How to Download Original Photos to your iPhone by Turning Off iCloud Sync

Keep full-size photos on your iPhone even if you've got iCloud enabled

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: February 11, 2025 Fact Checked

While iCloud Photos is hand if you move between Apple devices often, you may want to keep original, full-resolution photos on your iPhone. In this article, we will teach you how to turn off iCloud Photos and download your original resolution photos. We will also explain how you can continue to sync your photos with iCloud and keep the originals on your device.

Things You Should Know

Tap your name at the top of your Settings menu, then select iCloud > Photos.
Toggle the switch next to “Sync this iPhone” to the “Off” position.
Tap "Download Photos & Videos" in the popup.

Steps

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1
Open your iPhone's Settings. It's a gray app icon, containing an image of gears, that is usually found on one of your home screens.
- If you can't find it on your home screen, it may be in a folder labeled Utilities.
2
Tap your name near the top of the screen. It will be right under the search bar.
- If your iPhone is not signed into iCloud, enter your Apple ID and password.
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It is midway down the screen and has a white icon with a blue cloud. Next to iCloud it will say how much total iCloud server space you have.^{[1]
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It is the first option under Apps Using iCloud.^{[2]
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Toggle off
Sync this iPhone. Make sure the button is white and no green appears.^{[3]
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- If this toggle is not switched on, you have not synced any photos to your iCloud and the photos stored on your phone are the original, full-size versions.
- If you don't want to turn iCloud Photo sync off, you can simply tap Download and Keep Originals. This will stop optimizing your iPhone storage and keep original-sized photos, but will keep iCloud Photos on.^{[4]
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Tap Download Photos & Videos in the popup. If you turn off iCloud Photos, you have the option to download the original versions back to your phone.^{[5]
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- If you don't download the photos to your iPhone at this time, you can still access your original photos on other devices using iCloud Photos or by turning iCloud Photos back on.

Community Q&A

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Question

My ex hacked my iPad and cell and took my photos. Are they gone forever?

Community Answer

If you have them backed up on iCloud, they aren't gone forever. Check iCloud, check different devices with the same account, and check Recently Deleted. The only reason they would disappear is because they were deleted.

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