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How to Download All Photos from iCloud to External Hard Drive?

 

Download all 155,000 original photos from iCloud to an external hard drive.... 1000 photos a a time ??

Hello, I would like to download ALL my photos (155,000 images and videos) from iCloud to an external hard drive. I cannot export them from the Photo App on my Mac since they are optimized and therefore not the originals. I went to iCloud to download all photos but apparently, I cannot download all the pictures, but only 1000 at a time. so basically I would have to do 155 downloads of 1000 photos to download all???

Any other easier solutions? Please let me know, Thanks a lot in advance.

- Question from discussions.apple.com

How can I use iCloud to download over a thousand photos? A lot of people discover that they need to download a lot of the photos that are kept in iCloud in order to make room, make backups, or move the pictures to another device. Even while iCloud is a convenient way to store your priceless memories, downloading a significant amount of images can occasionally seem like a daunting chore.

Why Download All Photos from iCloud?

What would require you to download so many pictures from iCloud? There are other reasons why you might choose to take this action, though:

✔️ Freeing Up iCloud Storage Space: When your iCloud storage is full, you may not be able to add new photos or make backups. You can free up storage by downloading your pictures to an external hard drive or another device, so you can keep taking pictures and preserving memories.
✔️Transferring Pictures to a New smartphone: You may want your pictures to be available right away without having to wait for iCloud syncing if you have updated to a new smartphone. You can transfer the photographs to your new device easily and directly by downloading them all at once.

With these reasons in mind, let’s dive into three effective solutions for downloading more than 1000 photos from iCloud. Each method comes with step-by-step guidance, so you can pick the one that suits your needs best.

iCloud Photos Download Limit

When it comes to downloading a lot of photographs at once, Apple's iCloud Photos has certain limitations. The salient points are as follows:

  • iCloud.com Batch Download Limits: Get up to 1,000 pictures at once.
  • iCloud download speeds tend to decrease for larger libraries, particularly for the original, high-resolution versions.
  • Download Limitations with iCloud for Windows: Using the iCloud for Windows app allows you to download large quantities of photos to a PC with several batches, especially when the photo library is very large.
  • Frequency of Downloads: iCloud might restrict how frequently you can download large batches of photos, which you may encounter slower speeds or temporary access issues. Allow some time between large download sessions to avoid these restrictions.

How to Download All Photos from iCloud to Windows PC, Mac | 3 Ways

How to download more than 1000 photos from iCloud to Mac or Windows PC? Here you can find the guide.

How to Download More Than 1000 Photos from iCloud to Mac?

The Photos app is a useful tool for Mac users to download all of their iCloud images at once and even save them on an external hard drive for backup purposes. If you're wondering how to directly download more than 1000 photos from iCloud to a Mac, this method is really helpful.

If your Mac has a lot of storage space and you wish to back up files on an external drive or view images locally, this method will work well for you.

1. Launch the Photos app on your Mac and sign in to iCloud. Go to Photos > Preferences or Settings from the menu bar, and then select iCloud.

2. Tick iCloud Photos, and tick the Download Originals to this Mac option. This ensures that all photos stored in iCloud are downloaded directly to your Mac in full resolution.

Download Originals to This Mac
Download Originals to This Mac

After the process is completed, all the original iCloud Photos are probably located in the Pictures folder, check them. Then you can also move them to the external hard drive for another protection.

Tip: Keep your Mac connected to power during this process, especially if your library is large. This method is best for users with substantial local storage or an external drive ready for backup.

How to Download All Photos from iCloud to Windows PC

Another excellent option for PC users who want to know how to download all photographs from iCloud to Windows PC is to use the iCloud for Windows software. With the help of this tool, you can easily sync and download all of your images at once from your PC to your iCloud account.

1. To begin, go to the Apple website, download, and install the iCloud for Windows software. After installation, launch the application and log in using your Apple ID.

2. In the app, check the box next to Photos and select Options. In the next window, check iCloud Photo Library and Download new photos and videos to my PC. Click Done and then Apply to save your settings.

3. Open File Explorer on your PC and navigate to iCloud Photos. Here, you’ll find a folder called Downloads. Your iCloud photos will begin downloading to this folder automatically.

Download All iCloud Photos Using Apple Privacy Page

If you want to download iCloud Photos to your Mac or Windows PC, the Apple privacy page could help you a lot:

1. Please go to privacy.apple.com and log in to your Apple account.

2. Hit Request a copy of your data in the Get a copy of your data section.

Request A Copy of Your Data
Request A Copy of Your Data

3. Scroll down to tick iCloud Photos only, and hit Continue.

Select iCloud Photos Only
Select iCloud Photos Only

4. Now, set up the file size for iCloud Photos downloading, and hit Complete request.

Download iCloud Photos File Size Settings
Download iCloud Photos File Size Settings

Tip: This process might take up to a week, which is not user-friendly to use.

 

Migrate iCloud Photos to Google Photos And Download All

In fact, you can also use the indirect way to download more than 1000 Photos on iCloud. That is migrate iCloud Photos to Google Photos or other services, then export them all at once. Here comes the all-in-one web-based multiple cloud storage manager - MultCloud to help.

MultCloud is dedicated to migrating files between clouds directly.
It supports iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Google Photos, Dropbox, OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, and other 30+ clouds.
Migrate everything or selected items from iCloud Photos as you like.
You can use different ways to move iCloud Photos to Google Photos, like cloud to cloud backup, transfer, sync, copy to, share, etc.
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Here you can find how to migrate iCloud Photos to Google Photos with MultCloud, then take all iCloud Photos from Google Photos using Google Takeout.

Step 1. Migrate iCloud Photos to Google Photos

Important: Please ensure the Google Photos has enough space to hold the data from iCloud Photos.

1. please log in to your MultCloud account after signing up.

2. Tap Add Cloud > iCloud Photos, then follow the guide to add. Then add Google Photos as well.

Add iCloud Photos and Google Photos
Add iCloud Photos and Google Photos

3. Click Cloud Transfer, tick iCloud Photos to select all iCloud Photos and videos, and choose a directory in Google Photos as the target.

Transfer iCloud Photos to Google Photos
Transfer iCloud Photos to Google Photos

4. Press the Transfer Now button to migrate iCloud Photos to Google Photos quickly.

Tips before moving:

  • If all you want to do is move these pictures, you may use Options to automatically create space for Google Photos. To set this up, simply check the box labeled "Delete all source files after transfer is complete."
  • Filter in Options allows you to migrate specific photos. Use file extensions to include or exclude photos; experiment and have fun.
  • Click Schedule and select Daily, Weekly, or Monthly, depending on how often you want the job to run.
  • Unlock to take advantage of all premium features, including scheduling, filtering, increased data traffic, lightning-fast transfer, etc.

Step 2. Export All iCloud Photos from Google Photos using Google Takeout

1. Go to the Google Takeout website to export iCloud photos in Google Photos, click Deselect all.

Deselect All
Deselect All

2. Tick Google Photos, and hit Next step.

Tick Google Photos Only
Tick Google Photos Only

3. Set up the download method, file size, and other settings, hit Create export to download all iCloud Photos now.

Create Export
Create Export

Summing It Up

Until now, you have multiple ways to download more than 1000 photos on iCloud, just find the best way that suits you more Besides, if you need move files between clouds directly, MultCloud is your best choice.

  • Smart Share: Share cloud files via public, private, or source mode.
  • One-key Move: Quick data transfer, sync, and backup among clouds.
  • Email Archive: Protect emails to other clouds or local disks.
  • Remote upload: Effectively save web files to clouds via URL.
  • Save Webpages as PDF/PNG: Keep them locally or online.
  • Safe: Full-time 256-bit AES and OAuth authorization protections.
  • Easy: Access and manage all clouds in one place with one login.
  • Extensive: 30+ clouds and on-premise services are supported.
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