Buzz
Reclaim access to your shared online photos! If you can't view images in your Shared Albums, whether you're the creator or a recipient, it's easy to troubleshoot. Before you start, make sure you’ve accepted any pending invitations. This guide will walk you through the steps to fix any issues with Shared Albums on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
How to Fix Shared Albums Not Syncing
- If you can't see your Shared Albums, try resending the invitation or ask the album creator to send a fresh invite.
- Consider removing the recipient from the Shared Album and then re-adding them.
- Shared Album invites can be found in Photos > For You.
Follow These Simple Steps to Fix It
Check your notifications.
Ensure you accept the invitation to join the album. You'll receive this notification either in your Notifications Center or directly within the Photos app. Here's how to find it:
- Open Photos.
- Tap on For You.
- Tap Accept in the invitation.
Resend the invitation.
If the recipient didn’t receive an invitation to join your shared album, you can resend it. Alternatively, if you didn’t get an invite, ask the album creator to send a new one. This can be done on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Windows device:
-
iPhone or iPad:
- Open the Photos app.
- Tap on Albums.
- Tap on Shared Albums or Shared.
- Tap on People.
- Find the recipient in the list of subscribers.
- Tap Resend Invitation.
-
Mac:
- Open the Photos app.
- Click on Shared Album.
- Click the album.
- Click on People (person icon).
- Click the arrow next to the recipient's name.
- Click Resend Invitation.
-
Windows:
- Open iCloud Photos.
- Double-click the shared album.
- Click Options.
- Click the recipient.
- Click Resend Invitation.
- Click Done.
Re-add the recipient.
Remove the recipient and re-invite them. This can resolve any issues with invitation errors. You might also want to try sending the invitation to a different email address.
-
iPhone or iPad:
- Open the Photos app.
- Tap on Albums.
- Tap on Shared Albums or Shared.
- Tap on People.
- Tap Invite People.
- Enter their email address.
- Tap Add.
-
Mac:
- Open the Photos app.
- Click on Shared Album.
- Select the shared album.
- Click on People (person icon).
- Click on + in the Invite People section.
- Choose a contact.
Turn Shared Albums on and off.
Disable Shared Albums and then enable it again. This will remove the albums and add them back. Ensure that you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
-
iPhone or iPad:
- Force-close the Photos app.
- Go to Settings > your Apple account > iCloud > Photos.
- Turn off Shared Albums.
- Exit to your Home screen and wait for a few minutes.
- Return to Settings > your Apple account > iCloud > Photos.
- Turn on Shared Albums.
- Open the Photos app and check your albums.
-
Mac:
- Open the Photos app.
- Click on Photos > Settings.
- Click on iCloud.
- Uncheck Shared Albums.
- Wait for a few minutes.
- Recheck Shared Albums.
-
Windows:
- Close all Shared Albums windows.
- Open iCloud for Windows.
- Click on Options next to Photos.
- Uncheck Shared Albums.
- Click OK > Apply.
- Wait for a few minutes.
- Click on Options again.
- Recheck Shared Albums > OK > Apply.
Check your spam folder.
Ensure the invitation wasn’t caught by your email provider. If the album creator isn’t in your contacts, it may have been flagged. Don’t forget to check both your spam and junk folders for the Shared Album invitation.
Restart your device.
Power off and on your device. If Shared Albums aren’t appearing on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, a simple restart might help sync them properly.
Check Apple's server status.
Ensure that Photos is still online. The Photos feature might be temporarily affected by a recent iOS update. You can check the status on the Apple website.
- If you see Unavailable next to Photos, you’ll have to wait for Apple to fix the server issues.
