iCloud How to access iCloud Backup of Photo Library?

[Samurai Shampoo]

Hello,

I would like to access the photos that iCloud has backed up apparently of the photo library.

Now, I had turn off the iCloud back up for photos.

But when I look now into the back up of my phone it says that it backed up the "Photo Library".

When I log into iCloud's website it says that there's no photos because I have iCloud Back Ups for Photos turned off but where are the files of the "Photo Library" stored?

Does anyone know?

 

[0128672]

iCloud Photos stores a copy of your photos on iCloud, but there isn't a thing called iCloud backup for Photos. So when you say you turned off iCloud backup for photos, it sounds like you turned off iCloud Photos.

If iCloud Photos is turned on, iCloud backup backs up other documents and data on your phone. There's a list of those things in the support article below.

If you have iCloud Photos turned off, all your photos are stored on your phone. iCloud backup will backup your photos to iCloud.

I know this sounds a little confusing. It's either you have iCloud Photos turned on and a copy of your photos is stored on iCloud OR you have iCloud Photos turned off and the photos stored on your phone are part of the iCloud backup.

It's always strongly recommended that you make a copy of your photos before turning off iCloud Photos. See the support article below about Get help with iCloud Photos in the section called How Do I Turn Off iCloud Photos ...?

- Do you have other Apple devices (iPad or Mac) that has iCloud Photos still turned on?
- On your phone if you go to Photos > Recently Deleted, do you see your Photos there?

What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

iCloud Backup helps keep your data safe by making a copy of the information on your iPhone and iPad that isn't already synced to iCloud.

support.apple.com

If your iCloud Photos aren't syncing to your device - Apple Support

If your photos or videos won't sync to iCloud Photos on your device, learn how to check the status of your photo library and what to do if you see a status message.

support.apple.com

 

[Samurai Shampoo]

iCloud Photos stores a copy of your photos on iCloud, but there isn't a thing called iCloud backup for Photos. So when you say you turned off iCloud backup for photos, it sounds like you turned off iCloud Photos.

If iCloud Photos is turned on, iCloud backup backs up other documents and data on your phone. There's a list of those things in the support article below.

If you have iCloud Photos turned off, all your photos are stored on your phone. iCloud backup will backup your photos to iCloud.

I know this sounds a little confusing. It's either you have iCloud Photos turned on and a copy of your photos is stored on iCloud OR you have iCloud Photos turned off and the photos stored on your phone are part of the iCloud backup.

It's always strongly recommended that you make a copy of your photos before turning off iCloud Photos. See the support article below about Get help with iCloud Photos in the section called How Do I Turn Off iCloud Photos ...?

- Do you have other Apple devices (iPad or Mac) that has iCloud Photos still turned on?
- On your phone if you go to Photos > Recently Deleted, do you see your Photos there?

What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

iCloud Backup helps keep your data safe by making a copy of the information on your iPhone and iPad that isn't already synced to iCloud.

support.apple.com

If your iCloud Photos aren't syncing to your device - Apple Support

If your photos or videos won't sync to iCloud Photos on your device, learn how to check the status of your photo library and what to do if you see a status message.

support.apple.com

Thank you so much for your reply.

- I don't have any other devices with iCloud Photos turned on

- The photos are not in the Recenetly Deleted folder as they are older than 2 months but the iCloud backup was made a litte over 1 month ago so the photos are still inside the iCloud backup. But the problem is, how do I access that iCloud backup to get the photos?
Do I have to erase my phone and reconfigure it via the backup or is there an easier way?

 

[0128672]

There isn't a way to guarantee your photos were included in that iCloud Backup created over 1 month ago. If the photos were on your phone at that time, they should be in that backup, but I can't guarantee that. It's unclear whether you followed the steps to download and keep original of your photos when turning off iCloud Photos.

If you turned off iCloud Photos and didn't change the setting to Download and Keep Originals, you may have lost your photos.

And if the photos were on your phone at that time, it's curious what happened to them since then and why they're not on your phone now.

The only way to access an iCloud Backup is via a restore. Whether an app like iMazing can show the contents of an iCloud Backup, I'm not sure but maybe someone else can chime in on that.

 

[Samurai Shampoo]

There isn't a way to guarantee your photos were included in that iCloud Backup created over 1 month ago. If the photos were on your phone at that time, they should be in that backup, but I can't guarantee that. It's unclear whether you followed the steps to download and keep original of your photos when turning off iCloud Photos.

If you turned off iCloud Photos and didn't change the setting to Download and Keep Originals, you may have lost your photos.

And if the photos were on your phone at that time, it's curious what happened to them since then and why they're not on your phone now.

The only way to access an iCloud Backup is via a restore. Whether an app like iMazing can show the contents of an iCloud Backup, I'm not sure but maybe someone else can chime in on that.

Thank you again.

I always had iCloud Photo turned off since I set up the phone for the 1st time. So the only place where photos could be is inside the iCloud backup apparently.

If the only option is a restore then I'll have to try that. Thank you!