iCloud Photo Library allows you to store your photos and videos in the cloud, then safely download them to all of your devices. The photos and videos you store in iCloud Photo Library don’t count against your device’s storage capacity. This makes it easy to have all your photos with you without having to worry about running out of space on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
When you enable iCloud Photo Library, your photos, videos, and any edits or organization you do on one device appear everywhere you use iCloud Photo Library. This includes photos you take with your iPhone and import to your Mac from a digital camera or SD card.
With iCloud Photo Library, your photos and videos are stored in their original format at full resolution. You can access your photos and videos in iCloud Photo Library from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, on iCloud.com, and even your PC.
However, there may be times when you want to download your photos and videos from iCloud Photo Library to have local copies that are no longer dependent on iCloud for storage. For example, you may want to move the photos to another device not linked to your iCloud account or make a backup of them outside of iCloud.
In this article, we’ll cover how to download your photos and videos from iCloud Photo Library to your iPhone, iPad, and Mac so you have permanent local copies of them.
Requirements for Downloading from iCloud Photo Library
To download your photos and videos from iCloud Photo Library, you need:
– An iPhone, iPad, or Mac signed in to your iCloud account with iCloud Photo Library enabled.
– Sufficient storage space available on your device to hold the downloaded photos and videos. The amount of space required depends on how many items you want to download.
– A stable internet connection to download the photos and videos from iCloud. The time it takes depends on your connection speed and how many photos/videos you’re downloading.
– Patience! Downloading a large iCloud Photo Library can take a while. Make sure you keep your device connected to power during the download process.
How to Download Photos from iCloud Photo Library on iPhone/iPad
Follow these steps to download all your photos and videos from iCloud Photo Library to the local storage on your iPhone or iPad:
1. Open the Settings app and tap on your name at the top.
2. Tap iCloud.
3. Tap Photos.
4. Disable iCloud Photo Library by tapping the switch next to it so it is gray and in the OFF position.
5. Tap Download and Keep Originals.
6. Tap Download in the popup box confirming you want to download everything in your iCloud Photo Library. This will download full resolution versions of all your photos and videos to your device’s local storage.
The download process may take a while depending on how many items are in your iCloud Photo Library. You can still use your device as the download progresses in the background. All the photos and videos will be downloaded to the Photos app where you can access them even with iCloud Photo Library turned off.
The photos and videos in the cloud will remain available in your iCloud Photo Library. Disabling and re-enabling iCloud Photo Library will once again sync the media between your device and iCloud storage.
How to Download Photos from iCloud Photo Library on Mac
Here are the steps to take to download all the photos and videos in your iCloud Photo Library to your Mac:
1. Open the Photos app on your Mac.
2. Click Photos in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
3. Select Preferences from the drop down menu.
4. Go to the iCloud tab.
5. Uncheck the box next to iCloud Photo Library to disable syncing between your Mac and iCloud.
6. Click Download Originals to this Mac. This will download full resolution versions of all your iCloud photos and videos to your Mac’s local storage.
7. Allow some time for the download to complete. A progress bar will appear during the download process.
All your photos and videos from iCloud will save to the Pictures folder on your Mac, organized by Year and Month just like in the Photos app.
You can re-enable iCloud Photo Library once the download finishes to continue syncing your media between your Mac and iCloud. The photos and videos will also remain available in your iCloud storage online.
How to Select Specific Photos/Videos to Download from iCloud
If you don’t want to download everything from your iCloud Photo Library, you can select specific photos or videos to download instead following these steps:
On iPhone/iPad:
1. Open the Photos app and tap Select in the top right.
2. Select the photos/videos you want to download by tapping them. A checkmark will appear on each selected item.
3. Tap the Share icon at the bottom left.
4. Choose Save to Device from the share sheet.
5. The selected photos/videos will download to your local device storage.
On Mac:
1. Open the Photos app and click on a photo or video to select it.
2. Hold the Command key and click additional photos/videos you want to download to select multiple items.
3. Click File > Export > Export Unmodified Original.
4. Choose a location on your Mac to save the photos/videos and click Export.
This will allow you to selectively pick out certain photos or videos to keep copies of on your devices rather than your entire iCloud Photo Library. The items will still be available in iCloud as well.
Other Ways to Download from iCloud Photo Library
In addition to the steps outlined above, there are a couple other ways you can download photos and videos from your iCloud Photo Library:
– On iCloud.com – You can sign in to iCloud.com, open Photos, select images, and use the download button to save copies to your computer.
– Using AirDrop – When iCloud Photo Library is enabled, you can AirDrop photos between Apple devices logged into the same iCloud account.
– Importing directly from iCloud to apps – Some third-party apps allow importing or opening files directly from your iCloud storage. For example, you can often open an iCloud photo in an editing app and then export a copy to save locally.
– Family Sharing – If you have Family Sharing set up, you can download shared photos from other members using the steps outlined above.
– Photo Sharing links – You can open shared albums or photos shared via link and save copies of the images to download them.
Tips for Downloading from iCloud Photo Library
Here are some useful tips to keep in mind when downloading photos and videos from your iCloud Photo Library:
– Check your device storage before downloading. Make sure you have enough free space to fit the number of photos/videos you want to download.
– Stay connected to WiFi during downloads. Large downloads will consume cellular data quickly if not on WiFi.
– Perform downloads overnight. Downloading an entire iCloud Photo Library to a device or Mac can take hours depending on the size, so it’s best done overnight when you don’t need to use your device.
– Disable iCloud Photo Library as needed. You can always re-enable it later to have your photos sync again. Disabling lets you access the local downloads.
– Save to a computer or external drive. For permanent backup, download to a computer, external drive, or cloud storage provider like Dropbox rather than just a mobile device which could get lost or damaged.
– Check the ‘Recently Deleted’ album. If you deleted photos from your devices, make sure to also download the ‘Recently Deleted’ album before disabling iCloud Photo Library.
– Use the ‘Export Originals’ function. Downloading original quality versions ensures you have high-resolution copies of your photos and videos.
Conclusion
iCloud Photo Library provides convenient access to your photo and video collection on all your Apple devices. But there are times when having full local copies independent of iCloud is preferable.
By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can download some or all of your photos and videos from iCloud to the permanent storage on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or other external locations. Just remember to verify you have enough storage space before downloading, stay connected to power and WiFi during the process, and re-enable iCloud Photo Library if you want continuous syncing across your devices.
Now you know exactly how to download those irreplaceable photos from your iCloud Photo Library for safekeeping and greater control over your memories. Enjoy the simplicity of iCloud syncing without worrying about the safety of your photos thanks to these download techniques.