Photos not uploading while you shoot: causes and fixes
By the CloudTether team · Updated
Short answer: if shots reach the phone but not Dropbox, Google Drive or your gallery, it's the phone's internet, a phone setting that limits data or background work, an expired destination sign-in, or a file type the destination won't take. Nothing is lost while you fix it — CloudTether keeps every shot on the phone until it's delivered.
Likely causes
- No signal or a weak one, so uploads crawl or wait.
- Mobile data switched off for CloudTether while the phone is on the camera's Wi-Fi.
- Low Data Mode or Data Saver restricting background traffic.
- Low Power Mode or battery saver, or CloudTether pushed to the background on iPhone.
- A destination's access expired or revoked — a changed password or a sign-out.
- RAW or video sent to a destination that doesn't take it, so it's skipped.
How to fix it, step by step
Read the shoot screen first
Open the shoot from Home or History. Each destination shows its own counts — delivered, On the way, and anything that needs attention — so you can tell straight away whether one service is stuck or all of them.
Check signal and mobile data for CloudTether
With no signal, shots wait on the phone and send themselves when it returns. If you're joined to a camera's own Wi-Fi, uploads go over mobile data: make sure mobile data is on and allowed for CloudTether (Settings › CloudTether on iPhone; Settings › Apps › CloudTether › Mobile data on Android).
Turn off data and power limits for the shoot
Low Data Mode on iPhone and Data Saver on Android restrict background traffic; Low Power Mode and battery saver cut background activity. Turn them off while you shoot, or exclude CloudTether where the phone allows it.
Keep CloudTether in front on iPhone
Tethering and uploads run while the app is open. If you switch away for a long time, transfers can pause until you return. Use Pocket mode to darken the screen while the tether keeps running. On Android, the foreground service keeps uploads going with the screen locked.
Reconnect the destination
If a destination's access expired, its deliveries pause and it asks you to reconnect. Open the Deliver tab, tap the destination and sign in again; queued photos then deliver. For FTP or SFTP, use Test connection to check the host, port, user, password and folder.
Tell skipped from failed
Gallery and messaging services such as SmugMug, ShootProof, Photohawk, Google Photos, Flickr, Frame.io, Slack and WhatsApp don't take RAW files, so those show as Skipped with a reason — shoot RAW+JPEG. Video is skipped for ShootProof, Lightroom, Flickr and Photohawk, and some services have size limits. Retry failed items from the shoot when the option is shown.
Send less on a weak signal
Turn on JPEG only — leave RAW files on the camera — or set a destination's What gets sent to a smaller size, such as 2048 px. Less data means delivery keeps pace with the shutter.
What a working tether looks like
Your client sees the photo before you lower the camera. No laptop, no card reader.
Once the camera is connected, every shot comes off it and goes where you chose — no picking, no importing.
On screen: Your client sees the photo before you lower the camera. Shoot as normal. On your phone in seconds, the moment you press the shutter. Straight to the client's gallery: Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Photos, ShootProof, SmugMug, Lightroom and FTP, plus OneDrive, Box, Frame.io, Slack, S3 and more. Works with the camera you already own: USB or camera Wi-Fi; Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm; RAW + JPEG, or JPEG only for speed. Weddings, events, sports, race photos. No laptop. No card reader.What you'll see with no signal
In CloudTether 1.1, Home says plainly: “No internet. Keep shooting.”, with a line such as how many shots are safe on the phone and where they'll be sent when you're back online. Waiting shots start sending by themselves when the connection returns, and “Not sent yet” lists any shot that still has no copy outside the app.
Upload once, delivered everywhere
Each photo uploads from the phone once; CloudTether then delivers it to every destination on the shoot. Adding a second destination doesn't double your upload or your mobile data.
FAQ
Why are my photos on the phone but not in Dropbox?
Usually the phone's connection, a data or power-saving limit, or Dropbox access that needs reconnecting. Check the shoot screen, then the Deliver tab.
Will I lose photos if uploads stop?
No. Every shot is kept on the phone until it's delivered, and resumes automatically when the connection returns.
Why do my RAW files show as Skipped?
Gallery and messaging services don't take RAW. Shoot RAW+JPEG so the JPEGs go to the gallery and RAW to storage.
Can my phone upload while it's on the camera's Wi-Fi?
Yes, over mobile data. Make sure mobile data is allowed for CloudTether.
How do I speed up delivery on a weak signal?
Turn on JPEG only, or send a smaller size such as 2048 px to gallery destinations.
Tether your camera to your phone with CloudTether
Canon, Nikon, Sony and Fujifilm over USB or Wi-Fi, on iPhone, iPad and Android. Every full-resolution shot is copied off the camera and delivered to Dropbox, Google Drive, a client gallery or FTP while you keep shooting.