Feb 03, 2020. In earlier versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and iCloud for Windows, iCloud Photos was called iCloud Photo Library. Information about products not manufactured by Apple, or independent websites not controlled or tested by Apple, is provided without recommendation or endorsement. Jan 05, 2020 If you want your Mac's photos to wirelessly sync to all your other iOS devices and computers, you want to set up iCloud Photo Library: Apple's photo sync service lets you back up your images on all your devices, as well as access them — online or offline — on said devices.
Here's what you need to use iCloud Photos on your PC:
My Photo Stream isn't available on iCloud for Windows 10 and later. To learn more, check the system requirements for iCloud.
After you upload the photos from your PC to iCloud Photos, you can view and manage your photos and videos in the Photos app on iCloud.com and your Apple devices.
After you turn on iCloud Photos on all of your devices, any new photos and videos you add to your library will automatically download to your PC. You can also download your photos and videos by year.
After you download iCloud for Windows, you can add it to your status bar to see the progress of your iCloud uploads and downloads. Click the iCloud icon in the Windows Notification Area on your PC. You might need to click Show hidden icons in the Notification Area to see iCloud.
New photos and videos automatically download to your PC at C:Usersyour nameMy PicturesiCloud PhotosDownloads. You can change the location of your downloads in iCloud Photo Options.
iCloud Photos on your Windows PC downloads your photos one time. If you make photo edits after they download to your PC, the edited version won't download again. If you want to save the edited version to your PC, you can download individual photos and videos from iCloud.com or download them by year.
If you edit a photo on your PC that you've already uploaded to iCloud Photos, you can change the filename of the photo and upload it to iCloud Photos again.
If you add photos to iCloud on your PC, but you don't see them on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, follow these steps:
When you turn on iCloud Photos on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, or Mac, the photos you add from your PC appear in the All Photos album.
If you still don’t see your Photos on your iOS devices, copy your photos to the Uploads folder.
You can also copy your photos from a folder on your PC to the Photos Uploads folder in iCloud.
After you turn on iCloud Photos on your PC, My Photo Stream turns off automatically. If you want to send new photos to your devices that don't use iCloud Photos, you can turn My Photo Stream back on in iCloud Photo Options.
When you use both iCloud Photos and My Photo Stream, you can see your My Photo Stream photos when you go to Pictures > iCloud Photos > Downloads.
If you want to delete photos and videos, you can remove them in the Photos app on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, and on iCloud.com.
When you delete photos and videos from your Apple device or on iCloud.com, they won't delete from your PC. And when you delete a photo or video on your PC, they won't delete in iCloud Photos.
If you add comments to photos and videos in your shared album and you don't see them, or if you deleted comments and you still see them, follow these steps:
If you have an Internet connection and a photo or video has a different number of comments on your devices, try these steps:
iCloud Photos keeps all of your RAW photos with embedded JPEGs stored in their original formats. You can view thumbnail versions on your Mac, or download and edit them on your Mac or PC.
After you turn on iCloud Photos, the Camera Roll album is replaced with an All Photos album. The All Photos album gives you the same compact scroll view, now with all your photos and videos organized by the date you add them.
When you turn on iCloud Photos, the photos from your Camera Roll are added to the All Photos album. And photos from My Photo Stream that are in your My Photo Stream album but not saved to your library are removed. After you turn on iCloud Photos, you won't see a separate My Photo Stream album.
If you have an additional device with My Photo Stream turned on and iCloud Photos turned off, you'll still see a My Photo Stream album on that device. Any new photos that you take or add to your library show in that album on that device.
Look for your missing photos and videos in the Recently Deleted album of your Photos app, and make sure that you sign in to iCloud with the correct Apple ID.
Any photos or videos you copy to your device through iTunes are not copied in iCloud Photos. To add your original, full resolution versions, follow these steps:
To upload original versions of your Mac library, click Photos > Preferences and turn on iCloud Photos.*
You can also use AirDrop to copy the photos from your computer to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:
If you're using a PC, follow these steps to upload photos and videos to iCloud Photos:*
Get help with iCloud Photos for your Windows PC.
If you want to remove photos and videos from all your iOS devices, your Mac, and iCloud.com, you can delete them in the Photos app.
When you delete a photo or video from your Photos app, it also deletes from your iCloud Photos and iCloud storage. You can recover your photos and videos from the Recently Deleted album for 30 days.
iCloud Photos uploads photos and videos from your Mac System Library. Photos and videos that you keep outside of your System Library won't upload or update across your devices.
You can see if a photo or video has uploaded to iCloud when you open the Photos app and view your library in Moments. Your upload status is at the bottom of the menu. You can also find photos and videos from your Photos Library that haven't been uploaded to iCloud in a smart album on your Mac.
If you exceed your iCloud storage limit, photos and videos won't upload to iCloud and your library won’t stay up to date across your devices. To continue using iCloud Photos, upgrade your storage plan or reduce the amount of storage that you're using.
Reduce the storage for iCloud Photos by deleting photos and videos that you don't want to keep from your iOS devices or on iCloud.com. Your device will immediately remove any photos and videos that you delete and they won't be available for recovery in your Recently Deleted album.
If you're out of storage, your devices won't back up to iCloud, and new photos, videos, documents, and your information won't stay up to date.
You can turn off iCloud Photos on a single device when you follow these steps:
If you have Optimize Storage turned on, you might not have all of your original photos and videos on your device. To download the original photos and videos on your iOS device, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos and select Download and Keep Originals. On your Mac, open Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then select Download Originals to this Mac. Then you can turn off iCloud Photos. You can also select the photos and videos that you want to download from iCloud.com.
Before you turn off iCloud Photos, you might want to make a copy of your photos and videos.
To turn off your iCloud Photos everywhere, follow these steps:
Photos and videos are stored in your account for 30 days. To download your photos and videos on your iOS device, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos and select Download and Keep Originals. On your Mac, open Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then select Download Originals to this Mac. You can also select the photos and videos that you want to download from iCloud.com.
* In earlier versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and iCloud for Windows, iCloud Photos was called iCloud Photo Library.