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5 Fixes for OneDrive Camera Upload Not Working on iPhone

Quick Tips
  • Open OneDrive app > Settings > Camera Uploads > Enable Camera Upload.
  • Open Settings > Photos > Disable iCloud Photos.
  • Open the OneDrive app > Settings > Camera Upload > Turn Off Include Videos.

Basic Fixes

  • Connect Your iPhone to a Wi-Fi Network: Try connecting to a 5GHz Wi-Fi network if you have a dual-band router.
  • Check OneDrive Storage: Visit your OneDrive account and check how much storage remains.
  • Disable Low Power Mode: Open Settings > Battery > Disable Low Power Mode on your iPhone. Also, ensure your iPhone’s battery level is above 20%. OneDrive backup will stop if the battery is less than 20%.
  • Enable background app refresh: Open Settings > OneDrive > Enable Background App Refresh.
  • Update or reinstall the OneDrive app: Install the latest version of the app on your iPhone to get rid of bugs or glitches.

Fix 1: Enable Camera Upload Again

Try disabling and re-enabling Camera Upload. That will force OneDrive to re-index your local photo library from scratch. Don’t worry. Any items that you’ve already uploaded won’t be affected.

Open OneDrive app > Settings > Camera Uploads > Enable Camera Upload.

Check if that got things moving once again. If not, let’s see what you can do next.

Fix 2: Disable iCloud Photos

iOS has a distinct space-saving mechanism dubbed Optimize Storage, which will automatically replace original copies already backed up to iCloud with low-resolution placeholders.

However, that will conflict with OneDrive, which can only upload your original copies. Hence, you need to turn it iCloud photo upload.

Open Settings > Photos > Disable iCloud Photos.

Fix 3: Turn On Bedtime Backup

If you have large videos or need to upload lots of images, you may see some marked as Remaining. We recommend using Bedtime Backup to upload your photos even faster with OneDrive’s dedicated upload mode.

Tap on Remaining in the OneDrive app > Select Get Started > Turn on Bedtime Backup.

Fix 4: Pause Video Backups Temporarily

If you are on a slower internet connection, then OneDrive’s upload capabilities may grind to a halt if you have videos in the mix. To at least upload your photos, consider pausing video backups temporarily.

Open the OneDrive app > Settings > Camera Upload > Turn Off Include Videos.

If your photos start to back up again, only turn on video backups either once they’ve finished uploading or if you are on a stronger internet connection.

Fix 5: Reset Network Settings

It most likely won’t come to this, but if Camera Upload still fails to function properly, that might be caused due to corrupted network settings on your iPhone. It’s time to reset them.

However, that means you will lose all saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords during the reset procedure. Cellular network settings will be automatically updated by your carrier after the reset so you need not worry about that.

Step 1: Open Settings > General > Transfer or Reset Settings > Reset.

Step 2: Tap Reset Network Settings, and then tap Reset Network Settings again to confirm.

After the reset, manually connect to a Wi-Fi network via the Settings app or enable cellular data. Camera Upload in OneDrive should work fine from here on out.

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Last updated on 13 July, 2024

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