But what if you do want to use Photo Stream and want to download and store those photos locally in your PC or Mac.As I mentioned above, only the latest 1000 photos will be stored in the device’s Photo Stream (this is now called Recently Added in iOS 8 by the way). If you add more photos exceeding this limit, older photos will be deleted. But if you download them to your PC or Mac you won’t.

To download photos from My Photo Strean to Mac, you need to install the latest version of iCloud on your Mac. The photos in My Photo Stream are stored in the path set in the iCloud Photos location on Windows PC. But, the Mac version doesn't have an option to configure the path where photos are stored. If you are looking for a step by step process to download photos from My Photo Stream to Mac, read below.

Following are the steps to Download Photos from My Photo Stream to Mac:

1. Make sure that you have the latest version of iCloud installed on your Mac.
2. Open 'iCloud' on your Mac.
3. Check mark the 'Photos' and click 'Options...' button.
4. Select 'My Photo Stream' option.
5. Click 'Ok' button.
6. Go to 'Preferences' and open 'iCloud' tab.
7. Turn ON 'My Photo Stream' and 'Automatic Import' options.
8. You will see the 'iCloud' folder under the 'Shared' section.
9. Open 'iCloud' folder, you will see 'My Photo Stream' and 'Shared Album' folders.
10. Once you open this folder, your Photos should start to be downloaded automatically.
11. This way you can download photos from My Photo Stream to Mac.

How To Download Photos From Photo Stream To Mac

Are you having issues with My Photo Stream on your Mac. Are updates to My Photo Stream not appearing in Photos? Or did your Mac suddenly stop importing images from My Photo Stream? Another common problem that a lot of users seem to be having is missing the My Photo Stream section in the Photos app. If you are having this problem, then this article is for you.

On your Mac, you can view your recent photos in My Photo Stream by going to Photos > Albums > My Photo Stream so that you can access your recent photos, if My Photo Stream is enabled on your iOS devices, this is, of course, if you set up iCloud.

Before you do anything, it is a good idea to check iCloud System Status for current scheduled maintenance. It is possible that you are having this problem temporarily because Apple may have been having issues with a host of iCloud-related services.

Download Photos From Photo Stream

See also: How To Transfer Photos & Videos From iPhone & iPad To Computer (Mac or Windows)

Note: My Photo Stream does not upload your Live Photos.

My Photo Stream Fixes

Please try each step one at a time until you resolve your issue.

Download Photos From Photo Stream To Mac Photoshop

1. Make sure that your Mac is running the latest version of macOS. If not, update your Mac.
2. Restart your Mac. You can do so by going to the Apple menu > and Restart.
3. Make sure that My Photo Stream is enabled on other devices. Here is how:
   • iOS devices: Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos and turn on My Photo Stream.
   • Apple TV: Settings > Accounts > iCloud and turn on My Photo Stream.
4. Ensure that you are using the same Apple ID, if you have multiple Apple IDs.
5. Make sure that your Mac has a working, reliable Internet connection. Without an active Internet connection, My Photo Stream won’t show. You may try some basic troubleshooting tips:
   • You may restart your modem and router.
   • You may restart your computer.
   • Turn off your Wi-Fi and wait a few seconds and then turn it on by clicking the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar.
   • Press and hold the Option key and then click the WI-Fi icon in the menu bar while holding the Option key. Click Open Wireless Diagnostics and run this tool, you will need to enter your admin password.
6. Open the Photos app and click Photos and then Preferences > iCloud and ensure that My Photo Stream is selected.
7. On your Mac, follow the steps below:
   • Quit the Photos app, if it is running. You can right-click and click Quit.
   • Open Activity Monitor, it is located in Applications / Utilities. You can also use the Spotlight app to open this.
   • In Activity Monitor, click the CPU column (columns are missing?)
   • In the Activity Monitor app, use the search field (upper right corner)
   • Type photos in the search field
   • From the results, look for Photos Agents and select this by clicking
   • Now, click the X in the top-left to force quit it.
   • Now close the Activity app and reopen the Photos app. Is your My Photo Stream now working? If not continue the steps below:
   • Quit the Photos app again and open Activity Monitor
   • Again search the photos word
   • This time kill the processes that start with “com.apple.photos…” and now reopen the Photos app.
8. On your Mac, open the Photos app and then click Photos > Preferences > iCloud and find the My Photo Stream and turn this off and wait a few seconds and then turn this on.

How To Download Photos From My Photo Stream

So you completed all of the tips above and you still do not see photos from My Photo Stream. You may want to contact Apple support.