Many iPhone users have complained about an issue with their iPhones where they are unable to open photos or videos on the Photos app. Instead, they are getting an error message that said as follows.
Unable to Load Photo (or Video) , An error occurred while loading a higher quality version of this photo (or video)
Apparently, this might have been caused because the high quality images are been taken from another iPhone itself or transferred from another system. If the Internet connection is not so strong, that also might be the reason behind this error message since some photos are from the iCloud which needs a stable internet connection.
We have further investigated this error message in more depth and found a few best possible solutions that will assist the users in resolving the issue. If you are also encountering the same problem, refer to this article below to learn more.
Fix 1 – Make your Photo Favourite and later Unfavourite it
Step 1: Unlock your iPhone first of all and then from the home screen, search for Photos app and tap on it.
Step 2: After the Photos app opens, look for the photo or video that is unable to open.
Step 3: Long tap on the photo/video and select the Favourite option from the context menu as shown below.
Step 4: Now wait for 2-3 seconds and then unfavourite it by long tapping on it again and choosing the Unfavourite option from the menu.
Fix 2 – Duplicate the Photo
Many users have claimed that when they created a duplicate of the photo/video on their Photos app, they were able to view/open it on their iPhone without any error.
Steps to create duplicate of the photo on your iPhone.
Step 1: Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Go to the photo or video which is creating the error.
Step 3: Tap on the three-dot menu on the top right corner of the window as shown in the below screenshot.
Step 4: Now select the Duplicate option from the list by tapping on it.
Step 5: After the duplicate gets created, try opening the duplicate photo without any error.
Fix 3 – Delete the Photo and Recover it later
Step 1: Go to the Photos app by tapping on the Photos app icon from the home screen.
Step 2: Once the Photos app is open, long tap on the photo or video that is causing this error message and select the Delete option from the context menu.
NOTE – Tap the Delete Photo option on the confirmation pop-up window.
Step 3: After deleting the photo, you need to recover it by tapping on the Albums tab at the bottom.
Step 4: Scroll down the Albums page and tap on the Recently Deleted option.
Step 5: Enter the passcode or Face ID for authentication.
Step 6: After that, long tap on the photo or video and select the Recover option to recover.
Step 7: After it is recovered, the issue will be resolved.
Fix 4 – Change the Photo Optimization Setting
Step 1: Open the Settings page on your iPhone by tapping on the Settings icon from the home screen.
Step 2: Search for the Photos option on the Settings page by scrolling down and tapping on it.
Step 3: At the bottom of the Photos page, you need to select the Keep Originals option under the Transfer to Mac or PC section as shown in the below screenshot.
Fix 5 – Clear up the iPhone Storage for more space
Step 1: Open the Settings page on your iPhone.
Step 2: Tap on the General option once.
Step 3: Then scroll down and select the iPhone Storage option by tapping on it.
Step 4: This will give you a picture of which files are occupying the storage so that you can clear the unnecessary files from your iPhone.
Step 5: After clearing up the iPhone storage, you can see that the issue is resolved.
Fix 6 – Sign Out from your iCloud Account and Sign in again
If the problem is directly related to your iCloud account (Apple ID) on the iPhone, then the easiest way is to sign out and then sign in again with the same iCloud account details.
Here are the steps below on how you can do it.
Step 1: To do so, you need to go to the Settings page from the home screen on your iPhone.
Step 2: Then tap on the Profile Name at the top of the Settings page as shown in the below screenshot.
Step 3: Scroll down the Apple ID page and tap on the Sign Out option at the very bottom of the page as shown below.
Step 4: Now enter your Apple ID password and tap on the Turn Off option at the top right corner as shown.
Step 5: At last, select the Health and Keychain toggle button if you want to keep a copy of it and tap on the Sign Out option.
Step 6: After the data from iCloud is removed from your iPhone, wait for some time and then tap on the Sign in to your iPhone option at the top of the Settings page as shown below.
Step 7: Follow the on-screen instructions to sign in again by entering the Apple ID and its password.
Step 8: After signing in back, the issue must have got fixed.
Fix 7 – Turn Off the Data Saver Setting
If the data saver mode is enabled on your iPhone, you are bound to receive such an error message while retrieving any photo or videos since it takes more data to load the high quality files on the iPhone’s Photos app. So turn off the low data mode option on the iPhone by following the steps below.
How to Turn Off Data Saver Setting on Mobile Data
Step 1: Unlock your iPhone and open the Settings page.
Step 2: Tap on the Mobile Data option.
Step 3: Select Mobile Data Options by tapping on it as shown in the below image.
Step 4: Disable the Low Data Mode setting by tapping on its toggle button.
How to Turn Off Data Saver Setting on Wi-Fi
Step 1: Go to the Settings page on your iPhone and select the Wi-Fi option by tapping on it.
Step 2: Select the Wi-Fi Network on the Wi-Fi page by tapping on it.
Step 3: Now disable the Low Data Mode option by tapping on its toggle button as shown below.
This will turn off the low data mode option on your iPhone which in turn can fix this issue.
Fix 8 – Disable the Low Power Mode
The low power mode when enabled on any iPhone will restrict several apps and other features on the iPhone in order to preserve battery consumption. So let us try disabling the low power mode if it is enabled already on the iPhone and see if this helps.
Step 1: Open the Settings page on the iPhone.
Step 2: Scroll down a bit and tap on the Battery option as shown in the below screenshot.
Step 3: Once the Battery page opens, tap on the Low Power Mode‘s toggle button to turn it off as shown below.
Step 4: Now after disabling the low power mode, check if the problem still persists.
Fix 9 – Check iCloud Server Status
Sometimes, if the server of a particular app is down, it causes several problems. The same is the case with the iCloud app as well. If the server is shut down for maintenance temporarily, it might be the reason for the error message on your Photos app.
Check the iCloud server status and if it is down, you need to wait for an hour or so and try again later.
Fix 10 – Turn On Unlimited Updates for the Photos app
Step 1: Go to the Settings page on your iPhone.
Step 2: Scroll down and select the Photos option as shown in the below screenshot.
Step 3: Then tap on the Mobile Data option.
Step 4: Turn on the Mobile Data by switching on its toggle button as shown below.
Step 5: After you have enabled the Mobile Data for the Photos app, tap on the Unlimited Updates toggle button to enable it.
Fix 11 – Disable iCloud Photos and then enable it again
Step 1: Open the Settings page on your iPhone.
Step 2: Then tap on the Photos option by scrolling down the list of menu on the Settings page as shown below.
Step 3: After the Photos page opens, tap on the iCloud Photos option’s toggle switch to turn it off as shown.
Step 4: Wait for some time and then enable it back by tapping on its toggle button.
Step 5: This will definitely resolve the issue.
Additional Fixes
Update the iPhone
If your iPhone is not updated, it might cause several issues including the one discussed above in this article. Apple introduces updates very often after analyzing the feedback and reports from many users. So it is always better to frequently check for any software updates.
Follow the steps below.
Step 1: Open the Settings page on your iPhone.
Step 2: Then go to the General page by tapping on the General option as shown in the below screenshot.
Step 3: Now tap on the Software Update option once.
Step 4: Wait for a few seconds till it loads the page.
Step 5: If there are updates, please update it by tapping on the Download & Install.
Force Restart your iPhone
Whenever we encounter a weird problem like this, force restarting the iPhone helps in resolving most problems in the iPhone. We are here with the detailed steps below on how to force restart your iPhone.
- To force restart your iPhone, press the volume up button once and release it.
- After that, press the volume down button and release it.
- Press the side button of your iPhone for around 10 seconds till you see the Apple logo sign on the screen.
- Once the iPhone starts, try and check if your iPhone gets locked when inactive.
Check the Internet connection
If you are repeatedly having such issues with your iPhone Photos app or other applications, it is probably caused due to the Internet connection on your iPhone.
When an Internet connection is not stable enough to browse or load any page, video, or photo, there occurs such an error message. So try restarting the wi-fi router once and see if this helps in getting the internet back on your iPhone.
Also, try enabling the mobile data by following the below steps.
Step 1: Open the Settings page.
Step 2: Go to Mobile Data by tapping on the Mobile Data option as shown below.
Step 3: Tap the Mobile Data toggle button to turn it on as shown in the below screenshot.
Step 4: After enabling the Mobile data, the problem might be resolved.