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iPhone iCloud Original Photos Not Downloading
- Thread starter Z6128
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Just re-adding the above since it's a new page and would be good for people with this issue to see.
I had the exact same problem with new iPhone 11 Pro. Set it up from iCloud backup on Sept. 21. Photo library has 44,000 photos and the originals are stored on the phone. I have done this process on numerous prior iPhones and iPads and never experienced anything this bad. From past experience I expected process to take 2-3 days. The first two days proceeded normally and got down to about 22,000 left to download, when whole process stopped and got stuck. For 11 days I tried every trick in the books. Turned on and off, hard rebooted, paused/resumed, etc etc. Phone was plugged in on very fast wifI every day and night. The only thing that seemed to unstick the process was turning phone off and on and that only worked sometimes, mostly at night or early morning. When it worked I sometimes got a handful of photos, and sometimes over 1000 before it froze again. After first few days I opened a case with Apple Support, and sent diagnostic logs that were forwarded to engineering. They had no answer other than a "deduction" that it had to do with a low battery issue and make sure it was charged. Clearly a bad deduction since it was always plugged in and virtually always at 100% charge.
In any event after 11 days of this frustration ( the last 18 hour freeze coming 2 days ago at less than 200 photos!). I finally got a restart to kickstart it to finish yesterday at 5:30 am. Clearly there is a problem that Apple needs to fix.
In any event after 11 days of this frustration ( the last 18 hour freeze coming 2 days ago at less than 200 photos!). I finally got a restart to kickstart it to finish yesterday at 5:30 am. Clearly there is a problem that Apple needs to fix.
I've also noticed that I can't search by location for any of my photos. I've restored 5+ plus times while running these tests for apple. My last restore was able to search photos by location no problem... now it just says no photos for that location... meanwhile, the maps on each of the photos says otherwise. Just a ton of issues across the board.
My experience is so similar. Apole blamed in on my WiFi - it's 300mbps fibre, so that cannot be it. Also it did the same at work.
I love it how these engineers are so trained to look outward, never thinking it's a problem on their side. It's such a massive waste of time. I have an elevated case too, but no log files were exchanged. Which is also baffling me - why don't they get some log files of my phone and see what's going on?
john991
macrumors 601
I had this problem too, but once all the photos downloaded I was able to search by location.
Are your photos downloaded completely?
john991
macrumors 601
Good luck. Let us know how you get on!
Ok factory reset, photos wiped off iPhone restore by iTunes. And now photos are getting uploaded to iCloud! Why or why are they getting uploaded to iCloud? Shouldn’t they be downloading? I thought if you restore by iTunes, photos get downloaded from iCloud.
I’m on optimize photo library bc all my photos won’t fit on my phone. Even with that on, most thumbnails are missing and only way to get them to load is to slowly scroll. Hoping they fix all this soon so I don’t need to do another restore.
I’ve tried all kinds of stuff short of restoring the phones stuck on 15902 photos to download.
Also having bluetooth issues. Not loving the new iPhone nor iOS 13. I’m sure it will get fixed.
Also having bluetooth issues. Not loving the new iPhone nor iOS 13. I’m sure it will get fixed.
StumpyBloke
macrumors 603
Mine was always saying uploading as well to start. And then it would start downloading… Of course at a snail’s pace.
john991
macrumors 601
after resetting, restore, photos uploading back at one photo stuck uploading. iPP and iPhone have exact same photo count. Time to call Apple.
and Apple Engineer still hasn’t called me back. Email message left along with voice mail message. 😱 The thing is if I reboot or turn off the phone photos says update complete. As soon as I kill the photo app in task manager and launch it again, boom stuck at uploading. So for now I left it open to see if it stops uploading the one item. So far so good. Could be a bug in photo app. And I just left feedback for the beta.
Last edited:
john991
macrumors 601
Ok, finally the uploading finished. But what’s strange is under recent photos there are 2 dated 2017! For sure I didn’t import those pictures. So photos app on the iPhone / iPad definitely have some issues with sorting photos by date. Hopefully Apple fixes this bug.
anyone else notice pictures are out of order?
anyone else notice pictures are out of order?
I believe the recents album sorts by the date of adding a photo to your library. It's kind of like a camera roll.
It should have all your photos, at least for me, not only recent ones. It's confusing though.
It should have all your photos, at least for me, not only recent ones. It's confusing though.
StumpyBloke
macrumors 603
john991
macrumors 601
I don’t think so... on the bright side I can kill the photo app reload it on the iPhone and no more stuck uploading. I downloaded 17 pictures from a web site on my iPhone which completed and uploaded to iCloud ok, and now there are 14 pictures stuck downloading on my iPad. (Trying to sync from iCloud). Been 10 hours so far! 😱
Mine is now down from 65k photos to still downloading 1,800. It is stuck on that number for the last 4 days and no matter how many times I restart te device, share photos, etc... it does not move. Very, very annoying that Apple cannot fix this.
The same issue has been bugging me all week since I got the phone. I have around a 30k library. I finally managed to find two ways to force a download of the original photos:
1) If you have a small library you can select all the photos and then share with mail. This will force a download.
2) If you open google photos to start a backup onto google, the app will touch each photo and force a download.
Very annoying, hope this works for you guys.
1) If you have a small library you can select all the photos and then share with mail. This will force a download.
2) If you open google photos to start a backup onto google, the app will touch each photo and force a download.
Very annoying, hope this works for you guys.
StumpyBloke
macrumors 603
Mine has finally completed. But I did open a case with Apple. I think everyone else should too. Clearly something is wrong.
i just installed a fresh Catalina on my Mac, and it seems downloading originals is problematic there as well.
i just installed a fresh Catalina on my Mac, and it seems downloading originals is problematic there as well.
john991
macrumors 601
I struggled since launch day with this. I have a few hundred vids and 10k photos, 66GB worth. I tried everything to include full wipe and setup as new. After a couple calls to Apple support, a senior advisor said she reset something on my iCloud account to aid in completion of downloading. Not sure if that was true or not, but I gave it as much patience as I could. In the end, leaving it connected to a charger, on WiFi, with photos running finally worked. It took about 6-7 days of this routine. Before I spoke with the senior advisor and she allegedly triggered something on my account I never gave it this much time to see if it would finish.
Al I can say is I have everything downloaded now and also encourage everyone to call Apple and share what’s happening to their customers.
FWIW, I downloaded about 90GB of Apple Music in 2.5 hrs, not sure why less photos takes 100 times longer.
Al I can say is I have everything downloaded now and also encourage everyone to call Apple and share what’s happening to their customers.
FWIW, I downloaded about 90GB of Apple Music in 2.5 hrs, not sure why less photos takes 100 times longer.
What is the best way to report to Apple? Is there a link to where we can log issues? Seriously, it has been almost 2 weeks. This is ridiculous!!!
1-800-MYAPPLE or call via the support app. Just skip the first round and go to a senior advisor or an engineer.
Going to add this again since people are asking how to get in touch with them:
——————
Hi all. I've been in communication with a senior advisor at Apple support and it sounds like they are aware that there is likely an issue here. I've sent them a bit of information, but I asked him how you all can help providing them with data to determine the cause.
They told me to call 800-275-2273. When prompted for what you need support on, say "Photos". This will transfer you to their "Creative Media" team. Tell them that you are having an issue with iCloud photos since the restore and/or that you have tons of white thumbnails when browsing photos. They should know about it at this point, will likely relay the information to their superiors or will get you a senior advisor if they feel appropriate.
Hopefully if enough of us call and provide information, it will help them determine what they need to fix. Let us know if this even helps and what they say when you call.
——————
Hi all. I've been in communication with a senior advisor at Apple support and it sounds like they are aware that there is likely an issue here. I've sent them a bit of information, but I asked him how you all can help providing them with data to determine the cause.
They told me to call 800-275-2273. When prompted for what you need support on, say "Photos". This will transfer you to their "Creative Media" team. Tell them that you are having an issue with iCloud photos since the restore and/or that you have tons of white thumbnails when browsing photos. They should know about it at this point, will likely relay the information to their superiors or will get you a senior advisor if they feel appropriate.
Hopefully if enough of us call and provide information, it will help them determine what they need to fix. Let us know if this even helps and what they say when you call.
Has anyone seen the same problem on their Mac by any chance? I am seeing it there too. That makes it more likely to be a server problem. Fresh installation of Catalina GM. Stuck on Downloading originals.
To be honest, I am beginning to suspect thatit's an active act of bandwidth throttling/managing on Apple's side.
I had two photos that refused to download on my iPad during the day yesterday on my iPad, and then suddenly overnight, they were there.
To be honest, I am beginning to suspect thatit's an active act of bandwidth throttling/managing on Apple's side.
I had two photos that refused to download on my iPad during the day yesterday on my iPad, and then suddenly overnight, they were there.