Is your MacOS Photos app stuck on downloading originals? Here’s how to make it download much faster.
When you get a new Mac or reset your Photo Library, your Mac will get to work in the background to re-create your library.
This is especially true if you have the “Download Originals to this Mac” setting enabled.
The Photos app works in the background to download originals.
The problem is that the Photos app decides when is the right time to download the Originals. For many of us, this is too slow, and we have no control over this process.
There is an easy way to Force MacOS Photos to download Originals faster: Use the Slideshow feature.
Steps to Force MacOS Photos to Download Originals Faster
Step 1: Make a Selection of Photos that you want downloaded.
If it’s your entire library, can batch this into a couple of thousand at a time, depending on what your Mac can handle.
Right-click your selection, and click “Play Slideshow”.
This is the magic. Photos will pop up a progress bar and proceed to immediately download the original files.
Wait for the progress bar to fill up…
You will then hear some music from the slideshow options panel. This is your cue to dismiss the dialog.
Repeat the process as needed.
This technique was successfully tested on Photos version 7.0 in MacOS Monterey
