iCloud Photos on IPhone not syncing

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Level 1

26 points

iCloud Photos on IPhone not syncing

I have an ongoing issue with iCloud Photos on my iPhone, refusing to sync. What happens is the status just stays stuck at syncing xx items to iCloud. The only way I can get beyond this, is by a hard reboot on the phone and then the photos will sync properly for a day, and then back to square one.

I have deleted iCloud Photos from the phone (switching of iCloud) and then re-enabling, but that’s doesn’t solve the issue.

This has been going on for a while now, including before ios18. I have the latest version of iOS on an iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Worth noting that photos on other devices, for example iPad will sync no issue, although not on the iPhone until that hard reboot.

It’s driving me mad and really not sure how to resolve this. Hopefully someone out here knows something.

iPhone 16 Pro Max, iOS 18

Posted on Jan 15, 2025 11:13 AM

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Answer 1

Nick B73 Author

Level 1

26 points

Jan 15, 2025 1:24 PM in response to LD150

No just stays stuck at syncing. At the moment it’s been syncing 2 screenshots for 3hrs….. As I say the only that resolves it is a hard a reboot, then syncs within seconds until the next time. If I did the same on my iPad, it will sync straight away.

Its a very odd issue

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Answer 2

LD150

Level 10

91,873 points

Jan 15, 2025 2:00 PM in response to Nick B73

It must be some setup or software peculiar to the iphone , which is why I suspected VPN. Some ad blockers have a VPN profile installed.

If you have all your data sync'd to iCloud (social media can be tricky) you could backup, reset the phone to factory and set it up without restoring the backup, then see if the photos sync. The thumbnails should sync maybe 10,000 images in an hour. If they do then it's software. Big job but may fill a boring weekend.

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Answer 3

LD150

Level 10

91,873 points

Jan 15, 2025 12:50 PM in response to Nick B73

start here If your iCloud Photos aren’t syncing to your device – Apple Support (UK)

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Answer 4

LD150

Level 10

91,873 points

Jan 15, 2025 11:41 AM in response to Nick B73

What VPN are you running?

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Answer 5

Nick B73 Author

Level 1

26 points

Jan 15, 2025 12:12 PM in response to LD150

No VPN

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Answer 6

LD150

Level 10

91,873 points

Jan 15, 2025 12:51 PM in response to LD150

PS turning icloud Photos off and on will simply take even longer.

Make sure iCloud Photos is set to optimize storage.

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Answer 7

Nick B73 Author

Level 1

26 points

Jan 15, 2025 1:09 PM in response to LD150

Thank you it is set to optimize storage. The issue with syncing only appears when there is a new photo to sync, it just gets stuck without the hard reboot.

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Answer 8

LD150

Level 10

91,873 points

Jan 15, 2025 1:12 PM in response to Nick B73

Even if you tap Resume Syncing on both uploading and receiving devices?

Not even overnight on wifi and on charge?

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Answer 9

Nick B73 Author

Level 1

26 points

Jan 15, 2025 2:06 PM in response to LD150

Nope, it’s totally stuck.

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Answer 10

LD150

Level 10

91,873 points

Jan 16, 2025 3:32 AM in response to Nick B73

Stuck even after completely resetting the phone to factory? Then I am out of ideas. It could be a rogue image but that’s a needle in a haystack to find.

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