Shared photo library : risky ?

[Jinbei]

I want to used the shared library feature, but I have a lot of pictures.

Does Apple copy every pictures I add to the shared library, or it is just a simple link from their server ? I want to know if it will take forever or not to sync the new library.

Second question, does it automatically create album in the shared library, or album will remain personal to both icloud account ?

Thank you.

 

[0128672]

I think once that feature is rolled out in a later iOS 16 update, we'll be better able to answer your questions. In the meantime, in case you hadn't had a chance to read it, here's the MR guide. Maybe it's in the 16.1 beta and someone who's using that could answer your question.

iCloud Shared Photo Library: Everything You Need to Know

With iOS 16, Apple added an iCloud Shared Photo Library to make sharing photos with your friends and family easier than ever. You can create a shared...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Jinbei]

I think once that feature is rolled out in a later iOS 16 update, we'll be better able to answer your questions. In the meantime, in case you hadn't had a chance to read it, here's the MR guide. Maybe it's in the 16.1 beta and someone who's using that could answer your question.

iCloud Shared Photo Library: Everything You Need to Know

With iOS 16, Apple added an iCloud Shared Photo Library to make sharing photos with your friends and family easier than ever. You can create a shared...

www.macrumors.com

The features have been available for several months now, so I think people on the beta can answer my questions

 

[jambon]

Is anyone who used it during the beta using it with someone who just has the release version of iOS 16? For those that used it during, it still shows as an option so wondered if anyone had taken the plunge even though it’s not widely release? Hope that makes sense!

My guess is it’s ready but just waiting for iPadOS and Venture for consistency.

 

[contacos]

well, there were people (cannot find the thread) that had their whole library deleted so i would still be careful

 

[Fibrozyt]

I´m one of them. The problem ist not that all the pictures are deleted. The problem is, that the deleting process takes an extrem long time. The sync stuck for me since 12 days. The pictures are not deleted, they are still in the shared library. They do not moving back to private library. You can see it on beta.icloud.com but not on the phone or mac. I hope it is only a question of time.

 

[jambon]

I´m one of them. The problem ist not that all the pictures are deleted. The problem is, that the deleting process takes an extrem long time. The sync stuck for me since 12 days. The pictures are not deleted, they are still in the shared library. They do not moving back to private library. You can see it on beta.icloud.com but not on the phone or mac. I hope it is only a question of time.

Is this because you tried to revert to a non-shared library? What iOS version are you and the person that you shared with using?

 

[Fibrozyt]

Exactly, I just deleted the shared library. I created them the day before the keynote. Then I got the information that the function will not be included in IOS16 and I deleted the shared media library. Now it is still in the "you currently deleting a shared library" state. I haven't added any users yet, I just created the media library for myself. I wanted to do this the next day. It didn't come to that anymore. I copied about 50k images to the shared library. 20k were taken back into the private. The rest is stuck. You can see them at beta.icloud.com. However, synchronization is no longer possible. The sync works with Monterey, but only with the private media library. I use IOS 16.01. Same on 16.1 beta on iPad.

 

[Jinbei]

How long did it take to sync your photos from the private library to the shared library ? I was wondering if it was quick, or a pain in the ass.

 

[rick987611]

The initial sync is pretty quick. Deleting a shared library is very problematic. Long story short, I had it all setup and working well, but decided to revert back until it was in all public versions. I’ve been stuck on deleting the library for almost a week now. Some days one single photo gets moved back to the personal library. Nothing new will upload. It’s very annoying.

 

[Zazoh]

Y'all are not using production data with beta versions are you?

 

[rick987611]

I am, but I’ve got all the data backed up 3 diff ways.

Main problem is there have been major issues unwinding the shared library all beta. I’ve done it 3 times to give solid feedback and get no response or requests for more data.
The creation and day to day work great but leaving them has been a mess each time. It easily gets caught on something and that grinds the entire process to a halt.

 

[Prem barchha]

Wow. This is my 1st time I’m commenting in a forum like this.

I’m currently in the same pain as some of you have described above. Unless I have missed it.

I’m in a same situation where I have 26k photos & 1.5k video. I did the same with creating a shared library with my wife but after a week or so I deleted this whilst still on the beta version.

When the new iOS 16 public got released I changed from beta to the public & notice after a couple of days my photo was not syncing & the shared library still says deleting shared library iCloud photo in sync ( this status is showing since Aug)

Now I read couple of other forum and a lot people said sign out of iCloud and sign back in which I did. Now half of my photos are gone. Well I figured out that I can still see all of it in the beta.iCloud but the normal iCloud shows half.

I would really appreciate some expert help if possible to anyone that can help me within this problem which has been causing me enough stress.

How do I get rid of the deleting shared library status?

Can I recover any photos from the beta iCloud.

Any help is massively appreciated. 🙏🏽

 

[Prem barchha]

The initial sync is pretty quick. Deleting a shared library is very problematic. Long story short, I had it all setup and working well, but decided to revert back until it was in all public versions. I’ve been stuck on deleting the library for almost a week now. Some days one single photo gets moved back to the personal library. Nothing new will upload. It’s very annoying.

Any solution or updates on this from your end. I’m in this same issue.

 

[Prem barchha]

Exactly, I just deleted the shared library. I created them the day before the keynote. Then I got the information that the function will not be included in IOS16 and I deleted the shared media library. Now it is still in the "you currently deleting a shared library" state. I haven't added any users yet, I just created the media library for myself. I wanted to do this the next day. It didn't come to that anymore. I copied about 50k images to the shared library. 20k were taken back into the private. The rest is stuck. You can see them at beta.icloud.com. However, synchronization is no longer possible. The sync works with Monterey, but only with the private media library. I use IOS 16.01. Same on 16.1 beta on iPad.

Sorry just wanted to see if you found any solution to this as I’m in the same boat.

 

[Fibrozyt]

I solved the problem. A user in the forum found the right solution. Thanks again for that. I had to delete the last video in shared library(I had a copy). Then deleting the file from the "recently deleted". The process then finished after 12h and the shared library was deleted. You can see that the pictures are moving from shared to private.
This story is an absolute horror. It cannot be that a beta paralyzes the icloud and do the same on all non-beta devices.

 

[Prem barchha]

Sorry to ask a silly question just so I’m clear.

My normal iCloud.com account is not showing the shared library photo. However the beta.cloud.com I can see both folder shared and personal. So In the beta.cloud.com I just delete the last video and delete it in the recently deleted item box as well.

Is that correct sorry. Thanks 🙏🏽

 

[Fibrozyt]

This is exactly what I have done.

 

[Prem barchha]

This is exactly what I have done.

Thanks. Unfortunately that did not work for me. Still stuck on deleting shared library.

😞

 

[Fibrozyt]

I'm sorry. For all users who have solved the problem, the synronization was triggered by the deletion of a file. I also deleted several of the recent pictures/videos. Here it was always the last video. I don't want to rule out that it could also be another file. I deleted about 20 of the last files and only the last video was the solution. When loading files, it was also noticeable that this file was not loadable. A small, unreadable file appeared and no image or video. That was probably the corrupt file. You can delete a larger number of pictures / videos after you have loaded them. If it doesn't work, you have a backup copy. It is probably important to delete these files from the folder "recently deleted" as well.If you find a file that can't be loaded, you're probably on the right track.it also seems important to delete the contents of the "recently deleted" folder in the private library

 

[rick987611]

What Fibrozyt explained is exactly what fixed it on my side the Shared Library ”owner”. My wife’s side is still stuck. On beta.iCloud.com it says she is leaving the Shared Library and that it is in process. It is stuck on the same video file. The difference is her side is locked. I can’t add or remove photos from her library. Please make sure you send feedback to Apple. They need visibility on this issue Or it is going to be a mess when they roll this out.

 

[aaronpaulg]

Hi

Anyone please help me. My phone is not syncing. Stuck in deleting shared library for over a month. Deleted everything on shared library but still not working

 

[merrickdrfc]

I also have a similar issue - a family member has left our shared library by accident and is stuck on “Removing…” and nobody else in the shared library can sync with iCloud on shared or personal libraries - everything seems to be paused

 

[jtm235711151719]

I spoke with Apple support re this and they have 8 or 9 cases documented. I would assume more given this thread. They blamed me for trying to delete the shared library so soon after setting it up! The support guy assumes that this will need an update to resolve. As for the trick shared by Fibrozyt, I wonder if anyone else had luck with it.

 

[Fibrozyt]

It's not my "trick". I copied the procedure myself from other users. There were some users who had success with it. The difficulty was to find out which photo or video caused the standstill. For some, like me, it was the last. Others cleared the trash and it went on. I'm honestly surprised that this problem still persists. It affects probably more than 8 or 9 users worldwide. There are many reports about this on the net, but no solution that always and everywhere leads to success. However, all solutions had something to do with deleting files. I'm so put off by the feature now that I'll never use it again. I think the problem is not that prominent because many users have not yet deleted the media library. Creation is not a problem. It only affects the deletion process.