Backing up iCloud Photos to an external drive

[reinisbaab]

I’m looking to back up my entire iCloud Photos library containing all originals to an external drive. It turns out it's quite inconvenient. And I don't think I'm an edge case.

- My iCloud subscription is 2TB.
- My iCloud Photos library is approaching 1TB.
- My MacBook Pro internal storage is 512GB.
- My iPhone internal storage is 256GB.
- On both the MacBook and iPhone I've set iCloud Photos to "Optimise storage", because there's simply not enough space on those devices to store my entire 1TB iCloud Photos library containing all the originals.
- I have a 4TB external drive.

In order to back up my 1TB iCloud Photos library to the external drive, I need to move the Photos library file from my MacBook's internal drive to the external drive. Then in the Photos app I need to switch from "Optimise storage" to "Download originals". Once all originals have been downloaded to the external drive (it can take a long time) my Photos Library will be fully backed up. The problem though is that now my primary Photos Library is located on the external drive. And I have to connect my external drive to my MacBook every time I want to access my iCloud Photos library through the Photos app. This is very inconvenient.

As people's iCloud Photos libraries grow larger and the more people rely on "Optimise storage", I'd argue that the lack of convenient physical backup options is becoming an increasingly bigger problem. Apple should figure out a way to offer users a way to access their iCloud Photos library through Photos app on their Macs with "Optimise storage" enabled, but at the same time have a workflow where users can connect their external hard drives and seamlessly download their entire iCloud Photos library containing all originals straight to an external drive.

 

[n(H@rD$e]

Give this a read. It works quite well.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/introducing-photos-backup-anywhere-a-simple-backup-solution-for-your-photos.2440855/

 

[reinisbaab]

I'd love for Apple to build such functionality natively that backs up the Photos Library file.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

They have no interest. Instead, they default iCloud Photos "on," most people quickly overrun the 5GB free space with photos and then opt to pay forever rent to Apple for more space. They keep taking photos, eating up more space, run into the next tier and then pay more for the next tier. Repeat. Repeat. "Another record quarter" with emphasis on "services revenue" grows & grows & grows.

If Apple built such functionality, they would endanger that easy money. Apple innovation is hard at work the other way: maximize, maximize, maximize! 💰💰💰