iCloud Photos Not Syncing: How to Fix it

We always talk about the Apple ecosystem as something highly positive and productive. One of the clearest examples lies in the possibility of sharing our photographs on all computers without taking up space on them. But sometimes this feature of streaming photos can fail and in this article we tell you how you can fix it.

What are iCloud streaming photos?

If we are within the Apple ecosystem with different company devices such as an iPhone and a Mac, we always want all the files anywhere. In the specific case of photographs, the Photos application allows us to have new local photos in the cloud to have them on any computer. All streaming photos can be viewed on Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Windows PC and even Apple TV.

iCloud Photos Not Syncing

Unlike iCloud photos, this streaming feature does not take away storage space in iCloud . The photos and videos of the last 30 days are simply uploaded with a maximum of 1000 videos. The only problem we can find is that the modifications we make are not updated on all devices. Also, only JPEG, PNG, TIFF and RAW formats are supported.

What to do if the photos do not appear in streaming

The theory is that if we have this option activated, the photographs that we would have taken 30 days ago should be displayed on all the computers in the ecosystem. But sometimes we can run into the problem of entering Photos and seeing absolutely nothing.

iPhone 11 Pro cámaras

Solution on iPhone and iPad

If the problem is occurring on the iPhone, the first thing you should check is that you have the WiFi connection activated. Streaming photos only work if the computers are connected to the internet through a WiFi network and not with mobile data.

The next check that we must do is see if the option ‘My photos in streaming’ is activated. If it is, it will simply have to be unchecked and marked again. In order to carry out this process, simply follow these steps:

  1. On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings and go to the top where your username appears and click on it.
  2. Access ‘iCloud’.
  3. Search and enter ‘Photos’.
  4. Check that the option ‘My photos in streaming’ is active. If it is, deactivate it and confirm the action by clicking on ‘Delete’.
  5. Activate it again normally.

If the photo you are looking for is quite recent, you should bear in mind that the Camera application must be closed for it to start loading, a process that may take a few minutes. Also keep in mind that the iOS device must have more than 20% battery and not be in power saving mode. In this mode, what the operating system does is optimize the different background tasks where this load is included in streaming.

Solution on Mac

If you are having this problem on your Mac, you should simply perform the following checks:

  1. Go to System Preferences.
  2. At the top right select ‘iCloud’ and check that you have the same Apple ID on all computers.
  3. Head over to the ‘Photos’ app and at the top left go to Preferences> iCloud. Here you can check if you have activated the option ‘My photos in streaming’.

Solution on Apple TV

Apple TV is a very versatile device, and it also allows us to view the streaming photos of the rest of the ecosystem. If you have problems with this device, you simply have to follow these instructions:

  1. Go to Settings> Network> Wi-Fi and check that you are connected to the internet.
  2. Go to Settings> Accounts> iCloud and check that the option ‘My photos in streaming’ is active. If it is, but they still do not appear, you can deactivate it and reactivate it as in the case of the iPhone.

It’s also important to note the capacity limitation that Apple TV has. If you have a lot of content downloaded locally, your photos may not finish uploading in streaming.