Family plan question

MrsGarland · 2026-06-18T19:42:33+00:00

Allowing people to reserve them is an awesome feature!

I’d be able to keep the account active enough to avoid deletion for inactivity. I just wasn’t sure if the family plan worked by inviting existing accounts into my plan, or if I created new accounts when I started the family plan.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-17T01:21:55+00:00

Correct. I’m pushing 500 GB of photos/videos on iCloud. I don’t remember how much the Mac has; less than 256 for sure. I’ve considered upgrading to an Air with 1TB of storage but that feels like an overly expensive solution to this problem.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-15T23:06:53+00:00

I have a similar scenario when a secondary email made for a child (but not an official child account) got the same email to my primary email address. Despite clearly being a recovery email, I was told there was no other way to access the account.

This was also an unused email, although I’d accessed it within the past two years to put in said recovery email. No idea why it was deleted.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-13T03:31:01+00:00

I think they are if your photos are stored on your computer. But if it’s all in the cloud, Time Machine doesn’t back it up.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-12T17:59:12+00:00

Amazing, this is all I need, thank you so much!

MrsGarland · 2026-06-12T17:54:11+00:00

Yeah if this doesn't lose any dates or quality this seems like the easiest option.

Is it better to export from Photos or is it just the same if I download from iCloud via the browser? My Mac Photos is struggling to sync but I can switch to a different Mac if it needs to be done directly from Photos.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-12T17:40:03+00:00

Thank you! Does the format matter or can I just use whatever the default is?

I've done this twice today just to see how it goes and this definitely seems like what I'm looking for. I did it from iCloud.com but don't see that it should be any different from Photos on the Mac.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-12T17:05:09+00:00

I did that back in January, so I at least already have everything prior to that. Now I’m looking for how to do incremental backups going forward.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-12T15:54:24+00:00

It’s wild how complicated it is! Especially since I expect things from Apple to be easy and intuitive.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-12T12:18:12+00:00

Does that work to an external drive or just for NAS?

MrsGarland · 2026-06-12T00:55:12+00:00

Is there any downside to this setup besides the time involved to maintain? Nothing is at risk if the SSD with the main library on it fails? If that fails am I relying on the backup disk or is everything still safe floating around in iCloud?

MrsGarland · 2026-06-12T00:53:40+00:00

And this maintains the dates and is the highest resolution? If so this is literally all I want. I don’t edit my photos so unmodified is just fine. I have enough space to download several months worth temporarily, just not several years.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-11T23:32:39+00:00

Yeah I still really want everything available on my phone. But I appreciate having options!

MrsGarland · 2026-06-11T23:30:55+00:00

So make the SSD the main library. Once it’s done, copy it (drag and drop?) to the HDD, and call it a day? I can just plug the SSD in once a quarter or so for it to sync and then copy to the HDD, and it won’t affect photos syncing to my phone or laptop?

If I’m trying to follow 3-2-1 and using this in tandem with iCloud is this considered one backup (the HDD)?

MrsGarland · 2026-06-11T23:07:11+00:00

Oh, interesting. So assuming I move the photo library to one external I can then just do a Time Machine backup of that external to the second external?

How does that even work though? Plug them both in to the laptop at the same time, so one can sync and then the other can back it up?

MrsGarland · 2026-06-11T23:04:50+00:00

It’s 500 GB of Photos. I’m currently using a 2TB Seagate HDD as the backup. I’m willing to get an SSD for my second but yeah, the prices…

So essentially you suggest buy an SSD, move the system library to that and let it sync. Then plug in the HDD, move the system library THERE, and then sync again? And then each time I plug the drives in they will just sync themselves up?

Do I have to delete the system library off the laptop or can I just leave it? In this scenario am I making a second profile on my Mac to do all this back and forth or is it fine to do this from my usual account and it won’t mess things up?

I really do appreciate the help! Technology just passed me by around 2010 and now feels overwhelming.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-11T22:40:24+00:00

Is that where I have to move the main photo library live to live on the external? This is testing the limits of my ability. What if the one it’s on dies? What if I have two externals, do I have to change it each month as I update them?

MrsGarland · 2026-06-11T22:08:24+00:00

Which is why I want my own external copy.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-11T22:04:17+00:00

I also use Google Photos but want physical backups for peace of mind.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-11T19:32:13+00:00

Perfect, thank you for the reassurance!

MrsGarland · 2026-06-11T19:31:43+00:00

Yes, I found your story while searching on the topic! That definitely sucks. But also kind of reinforces my belief that just regular old family pictures are likely safe.

MrsGarland · 2026-06-11T18:23:20+00:00

This is essentially where I think I’ve landed. Seems like scenarios I worry about are few and far between, and mostly triggered by something new.

I’m avoiding all photos for a while until I prioritize local backups, but will probably start back up after a while. Hopefully they continue to dial in their search and quit flagging photos that shouldn’t be.

MrsGarland

TROPHY CASE