How to Make iCloud Photos Upload Faster: 7 Ways to Speed Up

How long does iCloud photos upload take and how to speed up the upload process? Find answers in this article. Or you can use the professional to help you fix the issue easily.

Kathy by Kathy Updated December 5, 2023
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Why are my iCloud photos taking so long to upload?

I have like 30,000 photos and videos left to upload, says uploading...always says uploading...internet speed is 100 MB/S down and 30MB/S up...That’s pretty fast enough for uploading...left MacBook on for days!! For a whole night, it ends up loading like 500MB only!!!! How can I speed up iCloud photo upload?

- Question from Apple Community

iCloud enables users to upload and sync photos across Apple devices, so you can easily back up your data to avoid data loss or seamlessly view them on different screens. But when you need to add a large number photos to your iCloud, the slow transfer speed can trouble you a lot.

upload photos to icloud

How long does it take to upload photos to iCloud?

On average, it might take approximately 6 to 8 hours to upload 1000 photos to iCloud. However, if you have a slow or unreliable internet connection, it could take even longer. It's worth noting that you can pause and resume the upload process to fit it into your schedule.

Why is iCloud photos upload so slow?

When your iCloud is stuck in the photos uploading process, it can be caused by some common reasons.

⭕ Low power on your device.
⭕ Poor network connection.
⭕ No enough iCloud storage space.
⭕ Some software issues exist on your iPhone/iPad.

How to make iCloud photos upload faster

Now you can try these ways below to find the most suitable way to speed up iCloud photo upload.

Method 1. Use a strong network connection

If your iCloud is always waiting for the upload, a stable and quick network connection can speed up the upload process.

enlightened For your computer, ensure the Ethernet cable is properly connected, and if you're using Wi-Fi, it's best to switch to a more stable network.

wifi connection on mac

enlightened For your iPhone/iPad, in addition to switching to a better Wi-Fi network connection, you can also use a 5G connection when necessary for cellular data.

Method 2. Enable Zero-Sleep method

For your iOS devices, activating the zero-sleep method is one of the most effective and practical approaches to consistently upload photos to iCloud. And there are how to make iCloud photos upload faster by enabling it.

Step 1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone/iPad, then navigate to Display & Brightness > Select Auto-Lock and set it to Never.

Step 2. Return to the Settings menu, click on your profile, go to iCloud, then select Photos > Enable the iCloud Photo Library, and choose the photo size that suits your needs.

zero-sleep mode

Method 3. Disable Low Power Mode

When your iPhone/iPad is in low power mode, it conserves battery by reducing performance and restricting background activities. However, this can also result in slower photo uploads. To disable low power mode, follow these steps: Go to Settings on your iPhone/iPad, select Battery, and toggle off the Low Power Mode option.

low power mode

If you're using a computer to upload photos, it's also a good idea to keep your device plugged in to ensure there's enough battery power during the upload process.

Method 4. Use a professional tool to speed up the process for free

If iCloud's upload speed is too slow for you, you can use a more efficient tool to assist with your uploads. And the all-in-one iCloud data management app - FoneTool will help you a lot.

enlightened Much faster upload speed: 1000 photos can be uploaded to iCloud within 40 minutes.
enlightened Absolute security assurance:  14+ years of experience in safeguarding data security, keeping all your data safe.
enlightened Reliable performance: As a web-based application,  iCloud often encounters errors. But FoneTool runs stably in all iCloud data management processes.
enlightened Transfer from iCloud to iCloud: You can easily transfer iCloud data from one account to another when you need to switch to a new iCloud.

Just click and download it on your Windows PC to speed up your uploading process.

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Move iPhone/iPad photos to PC

Step 1. Connect your iPhone/iPad to the computer via a reliable USB cable > Launch FoneTool on PC.

Step 2. Go to Phone Transfer > Choose iPhone to PC and click Get Started to continue.

transfer photos

Step 3. Check and click each icon to preview and select the files you need to upload to iCloud > Then click OK to continue.

select files

Step 4. Click Transfer Settings to change the storage path > Click Start Transfer to start the process.

transfer files to PC

Upload files to iCloud

Step 1. Go to My iCloud > Log in with your Apple ID > Choose Manage iCloud.

manage icloud

Step 2. Click the file icon you need to upload > Choose Upload to continue.

upload files to iCloud

Step 3. Choose the targeted files from the computer > Click Open to begin the task.

upload photos

Method 5. Reduce the size of your photos

The size of your photo library can affect the speed of uploading photos to iCloud. If you have a large number of photos to import, it will naturally take more time to upload all of them to iCloud. To address this, you can reduce the size of your photo library by deleting some similar photos and videos from your devices.

delete photos on iphone

If you need to use FoneTool to remove similar iPhone/iPad photos, you can go to Toolbox > Choose Photo Deduplication to make it.

Method 6. Clear up iCloud storage

If you don't have enough storage space on iCloud, it can also affect the transfer speed. You can follow the instructions below to manage your iCloud space.

Just open the Settings app on your device and tap iCloud from the settings page > Scroll down and select Manage Storage from the iCloud settings page to review your current iCloud storage and potentially free up space by removing old backups.

manage iCloud storage

Or you can use FoneTool mentioned in Method 4 to delete iCloud data efficiently. (My iCloud > Log in with your iCloud account > Manage iCloud > Choose data to delete.)

Method 7. Update software

If the device is running an outdated operating system, it can also affect the upload speed of iCloud. And you can update it to learn how to speed up iCloud backup.

For iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings app > General > Software Update > Choose Update Now to start.

Note: This action may let some iPhone/iPad data lose, you can use the FoneTool mentioned in method 4 to fully or selectively back up your iPhone/iPad data on Windows PC in a few clicks. (Go to Phone Backup > Choose Full Backup or Selective Backup to make it.)

For Mac: Launch the Apple menu (Apple logo) > System Settings > Choose General on the left side of the System Settings window > Select Software Update on the right > Click Update Now to begin. Or turn on the Apple menu > System Preferences > Choose Software Update > Update Now.

update software

For Windows 10: Click on the Start button (Windows logo) > Click on Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Choose Check for updates to make it.

For Windows 7 and Windows 8.1: Click the Start button > Windows Update > Check for updates to finish the process.

Conclusion

Now you can know how to make iCloud photos upload faster. 7 ways here can help you easily speed up the upload process. And FoneTool will be a great helper in the process. Hope you can have a great experience in the using process.

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