Shared albums are all empty

[ctbear]

I just got a new Macbook Pro and it's been a while since I last used a Mac, so maybe I'm missing something. Between my family members we have a handful of shared albums. After logging into my iCloud account on my new Mac, I see the shared albums appearing in the Photos app, but all of them have zero photos. Since then there have been dozens of photos added to some of those albums and so far they are still empty on my Mac.

The "Photos" app is checked in iCloud settings, and the shared albums setting is checked in the Photos app preferences. I don't upload photos to my iCloud library so that option is unchecked. The shared photos in the albums are appearing and updating correctly on my iPhone.

Did I miss any settings? Or am I not supposed to see the shared photos in the shared albums on MacOS?

 

[Brian33]

It seems to me that you've got all the settings correct, and it should work like you expected. If you haven't already, I would try un-checking the Photos app in the iCloud Settings, waiting for a minute or so, and then re-enabling it. Maybe that would force another sync event?

Since the shared album is working as expected on your iPhone, it seems clear the problem is on the Mac, and I would guess it's a glitch with Photos or iCloud syncing.

What happens if, on your Mac, you add a photo into one of the (empty-looking) shared albums? Does that photo show up on your phone and to your family members? Maybe even that action would cause it to sync correctly.

 

[ctbear]

It seems to me that you've got all the settings correct, and it should work like you expected. If you haven't already, I would try un-checking the Photos app in the iCloud Settings, waiting for a minute or so, and then re-enabling it. Maybe that would force another sync event?

Since the shared album is working as expected on your iPhone, it seems clear the problem is on the Mac, and I would guess it's a glitch with Photos or iCloud syncing.

What happens if, on your Mac, you add a photo into one of the (empty-looking) shared albums? Does that photo show up on your phone and to your family members? Maybe even that action would cause it to sync correctly.

Just tried adding a photo from the Mac to one of the albums, didn't show up on my phone. I then unchecked and checked Shared Albums setting in preferences and the upload photo is now gone. Looks like it is just not syncing from my Mac at all.

 

[BanditoB]

When experiencing iCloud issues, a good starting point is to log out of iCloud and then after a minute or two log back in. This will oftentimes correct issues, so it's worth a shot here.

 

[ctbear]

For anyone that might come across this issue in the future -

Ultimately a combination of the following solved it for me:

1. Delete the com.apple.photos.shareddefaults.plist file and re-toggle the Photos app preferences (unlikely to have fixed anything)
2. Enter safe boot mode and toggle Shared album off and on
3. Plug in the laptop overnight (this could be it)

I speculate the laptop only starts syncing the photos when it is plugged in. During the 2 days I was troubleshooting, I never had to plug it in since the battery life is so strong :/ First world problem I guess.

 

[TTTedP]

had the same problem after Sonoma install. Toggling Photos in iCloud settings on Mac did the trick.