iPhone Idiot iCloud photos questions

[lyceumHQ]

sorry for the idiot questions. I’ve used iCloud photos once and found it awful but would like to give it another go.

I already have over 5k pics on my phone that I’ve synced via iTunes, all in albums etc. When I click turn iCloud photos on it wants to delete them.

Without having to download iCloud for windows and sync the photos via that how can I get the photos on my phone to iCloud photos? Or do I HAVE to download the desktop version.

Last time I used it I gave up in the end because every time I deleted a picture on my device it would reappear again as soon as I switched my desktop on because I had the desktop app. So I don’t want to have that happen again. I spent two hours on to Apple help who couldn’t figure out a way to enable me to have the desktop version and not have pics I’d deleted on my devices just appear again.

Sorry for the essay there. Basically the pics I have on my phone that I have synced from iTunes. How do I get them to iCloud pics without a PC?

Can I upload an album to iCloud photos and have them stay in that album?

 

[Minorite]

From what I remember photos synced with Folder sync (iTunes and 99,9% of iTunes laternatives) won't be synced with iCloud or included in iTunes backup... Sorry to be that guy. p.s. Google Photos as an alternative are not an option as I understand?

 

[lyceumHQ]

No I’d rather someone was that guy! Save me a lot of time.

I love my iPhone I really do but apples handling of photos is still terrible.

Will have a look at google photos
[doublepost=1542141348][/doublepost]Would it work if I installed the desktop version of iCloud photos. Uploaded the photos there then deleted it?

Obviously any future photos I took when then automatically sync to iCloud

 

[HDFan]

When I click turn iCloud photos on it wants to delete them.

Are you referring to the optimize option, where originals are kept in the cloud?

My workflow is to always copy new photos on my phone to a folder on a hard disk, since Lightroom is my primary photo management app. Then I can turn on optimize photos and not worry about the originals being lost due to a glitch somewhere.

 

[lyceumHQ]

Are you referring to the optimize option, where originals are kept in the cloud?

My workflow is to always copy new photos on my phone to a folder on a hard disk, since Lightroom is my primary photo management app. Then I can turn on optimize photos and not worry about the originals being lost due to a glitch somewhere.

In all honesty I’ve never heard of the optimizenoption of workflow. When I go into the iCloud settings and switch photos on on it tells me it will remove the pictures I have synced via iTunes.

I don’t have a Mac I have a windows PC.

When I last used iCloud photos I had the desktop app which was a nightmare every time I’d delete a picture from my device it would reappear after my desktop has synced because I obviously wasn’t deleting it from the PC.

I spent hours on the phone to Apple and they couldn’t find a solution to that either. So I don’t want to have the desktop app.

It amazes me that iTunes was the only way to get photos on your phone for so long and now Apple won’t let iCloud and iTunes work together. It’s ridiculous.

 

[HDFan]

As I don't use Windows as my primary desktop there may be complications that I do not understand. On a Mac everything is done in Photos or in Settings, rather than iTunes (other than Home Sharing).

On your iPhone/iPad, settings, your iCloud username at the top, there are various options.

iCloud photos - automatic upload of your photos, enable seeing all of your photos on all devices

Optimize iPad storage - if set full resolution photos are only kept in iCloud if you run out of space. It is unclear to me whether this also includes photos which were taken on that device. To make sure I turn off this option when I'm traveling and am taking a lot of photos, so I can transfer the full size originals to disk when I return.

Upload to my photo stream. I think this option is only useful when iCloud photos is turned off. I have seen a "My Photo Stream" album, but don't have it right now so assume it's because iCloud photos is on. It does not work well traveling when you have slow WiFi access.

Burst photos, shared albums - as described in settings.

When I last used iCloud photos I had the desktop app which was a nightmare every time I’d delete a picture from my device it would reappear after my desktop has synced because I obviously wasn’t deleting it from the PC.

The desktop app was iTunes or ? If I delete a photo in Mac Photos, it disappears on my other devices immediately.

So it's complicated, and Windows probably isn't helping. That's why I keep my photos in folders on my disk. This also makes the backup strategy (3 backups, 3 locations, 3 different storage types) easier.

 

[lyceumHQ]

As I don't use Windows as my primary desktop there may be complications that I do not understand. On a Mac everything is done in Photos or in Settings, rather than iTunes (other than Home Sharing).

On your iPhone/iPad, settings, your iCloud username at the top, there are various options.

iCloud photos - automatic upload of your photos, enable seeing all of your photos on all devices

Optimize iPad storage - if set full resolution photos are only kept in iCloud if you run out of space. It is unclear to me whether this also includes photos which were taken on that device. To make sure I turn off this option when I'm traveling and am taking a lot of photos, so I can transfer the full size originals to disk when I return.

Upload to my photo stream. I think this option is only useful when iCloud photos is turned off. I have seen a "My Photo Stream" album, but don't have it right now so assume it's because iCloud photos is on. It does not work well traveling when you have slow WiFi access.

Burst photos, shared albums - as described in settings.



The desktop app was iTunes or ? If I delete a photo in Mac Photos, it disappears on my other devices immediately.

So it's complicated, and Windows probably isn't helping. That's why I keep my photos in folders on my disk. This also makes the backup strategy (3 backups, 3 locations, 3 different storage types) easier.

There's a desktop iCloud program, it doesn't link or talk to itunes.

I have about 5 backups that's not the issue, the issue is I want to use icloud for my phone pics so they're automatically backed up but there doesn't seem to be an easy way to do that, it seems unless you own a mac apple want it to be about as unintuitive as possible.

Last time if I deleted a pic from my phone or iPad it was still on my desktop, obviously, as that's the primary place I store pictures, so as soon as I put my desktop on the deleted image would reappear on iCloud. I also like yourself have my pictures sorted into folders, they vanish when uploaded to itunes so I have an 'all' pictures folder with 10k pics in I have to manually sort into folders.

Guess I'll not bother, apple really need to get their act together with this.

 

[lyceumHQ]

Just to update this I gave it another go and they’ve changed a lot. I can now organise into albums on iCloud which then transfer over to my iDevices and remain in the folders.

Deleting stuff from my phone also deletes it on iCloud where when I last used it, it didn’t.

Much better experience this time around. Not perfect but I’m happy to use it now.

 

[Razeus]

iCloud Photos won't sync anything that's synced via iTunes (photos or videos).

That's because iCloud wants your ORIGINALS. The ones that are synced by iTunes are "resized". It would have been simpler if iTunes had a "sync originals" checkbox, but it doesn't (yet somehow they have one for music to be "resized" to 128kpbs).

What you're going to have to do is unsync, and make sure the photos are deleted from your phone, then use an app called "Photo Transfer App" to move the photos from your computer to your iPhone.

 

[lyceumHQ]

Ignore that.

Deleted some stuff off my phone but it reappeared ten minutes later because it’s on my desktop.

How can this be so hard. Surely Apple should realise that all the pics on the desktop are backups and if I delete it off my phone I don’t want it on my phone. I also deleted it from the iCloud website and again it’s reappeared as soon as my desktop is on.

Surely it can’t be so hard to implement a system whereby it says okay user has deleted this file from their iDevice three times so let’s not reupload it as they clearly don’t want it there.

Which means to organise the pictures in iCloud I have to go to my desktop. Make sure they’re not in the folder I’ve chosen to sync/backup then delete them from iCloud and my iPhone. It’s a mess.

 

[HDFan]

Surely Apple should realise that all the pics on the desktop are backups

If it were only that simple. My desktop has my original master photos. iCloud is for me a backup.

 

[lyceumHQ]

If it were only that simple. My desktop has my original master photos. iCloud is for me a backup.

That’s what I meant basically. I don’t want every pic on my desktop on my phone. But it seems I have to either delete it from my desktop or make a different folder to put pictures and videos I don’t want uploaded in. Which is ridiculous as they’re already organised etc.

 

[HDFan]

On a Mac If you only want selected photos on your device you would turn off iCloud photos on your phone. In iTunes you would select your phone, photos, and then would be given options:

Sync Photos
All Photos
Selected albums
Only favorites
Include videos

With these options you either "favorite" the photos you want on your phone, or put them into an album, and then sync. Not sure if this is what you want.

I installed iTunes for Windows in my Windows 10 virtual machine and it seems as if it has the same functionality. My attached iPad did not show as it was already attached to iTunes on the Mac side. I'm not sure how to configure Parallels to see it, so I could not test.

 

[lyceumHQ]

On a Mac If you only want selected photos on your device you would turn off iCloud photos on your phone. In iTunes you would select your phone, photos, and then would be given options:

Sync Photos
All Photos
Selected albums
Only favorites
Include videos

With these options you either "favorite" the photos you want on your phone, or put them into an album, and then sync. Not sure if this is what you want.

I installed iTunes for Windows in my Windows 10 virtual machine and it seems as if it has the same functionality. My attached iPad did not show as it was already attached to iTunes on the Mac side. I'm not sure how to configure Parallels to see it, so I could not test.

Thanks. But no, that’s not what I want. I was already doing that.

What I wanted to do was move exclusively to iCloud and have my phones photos backed up there (I already copy to my PC and backup in several other places so not JUST using iCloud).

But to use iCloud photos you can’t sync via iTunes. If you have done, it deletes all the photos you have synced. So then if you want those photos it’s just deleted you have to upload them to iCloud. Either via browser or via the iCloud desktop app.

Problem with the desktop app is if you delete it on your phone and it’s still on your desktop it just syncs again.

I’m just going to delete everything and use the browser not the desktop app.

 

[lyceumHQ]

I give up. Removed iCloud app from my windows PC. Deleted ALL photos for my phone. They were removed from iCloud.

Trying to upload them now via the iCloud website. Every two seconds I get an ‘iCloud photos has stopped responding’

It’s taken over an hour to upload fifty pictures.

I love my iDevices but iCloud is a POS.

I’ve tried on Firefox, chrome and edge. Same thing.

 

[diamond.g]

So if I understand your requirements, you want your photos on your phone and desktop and icloud. You want to be able to delete photos from your phone (and icloud) but keep them on your desktop.

Really the only way to do that is upload all your photos to icloud from your desktop, then turn off icloud syncing on your desktop. I think if you use the web page for icloud you will be able to download new photos without causing icloud to resync the photos from your desktop.

Alternatively you can use Google Photos (more Windows friendly).

 

[lyceumHQ]

So if I understand your requirements, you want your photos on your phone and desktop and icloud. You want to be able to delete photos from your phone (and icloud) but keep them on your desktop.

Really the only way to do that is upload all your photos to icloud from your desktop, then turn off icloud syncing on your desktop. I think if you use the web page for icloud you will be able to download new photos without causing icloud to resync the photos from your desktop.

Alternatively you can use Google Photos (more Windows friendly).

I always backup my photos to my desktop anyway but without iCloud photos switched on I can’t access all my photos across all my devices. I don’t take pictures with my iPad but the screen is better for showing people pictures with.

It’s annoying as they’re all sorted into folders but they don’t remain in those folders on ICloud if I’ve used iCloud for windows. So I then have to once again manually sort thousands of pictures into albums.

And since uploading via Firefox isn’t working (tried Firefox, chrome, IE, edge) I don’t really have a choice if I want to use iCloud photos but to use the windows one.

Have it uploading everything now. I’ll then spend the next week sorting into albums etc.

It just seems so counterintuitive that iCloud for windows is so far from being user friendly. I know Apple think the iCloud is the backup but who doesn’t backup to a few places? Especially important things like pictures. But you can’t do that.

Then there’s the issue of pictures reappearing. I have one set of about ten pictures. They’re already on my phone and yet for some reason a second copy of them keeps appearing. I’ve checked iCloud and my other devices and they’re not there. There’s only one set on my desktop. I’ve deleted them around 10 times and they still keep reappearing.

 

[BBDDVV]

Strange, no such issues for me on Windows 10/iCloud desktop app: all pictures download to my pc and stay there. Deleting a picture on the phone doesn't delete it on my pc, and the deleted picture also doesn't re-appear on my phone.
Deleting a picture on the pc doesn't remove it from iCloud.
What I did just notice it that the Downloads folder in the iCloud Photos-folder (on pc) has a read-only attribute (well, the read-only checkbox is filled (it's tri-state checkbox) not just checked; don't remember ever setting this myself).

About uploading pictures from Windows' Explorer to iCloud, it just requires copying them to the Uploads-folder in the iCloud Photos-folder. They're then uploaded to iCloud (might take a couple of seconds for the upload to begin, check the iCloud app's status). Once I see them on my phone, I delete them from the Uploads folder (and they stay in iCloud).

Adding a picture to a shared (or new) album is also easy from inside Windows Explorer: right click a picture and then click 'Add to shared album' and select from the list of shared albums.

This iCloud Photos folder, together with the 3 subfolders (Downloads, Uploads and Shared), as well as the 'Add to shared album' were created by the iCloud desktop app.

I hope this helps...

 

[lyceumHQ]

Strange, no such issues for me on Windows 10/iCloud desktop app: all pictures download to my pc and stay there. Deleting a picture on the phone doesn't delete it on my pc, and the deleted picture also doesn't re-appear on my phone.
Deleting a picture on the pc doesn't remove it from iCloud.
What I did just notice it that the Downloads folder in the iCloud Photos-folder (on pc) has a read-only attribute (well, the read-only checkbox is filled (it's tri-state checkbox) not just checked; don't remember ever setting this myself).

About uploading pictures from Windows' Explorer to iCloud, it just requires copying them to the Uploads-folder in the iCloud Photos-folder. They're then uploaded to iCloud (might take a couple of seconds for the upload to begin, check the iCloud app's status). Once I see them on my phone, I delete them from the Uploads folder (and they stay in iCloud).

Adding a picture to a shared (or new) album is also easy from inside Windows Explorer: right click a picture and then click 'Add to shared album' and select from the list of shared albums.

This iCloud Photos folder, together with the 3 subfolders (Downloads, Uploads and Shared), as well as the 'Add to shared album' were created by the iCloud desktop app.

I hope this helps...

Thanks but I don’t want them in shared folders. I have all my photos from the past 20 years sorted into albums. I want those albums on my phone. I had been using iTunes but I can’t then have them across all devices so thought I’d give iCloud another go.

I thought removing the iCloud windows program would stop the photos I had deleted reappearing. So I deleted EVERYTHING from ICloud. Then tried to upload via Firefox as I could create albums then upload the pictures to that album. No. Can’t do that after every photo I got a ‘iCloud photos has stopped’ error. Tried Firefox, edge, chrome and IE. Same issue.

So I had to then install iCloud again to upload them. And of course it then just dumps them in ‘all photos’ so I not have to organise them all into albums on my phone or iCloud.