iOS OneDrive - Upload from iCloud???

Question

I am getting many photos and videos not being uploaded to OneDrive now. According to Copilot it was removed so if you have optimise iPhone storage enabled you now don't get it backing up. Is that correct? CoPilot:

"📌 Why you can’t find “Upload from iCloud”

The old toggle called “Upload from iCloud” used to appear in earlier versions of OneDrive for iOS. It allowed OneDrive to automatically pull files stored in iCloud Drive.

Microsoft removed this option.

Now, OneDrive can only automatically upload Camera Roll photos/videos, not files stored in iCloud Drive."

Answer 1

Hello,

No, OneDrive cannot sync photos from iCloud. It can only sync photos from the phone's local storage.

So, if your iPhone have "Optimize iPhone Storage” turned on, your phone keeps only placeholders locally. The real files stay in iCloud. OneDrive only uploads local files, not cloud placeholders. If you want your files to both OneDrive and iCloud, you need to turn Optimize iPhone storage off.

See this support article here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/fix-problems-uploading-files-on-the-onedrive-website-9afcc4a0-e344-4bc9-9c9d-59d3e802247e

Answer 2

OneDrive on iOS no longer uploads from iCloud-optimized photos or iCloud-only storage. It only uploads the local Camera Roll content that is actually stored on the device.

If Optimize iPhone Storage / iCloud Photos is enabled, many photos and videos may exist only in iCloud (with low‑res thumbnails on the device). OneDrive cannot upload those optimized items. To allow OneDrive to back them up, iCloud optimization must be turned off so the full-resolution files are stored locally:

• On iOS, go to Settings > Photos and toggle off iCloud Photos (or disable optimization as described in the docs).
• Alternatively, in some guidance it is described as Settings > iCloud > Photos > Optimize Storage – this must be cleared so photos are stored on the device.

Microsoft’s documentation explicitly states:

• “OneDrive cannot upload photos optimized for iCloud. To disable optimization, tap Settings > Photos and toggle off iCloud Photos.”
• Or: “To turn off optimization, tap Settings > iCloud > Photos and clear Optimize Storage.”

So the behavior described is correct in effect: with iCloud optimization enabled, OneDrive will not back up those optimized photos/videos, and they will appear as not uploading.

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References:

• Automatically save photos and videos with OneDrive on iOS
• Fix problems uploading files on the OneDrive website