Excited! Those photos can only be recovered by restoring your iPhone from your iCloud backup. My library was just over 1TB at the time, so Ive been paying for the 2TB plan ever since(Ive been collecting photos in my library since 2001 and while it could definitely use a bit of trimming, I dont think theres much I want to get rid of). Then, each family member downloaded the Synology Drive Desktop Client from here: https://www.synology.com/en-us/support/download. iCloud Photos is for syncing between your devices and replacing your photos if you lose your device. I'm not sure what your budget is. Im on Windows btw, but I have a Mac notebook as well but thats mainly for work. How to back up iCloud Photo Library - The cloud-based sync service <br>Apple's iCloud Photo Library is a great. The last step? QNAP NAS are optimized for Apple's Pro Apps. I chose to use Backblaze's B2 for my NAS backup. On my main user, I have "optimized the storage" on my iCloud Photo Library and leave it as it is on the "images" folder. You're using iCloud Photos to store photos and videos with Apple. Find this folder, select files and directly backup them to NAS. 2. useradd: Invalid user name Find: unknown user, Im guessing its why Initialise never asks me for an iCloud password. Group photos by themes or topics of your choice. Remember, you can never have too many backups, and again, it's much better to be safe than sorry. Otherwise I would offload all my photos and stop paying Apple for 2TB of storage. Select the data you want to back up > specify the backup path to backup iPad to Synology Nas > Start Backup. Run as a scheduled task in Synology to keep a local backup of your photos and videos. I didn't need to install manually, but YMMV. My weekend project is to backup my iCloud photos library to my Synology. iCloud Photos can feel like a backup. Once the "check" is complete, the container will start downloading your images. This allows me to manage my library solely from within Apple Photos, yet I have an up to date, downloaded copy that will backup offsite via HyperBackup. If your device has . That, in turn backs up to an encrypted BackBlaze. You can then delete the desktop and documents folders from iCloud and go to Apple system settings, Apple ID, and turn off desktop and documents in the "options" menu of iCloud Drive. Set the route to save downloaded iCloud backup photos. Thanks for that Zathras. After all, you can never have too many backups, in all honesty. Any stand alone NAS (DS) would be a "smarter" choice. Thoughts on product management, apps, gadgets, cycling and photography. For #3, you can just add `nohup` before the command and then ` &` at the end if you're running it via SSH and that will prevent the command from stopping if your SSH connection breaks. Some posts say that it requires Photo Station installed as well but this is not the case. Videos are transferred separately, without their albums. iMore is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Installation to Synology DSM. Finally I installed Synologys Cloud Station Backup Mac client on the Mac Mini and told it to monitor the photos directory and mirror those files to the Synology. Fill out each tab as follows: General: Give it a name, run as your user. Apple strives to collect and store the minimum amount of data required to provide the services you use. I use it to move files between drives at home too because it's so fast and accurate. Step 2. Drag Photos Library to a location on your external storage device. 2. Having your entire photo library in iCloud is a mild risk. You can download all of your photos in bulk first, then setup synology photos to only sync new images to your library. She is currently part of the Digital Trends team, and has been using Apples smartphone since the original iPhone back in 2007. I use a second Synology off site and use it strictly as a hyperbackup vault. We recommend switching to Synology Drive mobile app for enhanced compatibility with Synology Drive Server.. DS cloud is the mobile counterpart to Cloud Station . Download iCloud for Windows on your Windows PC. In some situations, it takes longer than that. Manually copy your library to an external storage device: Drag the Photos library (by default in the Pictures folder on your Mac) to your storage device to create a copy. I cant select all photos on iCloud.com because the max number is 1000. By default, Photos Library is stored in the Pictures folder of your home folder. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. I'm sticking with Synology C2 as that for me is under European data protection. However, when you are creating the best user experience, it tends to happen overtime because it is hard to keep tight integration with an entire ecosystem and stay completely open. The problem is that you can not put the Apple Photo library on a NAS. You must log in or register to reply here. Correct. Its configured to only add files, not delete them. I always have to run my files through exiftool to change the modified and creation timestamps. They're cheaper now. This container is going to be a lifesaverthank you so much for sharing and posting your compose. I run this docker container on my Synology to have it download a backup of my iCloud Photo Library If you don't store your iCloud images locally, this is a bit trickier: you can use the external drive method we mentioned above to export portions of your library to an external drive, and then sync that drive to your preferred online backup service, but it's a bit more labor-intensive. Download files from iCloud via iCloud Drive folder. These instructions assume youre using a Mac, but Windows users should be able to accomplish this with WSL (Windows Systems for Linux) terminal commands. We do not use the "auto import" function of Moments (or Photo Station) because we do not like the file structure it produces. (You can also export sections of your library if you don't want to back up the whole thing.). A command-line tool to download all your iCloud photos. For more information, please see our Because of the way this script tracks (and removes) deleted photos, it must be run at a frequency less than 30 days deleted photos are pruned from iCloud after 30 days. At $0.99 per month, you can enjoy 50 GB storage for your photos, videos, and files to back up the data on your devices. Note: Synology Cloud Station Suite is not supported on DSM 7.0 and above. . The usbshare1 is not a folder, it is the operation system name for the usb disk itself. With 'iclouddp', once the photos are downloaded, do the files' timestamps show the original time that the pictures were taken or the time that the files were downloaded? Click the top file, hold down Shift, and then click the bottom file. Your Google account has enough storage available to complete the transfer. I then enabled Moments on Synology and turned on the "Shared Photo Library." If you Just a question for now. The results were disappointing. Ah. Apple Music, Apple Pay/Card, iCloud, Fitness+. Transferring photos and videos from iCloud Photos doesnt remove or alter the content you store with Apple, but sends a copy of your content to the other service. It retains a full copy of your photos in iCloud (accessible on iCloud.com as well). This process is rather lengthy so just let it run through. Wait until the initial . However, as great as iCloud Photo Library is on your favorite iPhone, iPad, and Mac, it's not failproof (nothing really is). As it has often been said, the "cloud" is just someone else's computer. I use Nextcloud and when activating the auto upload feature you can make it upload the entire library first, That windows iCloud app defaults to C drive to download the whole thing. It is an amazing device, and I am awestruck at how well it is designed. It's easy! First off, it takes a few days before they make the data available to you. Open a browser, enter icloud.com and sign in, and upload the files from the local computer to iCloud, your Synology iCloud photo sync task will be started. I will look into both. Lots of software will backup your Mac to it. In fact, the Apple Photo library does not even really like external storage unless it is formatted a certain way and has adequate size to do file swap. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Your Google accounts total storage space applies to content transferred from iCloud Photos to Google Photos. Navigate to your Recently Deleted folder. Anyone found a solution to this issue that doesn't involve running another mac or using external storage permanently connected. Read more SynoForum.com is not owned by, or affiliated with Synology Inc. The transfer includes copies of photos and videos that you store in iCloud Photos, associated with your Apple ID. Chronosync would be my second choice. Next, I backup. I export them in unmodified original format to prevent any quality loss. It can only be restored by restoring your entire iCloud Backup. I use GoodSync. So it can be used in multiple scenarios. iCloud Backup is a one-way backup of your current photo library on your device. You have basically now created a situation like the old "Aperture" used to function with a referenced library. Hope my solution helps other lost souls. I'm afraid I don't know enough to answer your questions now . Final Cut Pro X users rely on QNAP NAS to quickly and efficiently edit, export and transcode their content. Photosync has an app that worked as well. Once transferred to Google, the filenames of albums and videos start with "Copy of.. Try it Specifications Applied models DiskStation Manager; Cloud Sync. You are using an out of date browser. Click Create > Scheduled Task > User-defined Script. Works on Mac, Linux, Windows, and Synology DSM. Step 3. What I have done is moved to using my Synology to holding almost all my photos / videos / files while still retaining the smooth feel of using my Apple products. ), but I did want to find a way to have a secondary backup solution that doesnt rely on Photos or iCloud. I mean, there is no such thing as "too many backups" and it's better to be safe than sorry. My next two options are: Manually, once a month, change the sync location for my iCloud photos to an external drive, sync all photos (with the optimize storage setting turned off so that I get all photos), and when the sync is done, change everything back and save the backed up photos to my NAS. I already have a Synology NAS for other backups and as a general storage system, so I wanted to find a way for it to always have an up-to-date copy of my Library. Step 2. When it comes to backing up iCloud photos, these are the best solutions possible. 1. If you use macOS TextEdit app to copy/paste/tweak your commands, make sure you select Format>Make Plain Text! Its super convenient to have all my photos everywhere at all times (whats the point in taking them if you cant enjoy them? Once you turn on "Shared Photo Library," it creates a folder call "photo" in the Shared Folders section of DSM. To run as a scheduled back-up solution, once all images have been downloaded: Also a note here that if you are running the container for the first time, you'll need to go through the proper authentification using 2FA. While Synology Drive's paid plans are quote-based, Apple iCloud, on the other hand, offers three storage plans that are perfect for your needs. So, if you read other old posts, realize that some may complain a lot because when Apple Photos was first introduced, the referenced photos and videos did not work so well. With my 1gb connection, it took me about 5-6 hours to download 200gb of images (throttled by Apple). First, you'll want to decide if your NAS (See on Amazon) is your primary storage for images, or simply a backup copy of the images on your computer. I then used SMB (network drive) on my iMAC to transfer over my entire folder structure of photos and videos I had just exported. I am not 100% sure that there are no problems from the home nas to the remote one. Nobody else has anything close. While Pixel owners will still get some perks, those with larger digital libraries will have to choose whether to pay for the extra storage or ditch Google altogether.If you're leaning towards the latter, that's where . So I decided to make this post to give it greater visibility. As an idiot, I needed a lot of help figuring out how to download a local copy of my iCloud Photos to my Synology. So since Im already paying Apple, why would I want another backup? Everything still works fine. In setting everything up on my Synology, I drew from this community, the YouTuber mydodads, and the excellent writeup at wundertech.net. DS cloud (iOS) Version 2.11 . If youre a digital pack rat with every photo youve ever taken, this is for you. Once done, you will have a local copy of your documents and desktop, and after sync, they will be on your Synology which is easily accessible from the Synology Drive App on any mobile platform. In some cases, the vulnerabilities in the Bulletin may not yet have assigned CVSS scores. The container will quit after it has pulled all new photos/videos from iCloud. Ive configured the Mac Mini and Synology to wake up for a few hours every day to do this and so far its working really well. Get the best of iMore in your inbox, every day! Run it as a cron task and you wont have to think about it (full disclosure: I havent done this yet, I just run the program every month or so), Now I have full-res versions of my iCloud photos. Any changes I make to the library are reflected when icloudpd runs. Contact the vendor for additional information. Docker noob here. Worth a mention. Enjoy cherished memories in the palm of your hand. Or use tmux or screen to run the command so that you can come back to it easily. It is succeeded by a new application, Synology Drive Server.DS cloud is only supported by Synology Drive Server versions below 3.0. With the exported files, I create my own file structure based on years/Months. But alas. A command-line tool to download all your iCloud photos. We use this time to verify that the request was made by you, and to make the transfer. I just wish I could run a second instance for wifes phone but will setup symbology photos in hers to do the backup automatically or try to find an old mac mini cheap. A flexible and comprehensive management tool that allows photo backup and browsing by chronological order or folder structure. This service is available to customers in over 240 countries around the world for transfers to Google Photos. Press Export. The Mac Mini downloads a copy to its Photos Library. For those interested, here is my compose. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. My concern is that if my photos are wiped on one device accidentally, the Mac Minis library would also be wiped). I ran into a bunch of issues because TextEdit automatically turns straight quote marks into curly ones, which icloudpd did not understand. So far, the most reliable back-up solution I have come across. I'm only using one, with a 3 TB drive. Doing so risks corruption which every Apple Photo help article explains. One other thing, on my Synology in Synology Drive Admin, I turn on versioning and have added my "photo" folder as well under Team folders. If I am understanding correctly, I don't think there is a way, without exporting the full size copies to an external (which is what I do monthly). One way to use a Synology device is to back up an iCloudPhoto Library. That, in turn backs up to . Any tips for a guy whos been pulling his hair out for the past 3 hours? You can use smart folders in Apple Photos to "see" which are "referenced" and which have been imported recently from iCloud from your mobile devices. It's really just your photo library in a single place even if you don't use Optimize . There are other things you can offload from iCloud such as mail, contacts, etcbut I found that once files/photos/videos were offloaded to our Synology that we just did not need to pay for iCloud storage anymore. Tap > Upload > Others. Posting here in case it comes in handy to someone else. Amazon has the DS216+ (the current version of my NAS box) for $300. It's very confusing to me. Updated June 2022: These are still the proper steps to back up your iCloud Photo Library. You could also check out https://github.com/icloud-photos-downloader/icloud_photos_downloader which is the same program /u/onestix posted but not in a docker container (you should use the container though), It did exactly what I wanted it to. You have a Google account to use Google Photos. Isn't a trailing ' &' enough to put the command to run in a job independent from the effective terminal connection? I have fiber and 10gbe and anything I download from Apple is absurdly slow. By the way, I do not think Apple sets out to "lock" users into its walled garden intentionally. I don't know if it's still the case, but I read previously that there were issues with Live Photos in that app. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Learn more aboutApples privacy policy. Explore photos of loved ones or favorite vacation spots through automatically created albums. This takes all the photos out of your iCloud Photo Library and syncs them to your Synology. There are a few differences. I am using iCloud photo library and have chosen to download originals to my MacBook Pro because I want to have local copies of all my photos. ago. You asked about moving from iCloud to NAS, but this is just a copy. In general, this is why I tend to recommend backing up your full library to your Mac or storing a library on an external drive. This was you have your photos backed up online in 2 places. A somewhat pricey solution is a NAS box. Thankfully, you can store your photo and video memories in the cloud with Apple's own iCloud Photo Library, and everything can be viewed across all of your iPhones, iPads, and Macs, as long as you have the available iCloud storage. I hope this helps other Dads or Moms who were in my same boat. If you do not have iCloud Photos turned on . Click each icon to preview and select the wanted files . Move Photos Library to the storage device. To run for the first time with a full back-up of all images: Take note that if downloading a lot of images, Apple may throttle/suspend your connection. All the solutions I found online doesnt fit m case (ie they move less than 1000 photos or they have more disk space than there are photos). No matter which method you prefer (though it's highly recommended to use both), your Photos library (and all images and video automatically downloaded from iCloud) will be backed up as well. 2. But my C: doesnt have 2TB of space and mapping iCloud folder to a network drive on windows 10 isnt allowed. To answer some questions, I used the "shared photo library" in moments so my wife and kids can view the photos on the moments App on their Phones/iPads. Sucks that it doesnt do it in the background. The typical backup time for Synology to back up photos ranges from half an hour to two hours. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of third-party websites or products. They then turned off iCloud for desktop and documents. You end up with exactly the same photos on your synology volume as you do in iCloud. Thus, on any computer or mobile, a file can get dropped in to this admin "Family" folder and it is instantly accessible on all devices in the "Shared with me" folder of Synology Drive. Couple of pro tips: You can use Synology Drive folders in the Apple Files app on mobile but you need to enable it. While her main speciality is the iPhone, she also covers Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac when needed. Since my MacBook is usually closed / not plugged in and doesnt have a full copy of my photo library, I bought a usedMac Mini and hooked it up to an external 2 TB drive. i will check out those alternatives. Synology DS415+. What I love about this container is the fact that you can also run scheduled backups in the future. You can find the files to build the docker image yourself here: https://github.com/jake-b/icloud_photos_downloader/tree/master/docker. A few notes: For #1, Python was already installed on the two NAS I tested on, but it's possible it was included as part of a separate package? more. I have used this to backup some shared albums to a shared space on the DS220+, then keep my own photos in my personal space. Follow the prompts to complete your request. #backup #cloud #icloud photos #library #nas #synology, App Tip: Screenie 2 OCR for screenshots, IKEA hack: Using Skdis to tidy up networking gear, How to import photos from your camera onto your iPhone, Using TP-Link HS-100 smart plugs with HomeKit, Synologys Cloud Station Backup Mac client, Synology Cloud Station Backup mac client app, The Mac Mini downloads a copy to its Photos Library, The Synology app copies the photo into its backup. I suppose you could delete them from iCloud now if you wanted to actually move them, What the hell is going with Apples servers lately? When she isnt writing about Apple, Christine can often be found at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, as she is a passholder and obsessed with all things Disney, especially Star Wars. Take note of env variable skip_check=false. I also have set up time machine to copy the external drive. It sort of worked, but quickly felt like more hassle than it was worth. You can install the iCloud windows application to automatically download or bulk download the images, or use an app on your phone to store your camera roll on the server. First I looked into ways to get the Synology to pull my photos down directly. 2. Then I configured Photos.app to store a full local copy of my library. Wait for it to copy over. If you are subscribed to iCloud, and you want to move your photos to NAS, your synology photo apps mobile back up functionality works as expected; just choose "backup all photos" and let it have access to all your photos then your whole iCloud will start to be downloaded to the NAS. Is there a similar app for Google photos? Downloaded images retain exif data and are neatly placed into a folder structure that you can define. Create an upgrade script to keep the iCloud Photos Downloader up to date. Photos and videos are transferred either in the original format or in industry-standard formats that are easy to open and read. The Synology app copies the photo into its backup. I have iCloud for windows setup on a computer that is always on running iTunes for home sharing to all the Apple TVs to access the movies etc and it backs up my iPhone photos to the NAS when I get home and connect to the wifi network. Easily connect your Synology NAS to cloud services including BackBlaze B2, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive to combine the different . I really love Apple products with the tight integration of their software with hardware. The unofficial Synology forum for NAS owners and enthusiasts. This service is available to customers in over 240 countries around the world for transfers to Google Photos. The problem is that you can not put the Apple Photo library on a NAS. You must be a member in order to leave a comment. One is all photos based on their added date (the date added to your library in photos on icloud) back to the "date_from" date in config.ini. Migrate Apple ICloud Photos to a Synology & Qnap NAS Posted on 24 Oct 2021 Also Read. You can request to transfer a copy of photos and videos you store in iCloud Photos to Google Photos. If you add, update, or delete content after the transfer starts, or if your images and videos are still uploading, these changes or additions might not be included in the transfer. Tap or click on Delete to do this. r/synology Started with a DS1813+ from EBay two months ago. . Once your logs indicate that your back-up is complete, you can validate the success of your back-up by comparing your image count on the iPhone Photos app vs. number of images that have been downloaded to your NAS. I thought i would optimize my photos on my iphone and keep the originals in the cloud, that was after i found out i cannot download them from the cloud unless its one at a time. Also, this isn't a 2-way sync, right? Don't worry to much about that as the container will attempt to run the sync after 6 hours again. Realize that when you do this that the Synology NAS will "chew" on the files for days and days indexing and making thumbnails. I am doing the backup. JavaScript is disabled. Doesn't that look like it's working with iOS device backups that are stored in iCloud? Apple's 2TB family plan is just not enough with a wife who is a photo-hobbyist and two teenagers who have their own websites and Youtube channels. A few tips/notes from my experience: Make sure you install Python from the Package Center (I'm not entirely sure this is actually necessary, but I did it anyway). . Click on iCloud Drive. I just got this working, thanks! Then I uploaded them via the photos app in the NAS (not my iPhone). Then there's an option to clean up space. You can request to transfer a copy of photos and videos you store in iCloud Photos to Google Photos. Thank you for signing up to iMore. After installing, you will have an iCloud Drive folder in your Windows Explorer. Step 2. Its important to note that this is a sync if you delete a photo from iCloud, itll also delete from your Synology. (Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore), How to back up iCloud Photo Library to your Mac's hard drive, Back up iCloud Photo Library to Mac HD by showing: Launch Photos, Back up iCloud Photo Library to Mac HD by showing: Click Photos, Click Preferences, Back up iCloud Photo Library to Mac HD by showing: Click iCloud, click Download Originals to this Mac, How to back up your iCloud Photo Library content to an external drive, Back up iCloud Photo Library to Mac HD by showing: Click the Finder icon, Back up Photos Library manually by showing: Click Pictures in the Finder side bar, Back up Photos Library manually by showing: Click and drag your Photos Library to your external hard drive, Back up portions of your iCloud Photo Library by showing: Hover over the Export option, ack up portions of your iCloud Photo Library by showing: Select to Export Unmodified Originals or as-is, Back up portions of your iCloud Photo Library by showing: Input a file name and subfolder format, Back up portions of your iCloud Photo Library by showing: Click Export, How to make an online backup of your iCloud Photo Library, How to back up iCloud Photo Library to Mac's HD, How to back up iCloud Photo Library content to an XHD, How to make an online backup of iCloud Photo Library, external library to backup your iCloud Photo Library, Apple VR headset won't require an iPhone, will have "in-air typing", iPhone 15 Plus leak shows slimmer bezels, Dynamic Island, USB-C, Five dead Apple products that deserve a 2023 revamp: iPod, iMac Pro and more, iPhone 15 Pro is getting an upgrade for the LiDAR sensor, Read everything from iPhone to Apple Watch, Mags delivered straight to your door or device.