iCloud Photos is a nifty iPhone feature that saves every photo and video you take to the cloud, allowing you to access your library from any device, at any time. Any changes you make to your collection on one device are replicated across all of your other devices.
But, sometimes, things go wrong in the pipeline and your Apple devices stop syncing your photos. If, for some reason, your iCloud Photos aren’t syncing properly, you could lose precious some photos and fond memories. So, to avoid that pain, let’s look at a few steps to take if your photos aren’t syncing to iCloud.
1. Check Your Settings
First, check that you have iCloud Photos configured correctly on the device that’s not syncing to iCloud. To do this, open the Settings app, tap your name at the top of the screen, then go to iCloud > Photos and check that iCloud Photos is turned on.
2. Check Your Internet Connection
Because iCloud is a web-based service, you might run into sync issues if your internet connection is iffy. To be sure that your connection is good, check to see if other apps can connect to the internet or try to launch a new web address in your browser.
If the page loads, your connection is fine, and you should try one of the other fixes below. If it doesn’t, try resetting your router or troubleshooting your cellular data to see if that solves the problem. Otherwise, you can try resetting your iPhone network settings.
3. Check Your iCloud Storage
Another common culprit for photos not uploading to iCloud is a lack of storage. Every Apple user gets 5GB of free iCloud storage, but that’s hardly enough—especially if you take a lot of photos.
To be sure you haven’t run out of storage, you’ll have to check your current usage. Open the Settings app, tap on your name, then select iCloud. You’ll see a breakdown of your current storage at the top of the page.
If you have maxed out your free iCloud storage, then you need to either free up some iCloud storage space or upgrade to one of Apple’s paid storage plans. Here’s a guide to help you decide if upgrading your iCloud storage plan is worth it.
4. Check Your Device Storage
Depending on the quality of photos you’ve chosen to upload to iCloud, you could max out your iPhone storage quickly, which will also hinder photos from syncing to iCloud.
By default, all your photos and videos are saved in their original, high-resolution format on your device and in iCloud Photos. But, you can use the Optimize Storage feature to save storage space on your device.
Optimize Storage allows iCloud Photos to manage the size of the library on your device. When this option is turned on, your original, high-quality photos and videos are stored in iCloud, while compressed versions remain on your device. You can download the full-resolution versions from iCloud via Wi-Fi or cellular at any time.
To enable this option, head to Settings, then tap your name. Hit iCloud > Photos > Optimize iPhone Storage.
5. Restart Your iPhone
If the fixes above fail to solve your problem, try rebooting your iPhone. This will fix any software glitches that could be hindering your photos from syncing to iCloud. Here’s how to restart any iPhone if you need some guidance.
6. Update Your iPhone
An outdated version of iOS could be the reason for many performance issues, including your iPhone photos not syncing to iCloud. Check your phone for software updates and install them to fix any bugs that might be the culprit of the issue. Go to Settings > General > Software Update to get started.
7. Plug In Your iPhone to Charge
iCloud syncs photos when the device is plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi. So if you’re having sync problems, find the nearest outlet and plug your iPhone in. Then make sure your iPhone can connect to Wi-Fi while you leave it alone to charge and sync.
Keep Up-to-Date Photos Synced to iCloud
iCloud Photos is a decent feature for syncing media across your Apple devices. If you take advantage of it, make sure you have everything set up and running smoothly so that it serves its purpose. If you run into any hitches that the above fixes don’t solve, you may want to take your iPhone to a Genius Bar for more help.
iCloud is one of the popular cloud storage services for storing your files, mostly used by Apple users. The most striking feature about iCloud is its compatibility with all platforms. However, sometimes, you may encounter an issue when trying to upload your photos to iCloud.
It could be terrifying if you ever lost your images because they weren’t syncing or uploading to iCloud. For various reasons, such problems arise if you are not connected to the internet or trying to upload a picture while you are on low power mode.
In this article, I have compiled a list of solutions to solve this issue of photos not uploading to iCloud. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
Reasons Behind Your Photos Not Uploading to iCloud
Your photos might fail to upload to iCloud due to various causes. Here I’ve compiled the most common causes.
- Unstable Internet Connection: Your internet connection plays a big role while uploading your photos on iCloud. If you have an unstable internet connection, there’s a high chance your photos will take longer to upload or might fail in the middle.
- Low iCloud storage: Another common cause your photos won’t upload would be your device running out of iCloud storage.
- Low battery: If you are trying to upload your pictures when you are running out of battery, in that case, your iCloud may pause the uploading task.
- iCloud server down: Photos won’t upload to iCloud not just because of your device or internet connection issues. Problems like this can occue due to an iCloud server malfunction also.
- Enabled low power mode: If you have enabled this feature on your device, then it will restrict most background activities to save the battery, stopping the iCloud from functioning properly.
How to Fix Photos Not Uploading to iCloud
Once you know why your photos are not uploading to iCloud, let’s see what you can do to fix it in more detail.
Check Your Internet Connection
If your device is not connected to the Internet, you won’t be able to upload the pictures on iCloud. A stable and fast internet connection can help you quickly upload your pictures to iCloud.
If you are using cellular data to upload, make sure to buy a data plan, as uploading on iCloud can consume more data. You can check your internet speed on different websites or apps available on the Internet.
Connect the Charger
Uploading on iCloud consumes more battery. So, if you are low on battery, it will auto-pause such activity, which can be another reason your photos are not uploading. Therefore, connecting the charger or letting your device have at least 50% battery can fix such issues.
Disable Low Power Mode
It’s always not necessary to enable low power mode manually as it restricts many apps from functioning properly in the background, which can lead to problems like this. If you have enabled this feature, your photos might fail to upload on iCloud.
Your device will send you notifications if you are below 20% of the battery. You can enable it at that time if you wish to. Here’s how you can disable the low power mode.
- Open Control Center.
- Tap on the
Battery Icon to disable
it.
Alternatively, you can also disable from the device setting.
- Open Settings.
- Click on Battery and disable
it.
Grant Permission to Upload on iCloud
Your files won’t upload to iCloud unless you give permission. So, make sure to check the settings and enable it to upload your photos on iCloud. You can go to iCloud settings by following the given steps.
- Open Settings.
- Tap on your Apple ID.
- Tap on
iCloud.
- Click on
Photos.
- Then, make sure to toggle on the iCloud
Photos.
Check Your iCloud Storage
If you grant all the necessary permission but are still unable to upload your pictures, then it can be due to a lack of iCloud storage. In this case, you can either buy iCloud storage, clear the storage or use third-party apps to upload your pictures. Thus, first checking the iCloud is necessary.
- Open Settings.
- Tap on your Apple Id.
- Tap on
iCloud.
- Check the storage at the
top.
Check Your Device Storage
Just like you need to have enough iCloud storage, it is also necessary to have enough storage on your device to upload on iCloud. Therefore, you also need to keep an eye on your device storage. If you have limited storage, then deleting unused apps or unwanted files can help to free some space. Here’s how you can check your device storage.
- Open Settings.
- Tap on General.
- Tap on iPhone
Storage.
- Wait for a few seconds to let your device calculate all the
data.
Restart Your Device
Restarting the device is also one of the easiest activities you can do to fix your photos not uploading to iCloud. If your device has some glitches, it will clear out the problem. Not just that, Restarting can also improve your device’s performance by starting it fresh and clearing the temporary data in the memory. To restart your device, follow the given instructions.
First, You need to switch off the iPhone.
- Press and hold the side button for a couple of seconds.
- Swipe left to right to turn it off.
To turn your device on press and hold the side buttons until you can see Apple logo on the screen
Re-login With Your Apple Id
Your Apple ID can have some errors, which can lead to problems like this. You can sign out and sign in back which can fix such a glitch. Signing out of Apple ID also signs you out from iMessage, iCloud and other apps. To re-login your Apple ID, go through the below steps.
- Open Settings.
- Tap on your Apple ID.
- Scroll down and click on Sign
Out.
- Confirm with your Apple ID.
- Wait for 2-3 minutes before you sign in back.
- After logging in, restart your device.
Update to the Latest iOS
If you are running an old version, it might have some bugs. So, updating your iPhone to the latest software version can solve such an issue. Besides solving previous bugs, Apple also adds new features through software updates. To update your iPhone to the latest version, follow the given steps.
- Open Settings.
- Tap on General.
- Tap on Software
Update.
- Click on Download and Install.