Why Can’t I Save Photos from an iCloud Link?

Can’t Save Photos from an iCloud Link
Can’t Save Photos from an iCloud Link

You may have confusion that you follow every step of the guide on how to save iCloud link photos to Camera Roll but nothing goes on well, so what’s wrong? This post will provide you with 4 probable reasons and you can check them one by one to see if these match your situation.

  • Invalid or Expired Link: If an iCloud photo link is not working, it may be invalid or expired, so you can’t open and save the photos from it. In this case, you’d better create a new iCloud link or ask the person who shared the link with you to resend one.
  • No Downloading Permission: You may have an iCloud link that does not allow you to download the content. Therefore, you may adjust the permissions of the link or contact the sender and ask for permission.
  • Unstable Network: The unstable network may interrupt the downloading process or even the process can’t get started. So, before you download the photos from an iCloud link, make sure that your network is stable and quick.
  • Inadequate Storage: If your devices don’t have enough space for saving photos, the downloading process may not be done successfully. So, if you are eager to save the photos from an iCloud link, you’d better clear up your devices’ storage by moving some photos to another iCloud account or in other ways.

These 4 points may be the reasons why you can’t save photos from an iCloud link. If they can’t match your situation, you may try the steps for saving iCloud link photos to Camera Roll in the next section to see if it works.

How to Save iCloud Link Photos to Camera Roll [ Step by Step]

If you want to save iCloud link photos to Camera Roll, you can refer to the steps shown in this part. Before you start downloading the photos from iCloud to your iPhone, make sure that your devices are connected to the network and there is enough storage on the devices. Once you receive an iCloud link, you may open it in the Messages directly or paste it to a web browser and then open it. This post will list the steps for saving iCloud link photos to Camera Roll via Messages.

Download Photos from iCloud Link to Camera Roll

Step 1: Open Messages on your devices and tap the link that you received.

Step 2: Click “Open” in the pop-up window and you will skip to “For You” in the Photos app.

Open the iCloud Link
Open the iCloud Link

Step 3: Tap the “Add All” button and then the photos will be saved in Camera Roll. Or, if you want to keep not all but some of the photos on your devices, you can click “Select” to choose the photos, then add them to Camera Roll.

Save the Photos to Camera Roll
Save the Photos to Camera Roll

Note: If you want to know how to create an iCloud link to share photos on your iPhone, you can follow the instructions below. But first of all, you have to check whether you turn on iCloud Photos and Shared Albums. Also, please remember that the shared link will expire after 30 days.

To share Photos with an iCloud link: Open the Photos app > Select the photos > Tap the icon of share in the lower-left corner > Choose “Copy iCloud Link” > Send the link to others.

Create an iCloud Link
Create an iCloud Link

Bonus Tip: Transfer iCloud Photos to Another Place via MultCloud

Definitely, you already know how to save iCloud link photos to Camera Roll. But if your devices don’t have enough local storage and you still want to transfer the photos on iCloud to somewhere else as a backup, you can choose to transfer them to other cloud drives like Google Drive or OneDrive. To realize this, MultCloud will be a good choice.

MultCloud helps manage your multiple cloud drives with only one app. For management, it offers various cloud-to-cloud functions like Cloud Transfer, Cloud Sync, and Cloud Backup. In this section, we will show you how to use Cloud Transfer to migrate iCloud Photos to OneDrive. But before the steps, don't forget to turn on iCloud Photos in your device‘s settings.

Step 1: Enter MultCloud and create a new MultCloud account by clicking the button “Get started for free”.

Step 2: Click “Add Cloud” and the icons of iCloud Photos and OneDrive. To log in to your iCloud Photos in the pop-up window, you have to go through the two-factor authentication.

Add iCloud Photos and OneDrive
Add iCloud Photos and OneDrive

Step 3: Tap “Cloud Transfer” in the left bar and select iCloud Photos and OneDrive in the corresponding boxes. Then click “Transfer Now” and the photos will be migrated to OneDrive very soon.

Transfer iCloud Photos to OneDrive
Transfer iCloud Photos to OneDrive

Note: If you want the transfer speed to be much quicker and have more transfer traffic than the free 5 GB, you can upgrade to MultCloud’s VIP. So that you can have 10 threads to transfer files at the same time.

Besides, MultCloud provides several options for you to make the transfer customizable.

  • Transfer Options: This is used to decide how MultCloud deals with repeated files or photos during the transfer process.
  • Schedule: If you want your transfer task to run at another time, you can set your preferred time and frequency in "Schedule".
  • Email: If you tick the box in the Email interface, MultCloud will email you after finishing the transfer process.
  • Filter: It is designed to ignore or only transfer the files for the transfer process.

MultCloud also supports basic operations like uploading, downloading, sharing, copying, and more. You can also download photos from iCloud via MultCloud. You can just go: Add iCloud Photos > Open it on MultCloud > Choose the photos you want to download > Select "Download" in the upper bar (or right-click the selected photos and select "Download").

Download Photos from iCloud to Computer
Transfer Photos from iCloud to PC

Conclusion

As you can see, it is easy to master the solutions on how to save iCloud link photos to Camera Roll because there are only a few steps to follow. If the iCloud link doesn’t work, you may refer to the 4 reasons in the first section of this post. What’s more, if the storage is not enough on your devices, you can use MultCloud to move the photos from iCloud Photos to other clouds.

Additionally, if you don’t want to update the photos on iCloud to other cloud drives manually, you can auto-sync iCloud Photos to OneDrive, Google Drive, or other cloud drives by MultCloud Cloud Sync. Undoubtedly, the operations will be simple, too.

Why can't I download photos from iCloud to my iPhone?
 
If you can't download photos from iCloud to your iPhone, it could be due to insufficient storage space, a weak internet connection, or settings misconfigurations. Ensure you have enough storage, a stable Wi-Fi connection, and check iCloud settings to allow photo downloads. Restarting your device may also help resolve the issue.
Why do my photos keep sending as an iCloud link?
 
Photos may send as iCloud links when you've enabled the "Optimize iPhone Storage" option in Settings > Photos, and the full-resolution photo is stored in iCloud. When sharing, your device may generate a link to conserve storage space. To send the actual photo, disable this option in your settings.
How do I move Photos from shared album to camera roll?
 
Photos may send as iCloud links when you've enabled the "Optimize iPhone Storage" option in Settings > Photos, and the full-resolution photo is stored in iCloud. When sharing, your device may generate a link to conserve storage space. To send the actual photo, disable this option in your settings.
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