Regardless of whether iCloud Photos is enabled, Apple stores album information within the Images library. It also stores all images by default within the same library, meaning that unless you’ve added external image references, everything will typically reside in a single backup location.
- Will you risk losing precious moments by hesitating to capture them? To ensure seamless access and organization of your entire photo collection, I suggest syncing all originals to a single Mac, thereby ensuring consistent retrieval of every variation in your iCloud library.
- Store your previous backups to determine the earliest point in time prior to the change that you will attempt to restore.
- Restore out of your backup.
- If the albums appear satisfactory, confirm that those missing any images, utilizing the stock results from step two, and depending on the number of images lacking, it may be necessary to re-export them from #1 to an external folder, then rerun steps three and four. After the restoration process has reached its full capacity, import the missing images to ensure seamless continuity.
- Create a comprehensive backup of all photos and albums to safeguard your cherished memories.
If you find yourself without a suitable backup for task #2, at least having initiated a current imperfect backup and starting to create albums from memories you deem worth keeping, and preparing local backups if needed.
For individuals reliant on iCloud Photos, it is crucial to regularly back up your library locally using one of two methods: Time Machine or manual backup.
