Photos Disappeared on Mac after Update: How to Get Them Back [6 Ways]

You may have upgraded your Mac from Ventura to the latest macOS Sonoma (macOS Sonoma vs Ventura), or from Monterey to Ventura, or eventually decided to downgrade from macOS Sonoma to Ventura.

However, some unexpected errors might occur after upgrading macOS, with the most common one being that your photos are missing from Mac after update. Don't worry; we've got you covered with 6 solutions to recover lost photos from Mac.

• Solution 1: Recover Photos after macOS Sonoma Update with Software
• Solution 2: Retrieve Disappeared Photos on Mac from Recently Deleted
• Solution 3: Fix Photo Library to Find Missing Photos on Mac
• Solution 4: Unhide Hidden Photos After macOS Update
• Solution 5: Restore Disappeared Photos After Update from iCloud
• Solution 6: Recover Disappeared Photos After Update via Time Machine

Before we learn how to fix photos missing from Mac after update, let's first understand the possible reasons behind photos disappearing from Mac after an update. Read on!

Why have my photos disappeared from my Mac after the update?

First, make sure the photos are actually missing due to the upgrade to macOS 14 or another version, and not because you're not looking in the right place.

There could be several reasons for Photos missing from Mac after Sonoma update; here are a few possible reasons that might have caused the photos to disappear from your Mac:

• System crash while upgrading to the latest macOS
• Warning: Data loss due to macOS-Mac app conflict
• ×Insufficient space on macOS Sonoma, resulting in data overwrite
• ×Accidental deletion of photos from Mac
• ？Photos unable to sync with iCloud due to incorrect settings, leading to loss
• ？Photos vanished after a malware or virus attack on the macOS system

How to Recover Lost Photos After a Mac Update

After updating your Mac, you can recover missing photos by enabling iCloud sync, scanning for malware, and more. In the next section, we'll look at six effective methods to fix photos that disappeared after updating your Mac.

Solution 1: Recover Photos after macOS Sonoma Update with Software

Due to the uncertainties in the update, you might end up with data loss issues. In that case, consider installing a powerful data recovery tool on your Mac to restore files that have suddenly disappeared from your Mac.

The Mac Data Recovery Wizard Pro is an all-in-one data recovery and backup tool that can back up your Mac data and recover permanently deleted files from Mac. It can retrieve photos that disappeared from your Mac after updating macOS.

As professional photo recovery software, the tool can help you recover missing photos after macOS Ventura update in just 3 steps! Check it out:

Note: You can click "Disk Backup" on the left to create a backup first. In case of disk failure or accidental deletion/loss of data from the disk, you can recover the data from the backup image.

Step One: Choose the Site

Select the disk from which you lost data after upgrading to macOS Sonoma/Ventura/Monterey/Big Sur, and then click “Search Lost Files.”

Step 2: Look for the lost data after the scan

Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will scan the disk volume you select immediately and show the scan results in the left pane. You can search for your desired data by file type and file path on your Mac.

Step 3: Restore your data after updating macOS

Select the target files that got accidentally lost during or after the update, and then click the “Recover” button to get them all back.

Solution 2: Recover Disappeared Mac Photos via “Recently Deleted”

Photos can also disappear if you delete them, accidentally or on purpose. Where do deleted photos go? The answer is the Recently Deleted album.

You can also use the powerful recovery tool mentioned in the first method to recover deleted photos on Mac. Alternatively, you can find photos deleted within 30 days in the Recently Deleted album and click "Recover" to get the deleted photos back to their original location.

If your Recently Deleted photos not showing on Mac, install the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro tool to restore lost pictures in 3 simple steps!

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Solution 3: Repair the Photos Library on Mac to Find Missing Photos

If you're missing the Photos library folder after upgrading to macOS Sonoma, it could be due to corruption caused by incompatibility. The good news is that macOS lets users repair a Photos library on Mac. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the Photos app, and press “Option + Command.”

Step 2. In the new window on your Mac, click on “Repair.”

Step 3: Wait for the repair process to finish, and then check if the missing photos reappear.

Solution 4: Unhide Photos After macOS Update

If your photos have disappeared from your Mac and you're sure you didn't delete them, you may have accidentally hidden the missing photos. There could be many hidden photos on your Mac that you can't access directly.

If you have iCloud Photos turned on, you can hide a photo on one device, and the change is reflected on all devices where you're signed in with the same iCloud account. To unhide the folder on your Mac that stores hidden photos, follow these steps:

Step 1: On your Mac, launch Photos from the Finder > Applications.

Step 2: Tap “View,” then select “Show Hidden Albums.”

Step 3: Choose the hidden album from the left sidebar.

Step 4. Right-click on the photo you want to unhide, and click “Unhide” to bring it back.

Fix 5: Recover Photos Missing After Update from iCloud

The process is straightforward – you'll need to have iCloud set up to back up your photos, then head to your iCloud Drive and download the missing picture to your Mac.

Aside from iCloud, the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro tool we mentioned earlier also has a feature for backing up photos. It's a powerful program that can greatly help secure your data!

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Backup Your Mac and Never Lose Data

Back up and restore your MacBook/iMac without using Time Machine, iCloud, or an external hard drive.

Solution 6: Restore Photos That Disappeared After an Update from Time Machine

Time Machine is the built-in backup feature of macOS that backs up your data to a designated internal or external drive. After updating, you can restore any lost photos using the following steps with Time Machine:

Step 1: Launch Time Machine and check the “Show Time Machine in menu bar” option.

Select Show Time Machine in the Menu Bar:

Step 2: Click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, and choose Enter Time Machine to see all your previous Time Machine backups.

Click “Recover” to put your lost photos back where they belong.

Conclusions

This article introduces 6 effective ways to recover missing photos from Mac after update. In such cases, consider installing a professional data recovery wizard for Mac to retrieve lost photos in just 3 steps!

Frequently Asked Questions: Photos Disappeared after Update on Mac

Below are some common questions people ask when searching for how to recover missing photos after updating their Mac; take a look!

Where did my photos go after the update?

If you use iCloud Drive to back up your Mac photos, you can check in iCloud Drive for missing photos after updating macOS.

**2. Why did all my photos disappear after the update?**

If you updated macOS, you might have signed out of your iCloud account, which would remove your iCloud Photos from your Mac. To get them back, just sign in to iCloud again and restore them.

How to Recover Photos to Mac?

Regardless of whether your photos are missing or deleted, you can recover them with these steps:

Step 1: Install and run Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro.

Step 2: Select the hard drive where you lost or deleted the photos, and click “Find Lost Files.”

Step 3: After the scan is complete, select the "Photos" tab on the left, and then find the photo you want to recover. If you're unsure which one to restore, click "Preview" to view its content.

4. Select the photos you want to restore, and then click the “Recover” button to save them.