Photos stuck syncing 1 item because of corrupted Live Photos shared on Messages

Question

Photos stuck syncing 1 item because of corrupted Live Photos shared on Messages

I have enabled iCloud Photos on my iPhone and Mac. They both have the same number of photos but one video is missing on the Mac. The video is actually a Live Photos rather than an actual video. It appears to be corrupted on my iPhone. The thumbnail is blank with 0:00 duration. When I tapped on it, I can see the file name as IMG_4496 with the iCloud icon slashed. I can see the location where it was taken and that it was taken on an iPhone. When I tapped on the Info button, it says:

Unable to Load Video

An error occurred while loading a higher-quality version of this video.

I tried to AirDrop it to my Mac and it didn't work as it said:

Unable to Share

There was an error while preparing to share. Please try again later.

I tried favouriting it and unfavouriting it. I tried to duplicate it and it said:

Cannot Duplicate Video

An error occurred while duplicating this video. Please try again later.

I tried restarting the iPhone and also tried force restarting the iPhone.

I checked iCloud.com to see if it shows up there and it doesn't.

This Live Photos was not taken by me on the iPhone and nor was it AirDrop to me. It actually was shared on a group chat on Messages. The Live Photos shared is not a standalone as it was shared with other Live Photos. In fact, it was bundled as two Live Photos and the other one doesn't show up in Photos Library. When I scrolled to see the original message, I can see the corrupted Live Photos just fine. I did not save it to Photos.

Messages Shared with You setting is enabled and enabled for Photos. So, that's how it appeared in my Photos Library. Likewise the same settings is enabled on my Mac, I do wonder why my Mac Photos Library doesn't show photos shared from Messages.

How do I fix this?

iPhone 13 Pro

Posted on Mar 26, 2025 5:16 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 26, 2025 10:52 AM in response to Mitochondrion

Mitochondrion wrote:…I mentioned that I tried a forced restart. I did it again and it didn't fix the issue. I can see the corrupted Live Photos in Messages.

Sorry-- I missed it.

I did not delete the Live Photos as I am scared that it will make it worse. What exactly will happen if I were to do that? I hope that it doesn't delete it from Messages.

It's a pretty easy thing to test for yourself. I just tried clicking on the download button for a live picture in a message, looking at it in Photos, and then deleting the Photos picture. The picture is still in Messages. How about for you?

Is it important that you have the little "live" business? If not, just drag the picture from Messages to a Finder folder to save it-- it will be a static image.

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Answer 2

Mar 26, 2025 9:20 AM in response to Mitochondrion

First, try a a forced restart:

Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

This is different from a simple Power Off.

If it's still corrupt, then it should be trashed. You didn't mention trying that-- does trash not work?

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Answer 3

Mar 26, 2025 10:10 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

I mentioned that I tried a forced restart. I did it again and it didn't fix the issue. I can see the corrupted Live Photos in Messages.

I did not delete the Live Photos as I am scared that it will make it worse. What exactly will happen if I were to do that? I hope that it doesn't delete it from Messages.

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Answer 4

Mar 26, 2025 11:24 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

I just deleted it and it still says Syncing 1 item to iCloud. I think I have to empty the bin in order for it to clear that one peculiar item. Or maybe take a random photo.

I checked for the same Live Photos in Messages and it is still there. I noticed something interesting. Two Live Photos shared prior to the corrupted Live Photos. They were shared in separate message from the same person and there is a Save to Photos button next to it. The two corrupted Live Photos are sent in the same message and are grouped together. There is Save to Photos button. If I tap on it, it says Photo on the top and then there is a menu where I can either Save to Files or Save to Photos.

Yes, I do care about the integrity of the photos as I don't want it altered. I want them in their original format. I am going to find out if I can get it from the person who sent it to me.

I was wondering what if I were to Save to Photos for the corrupted Live Photos from Messages, would it overwrite the corrupted Live Photos? Would that fix the issue for me?

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Answer 5

Mar 26, 2025 1:20 PM in response to Mitochondrion

Mitochondrion wrote: … I just deleted it and it still says Syncing 1 item to iCloud. I think I have to empty the bin

Well, yes. This is done in the Utilities section in Recently Deleted. The picture will stay there for 30 days unless you select it and choose "Delete" from the "more" menu.

I was wondering what if I were to Save to Photos for the corrupted Live Photos from Messages, would it overwrite the corrupted Live Photos? Would that fix the issue for me?

No. In any case, you need to deal with the corrupt picture, as above.

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Photos stuck syncing 1 item because of corrupted Live Photos shared on Messages