceed the amount of storage you have.

And of course you can sync your phone with your Mac at home and not bother with any of this iCloud business!

 

[stanw]

I created some Shared albums of photos that is what I was hoping I could use iCloud Photo Library to mass share photos with...it seemed like you can share albums with people, though unfortunately, I guess it will only work after everything is uploaded via WiFi...

 

[PowerBook-G5]

I wish Apple would add an "Upload photos over cellular now" button to the Photos app. Sometimes you're away from Wifi for a while and it'd be nice to back up your photos. I'm paying for a large data plan; why doesn't Apple want to let me use it?

Totally agree. I have a decent data plan and don't use hotel Wi-Fi when I travel. I just need a button like you say.

Hopefully, hopefully, Apple has this planned for/will add this to the Photos app in iOS 10.

 

[cynics]

I created some Shared albums of photos that is what I was hoping I could use iCloud Photo Library to mass share photos with...it seemed like you can share albums with people, though unfortunately, I guess it will only work after everything is uploaded via WiFi...

You can use iCloud Photo Sharing (not to be confused with Library) while on cellular.

From the Photos.app select the image(s) you want, press the share icon (box with an arrow point up) and then select iCloud Photo Sharing. From there you can select which album to share with. I have 2 of them setup, one with family members and one with friends.

These shared photo galleries will sync with your Mac/iPad via your iCloud account.

Its not a means of storage/backup like iCloud Photo Library is, its just a way of sharing photos with friends/family. Photos can be liked and commented on like a private version of instagram. This only works with Apple devices though so its a bit limiting but its pretty fun to use.