How To Disable Icloud Photo Library On Mac

Apple has drastically upgraded their camera capabilities over the years, and they're now able to shoot in high-definition. So, that means users are able to capture all of their memories in the very best quality; memories that people would never, ever want to lose. That's why we're going to teach you how to turn off iCloud Photo Library without risking your images. Go on with the article to find what can help you.

What Happens When You Disable iCloud Photos. Apple provides two ways to turn off iCloud Photos. First, you can do it for a single device — the one that you are using (photos stored in iCloud.

  • 2019-3-29  Slide the iCloud Photo Library button to the Off position. This will stop automatic uploads of your entire Photos library to iCloud. Note that this will only disable uploads from your iPhone. You will have to make the same changes on an iPad or Mac to stop uploading your library from those devices.
  • 2015-12-27  Added: After you delete the Photos Library from your Mac you can only access the photos in iCloud using the web interface and the Photos.app on the www.icloud.com page. You cannot access iCloud Photo Library using Photos on your Mac, unless you make a photos library on an external drive your System Photos Library.
  • 2020-4-6  iCloud Photo Library is a great way to back up the images you capture on your iPhone. But if you don't have much space left in your iCloud storage, or indeed on your device, then you might be.
  • How to enable or disable iCloud Music Library on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad If you want to be able to share your Mac's tracks with all your other devices and download songs from the Apple Music catalog, you need to enable iCloud Music Library.

Turn off iCloud Photo Library without Deleting Photos iPhone

Firstly, you want to head to your Settings app, and then click through 'Your Name > iCloud > Photos' and then tap 'iCloud Photo Library' to switch it off. You'll then receive a prompt along with a short explanation and two options – Remove from iPhone or Download Photos & Video. You'll need to select Download Photos & Video.

If you do select Download Photos & Video, you need to be aware that everything within your iCloud Photo Library will be downloaded to your local iPhone storage. That means you need to check whether you have adequate storage space beforehand, otherwise the download will fail due to insufficient storage.

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Turn off iCloud Photo Library without Deleting Photos Mac

Now, if you're a Mac user, the process is slightly different. So, if you've already been storing all of your images on your Mac, you'll just need to make sure everything is synced.

  • Hop into Photos on your Mac, select Photos, hit Preferences and then click on the iCloud tab.
  • Make sure the iCloud Photo Library and the Download Originals to this Mac are selected, then all your photos will appear on your Mac.

Alternatively, if you previously had Optimize Mac Store selected, you'll need to make changes:

  • Uncheck Optimize Mac Store, and select Download Originals to this Mac, then wait for the procedure to complete.
  • Once everything is synced, uncheck iCloud Photo Library in preferences to finish.

Whether you opt to turn iCloud Photo Library off on your iPhone or your Mac, it's suggested you export photos or make a backup first, to protect yourself against any potential data loss. Don't worry, though, it's extremely easy.

Export iPhone Photos before Turning off iCloud Photo Library

You'll need an external software, and the one we highly recommend is iMyFone D-Port. Why? Well, because it allows you to export all of your iPhone photos to computer as a backup. Plus, it has some other distinct advantages:

Open iTunes. Click iTunes in the top left corner, then select Preferences. How to access apple music library on mac.

Key Features:

  • Besides photos, it can export 18+ types of files from your iPhone, such as notes, voice memos, videos and more.
  • It can back up all data on your device or selectively backup various types of data from your iPhone, For Free.
  • You can edit the files from the export for future use. For example you can print your text messages.
  • It is compatible with all iPhone models and iOS versions, including iPhone X running iOS 11.4.

How to Export iPhone Photos before Turning Off iCloud Photo Library?

Here's how simple it is to operate:

  • Enter the software and connect your iPhone with it, and on the left you'll see 'Back Up & Export from Device'. Hit that, then select 'Export Data'.
  • On the next screen, you can select which type of data you want to export. Photos or any other types of data? It depends on your need.
  • Once the scan has been complete, you can choose which files you want, then just click 'Export'.

These photos will be stored on your computer safely and you can turn off iCloud Photo Library without deleting photos. You can also back up all your iPhone data with the program in case you need the data in future.

There you have it; multiple ways to deal with the iCloud Photo Library situation without losing any of your valuable photos. Don't forget that to export your photos or back up your iPhone data with iMyFone D-Port in case any data loss.

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iCloud Music Library is Apple's cloud-based repository for all your music (and music you've saved or downloaded from Apple Music). Anyone who has an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription can take advantage of it. But before you enable iCloud Music Library, there are a few things to know.

Apple Music Subscription

Apple Music is Apple's massive music service, comprising a subscription music catalog, iCloud Music Library syncing across your devices, Beats 1 live and algorithmic radio, customized playlists, and more artist exclusives than you can shake a stick at.

Cloud-based matching can be buggy

iCloud Music Library has come a long way since it first launched with Apple Music in 2015. It syncs more reliably now, and keeps everything in order. But like any computer system, errors are bound to crop up that need your personal attention.

What kind of errors? Stuff like:

  • Missing or mismatched album artwork
  • Live tracks matched to their studio versions
  • Wrong metadata
  • Albums refusing to sync

How to move itunes library from ipod to new mac. The vast majority of people's libraries shouldn't see these errors, but regardless: Before spinning up iCloud Music Library, you should make a backup of your music library. This way, in case anything goes pear-shaped, you have a place to reset.

What do I lose when I disable iCloud Music Library?

If you choose to turn off iCloud Music Library, you'll no longer have access to:

  • A cloud-based copy of your Mac's iTunes library
  • Your Mac's Matched or Uploaded tracks to stream on your other devices (if using Apple Music or iTunes Match)
  • Any saved songs from the Apple Music catalog

Even with iCloud Music Library off, however, you'll still have access to purchased iTunes content; that's always available for streaming across your devices whether you have iCloud enabled or not.

Don't want to use iCloud Music Library but still want to jam out to Apple Music? Here's how to use Apple's subscription service without it. You can also use iCloud Music Library with a secondary iTunes Library if you want to keep your primary music collection separate, but still sync some of your tunes to your other devices.

How to enable or disable iCloud Music Library

If you want to turn iCloud Music Library on or off, here's how you go about doing that.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Music.
  3. Tap the iCloud Music Library switch to turn it to the 'off' position.

  4. Tap Turn Off.

  5. Tap the switch again to turn on iCloud Music Library.

On your Mac

  1. Open iTunes on your Mac.
  2. Click iTunes in the Menu bar.

  3. Click Preference.
  4. Click the checkbox next to iCloud Music Library to uncheck it. Click the box again to check it and turn on iCloud Music Library.

A note on iOS 13 and macOS Catalina

In Apple's upcoming iOS 13 and macOS Catalina software releases, these options work as outlined in the instructions above, except that the option is now labeled 'Sync Library' instead of iCloud Music Library, and on macOS, the process takes place in the Music app, rathar than iTunes, which is being split into separate Music, Podcasts, and TV apps.

Any other questions?

How To Delete Photos From Icloud Photo Library On Mac

Let us know in the comments. (We've also got a bunch of iCloud Music Library troubleshooting articles available.)

Updated August 2019: Instructions updated through macOS Mojave and iOS 12.4.

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