I'm really worried because I've lost a ton of photos on my iPhone. I used to have around 16,000 photos, but now it only shows about 5,000! I've checked my iCloud, and it's showing the same 5,000, which isn't what I expected. I bought extra iCloud storage recently, and I was syncing my iPhone with my MacBook, where I have over 10,000 photos, but the syncing stopped in September 2023. I need to know if there's something I'm missing or any ways I can recover those photos, especially since some of them are of loved ones who've passed away.
2 Answers
It sounds like you might have run into an issue with how iCloud Photos works. If you initially synced your photos from your Mac to your iPhone, and then later enabled iCloud Photos, it could have removed some of those synced photos. When you turned on iCloud Photos, there should have been a notification warning you that photos would be removed due to the different syncing methods. Since you mentioned getting a notification about being low on storage, it may have prompted some changes. Double-check your settings in both iCloud and your iPhone, and see if you can find a way to restore your photos from your MacBook if they're still there.
You should try checking all your devices carefully. It's also good to remember that if you had any photos saved on other devices, they might still be there if you haven't deleted them. Verify your iPad and MacBook to see if the photos are still stored there. You’ve got plenty of iCloud storage, so back everything up as soon as you can!
Definitely look into all your devices. Sometimes photos can hide in unexpected places, like in different albums or on backup devices.
That makes total sense! Just make sure your settings are correct on both devices. It could help to disable and then re-enable iCloud Photos, but be careful with that—it might lead to more changes!