iCloud for Windows Photos Not Syncing to Your PC? How to Fix It

Photos you took on your iPhone aren’t appearing in iCloud for Windows on your PC, or the thumbnails show up blank, broken, or won’t open.

Why: iCloud for Windows downloads copies of your iCloud library to the PC, but it needs the right Windows version and the HEIF/HEVC components installed to read the iPhone’s photo and video formats. When those are missing — or when the local copy gets out of date — photos appear blank or never download. Forcing iCloud to re-sync from scratch fixes most of these cases.

Fix 1: Force iCloud Photos to re-sync

This clears the stale local copies and pulls fresh ones from iCloud. Your photos stay safe in iCloud the whole time.

1. Open iCloud for Windows and make sure you’re signed in with your Apple Account.
2. Deselect iCloud Photos and Shared Albums.
3. Click Done, then Apply, then Delete from PC. (This only removes the local copies, not the originals in iCloud.)
4. Open iCloud for Windows again and this time select iCloud Photos and Shared Albums.
5. Click Done, then Apply.

Your photos and videos begin re-downloading. A large library can take a while, so leave the PC on and connected.

Fix 2: Update Windows and install the HEIF/HEVC components

iPhones save photos as HEIC and videos as HEVC. Without the right plugins, Windows can’t display them, so they look blank.

1. If iCloud warns “We detected that you are using an older version of Windows,” update to Windows 10 build 18363 or later (Windows 11 already qualifies). Go to Settings > Windows Update and install everything offered.
2. Open the Microsoft Store and install both:
   • HEVC Video Extensions (the HEVC decoder)
   • HEIF Image Extensions (the HEIF plugin)
3. Restart iCloud for Windows.

Fix 3: Check the sync status in the system tray

iCloud reports upload and download progress in the notification area.

1. Click the ^ (Show hidden icons) arrow near the clock.
2. Click the iCloud icon to see whether photos are still downloading or have stalled.

If it’s still working through your library, just let it finish — first-time syncs of big libraries take time.

FAQ

Where does iCloud for Windows put my downloaded photos? In C:\Users\[your name]\Pictures\iCloud Photos\Downloads. iCloud for Windows 11.1 and later download optimized copies automatically; older versions need manual downloads.

My photos are on my iPhone but not the PC — why? Confirm iCloud for Windows is signed in to the same Apple Account as your iPhone, and that iCloud Photos is selected.

Will deleting from PC delete my originals? No. “Delete from PC” in Fix 1 only removes the local copies — the originals remain in iCloud.

Sources: Apple Support — If your iCloud photos and videos aren’t displaying correctly on your PC, Apple Support — If your iCloud Photos aren’t loading on your PC