iCloud Photos on Mac not syncing

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iCloud Photos on Mac not syncing

I have a large collection of photos and videos, roughly 32,000. I recently signed up for 2 TB iCloud storage to be able to have them backed up to iCloud. I have a MacBook Air m1 with a 256 GB hard drive. I created a photo library on an external USB drive formatted in Mac OS Extended format. I copied the directory with my photos and videos into the photos app on my MacBook, one folder at a time (each folder has a year of photos). Everything successfully imported to the library, and duplicates were identified and merged. I have iCloud photo syncing on. I set this library as my system photo library. The library file on the drive is about 400 GB right now and I can see all of my photos and videos. But they are not being loaded to iCloud. It has just sat at "Syncing 31,365 items to iCloud" for hours and now days, with no progress. I cannot see any progress when I look at the library on iCloud.com or in my iPhone. I am using the correct userid, and I have made sure all syncing options are selected. I have restarted the photos app, the bird process, and the laptop itself many times. The drive led blinks and I can hear it spinning, but nothing happens. I have searched multiple forums and tried everything to no avail. Any help is appreciated, thank you.

MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

Posted on Nov 14, 2025 9:58 AM

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Answer 1

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Richard.Taylor

Level 6

16,915 points

Nov 15, 2025 6:53 AM in response to NewMacConvert13

NewMacConvert13 wrote: … I recently signed up for 2 TB iCloud storage to be able to have them backed up to iCloud.

iCloud is not a backup service. Having your pictures synchronized with iCloud.com is not a backup as the term is normally used. iCloud does not replace the need for Time Machine or a similar robust backup.

It sounds like you have done things right. But the business of copying stuff to this new Library is a bit confusing, and it seems like it could lead to problems. By "I copied the directory with my photos and videos into the Photos app," do you mean from Finder folders or from another Library? Is your Photos Library at iCloud.com empty, or does it have thousands of pictures in it? If all the pictures are at iCloud, then you could just make a new empty System Library and let it fill. Is there a reason you didn't do that? You should probably try that -- switch to an empty Library -- and see what happens. This may be useful:

Make a New System Library connected to iC… - Apple Community

You haven't said if you're using "Optimized" storage for Photos. What macOS are you running? Is it correct that you are using a mechanical drive rather than an SSD? Is it connected directly to the computer, or are you using a NAS or other network with it?

I'm concerned that you're using an external drive with a MacAir. It's awkward to carry around a portable computer with a hard drive dangling from it. Because operations are constantly going on in the background, plugging and unplugging a Photos Library may lead to problems.

Try these steps:

Restart the computer (of course)
Re-start in Safe Mode. This bypasses certain potentially disruptive processes, and it often helps. Safe Mode is different for different computers, so see this:

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

Make a new user and see if the same problem recurs with it.
Rebuild your Photos Library--close Photos and re-launch by option-command-clicking the app icon. If you use iCloud Photos, it’s possible that this will cause a re-sync that lasts long enough to make you nervous. You can turn off iCloud syncing (or wifi) and rebuild while disconnected from iCloud.

The idea is to find out if the problem is with the Library, with your account, or with caches and login items, and stuff like that. One of these steps may fix the problem, but their failure to work also helps figure out what's happening.

Let us know about this stuff…

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