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Troubleshooting ​

This page helps you solve common issues with Ente Photos. Jump to the section that matches your problem:

Upload Issues ​

Why are my large videos failing to upload? ​

If large video files (300-700+ MB) are failing to upload or getting stuck, try these solutions:

Solution 1: Disable machine learning temporarily

ML processing can cause crashes during large video uploads, especially on mobile devices:

On mobile:

Open Settings > General > Advanced > Machine learning, disable "Face recognition" and "Magic search", try uploading the videos again, then re-enable ML after upload completes.

On desktop:

Open Settings > Preferences > Machine learning, disable ML features, upload the videos, then re-enable ML afterwards.

Solution 2: Disable video streaming (iOS)

Video streaming can cause crashes when combined with ML on some devices:

On iOS:

Open Settings > General > Advanced, disable "Video streaming" or "Enable video playback", try uploading again, then re-enable after upload completes.

Learn more about Video Streaming.

Solution 3: Upload from desktop instead of mobile

Desktop apps handle large video uploads more reliably:

  • More memory available
  • Faster, more stable network connections
  • Better handling of large files

Solution 4: Split large videos

If a specific video keeps failing:

  • The file might be corrupted or too large
  • Try uploading other files first to isolate the problem
  • Consider compressing the video if it's extremely large
  • Check if the video is under the 10 GB file size limit

If uploads are still failing:

  1. Check your network connection is stable
  2. Make sure you're not running out of storage quota
  3. Try uploading via WiFi instead of mobile data
  4. Contact support@ente.io with debug logs (see How to share logs)

Why does the app crash when watching videos or using ML? ​

If the Ente app crashes when watching videos or when machine learning is enabled, especially on iOS or older devices, this is a known issue.

Quick fix: Disable ML and video streaming

On mobile:

Open Settings > General > Advanced, disable "Machine learning" and "Video streaming" (or "Enable video playback"), then restart the app.

Learn more about Video Streaming.

Why this happens:

The combination of ML processing and video streaming can exceed available device memory on:

  • Older iPhone/iPad models
  • Devices with limited RAM
  • When processing very large libraries

If you want to use ML:

  1. Enable ML on desktop first (more powerful hardware)
  2. Let indexing complete on desktop
  3. Indexes sync to your mobile device
  4. You can then use search on mobile without enabling ML there
  5. Keep video streaming disabled on mobile

Reporting crashes:

If you continue experiencing crashes, go to Settings > Support > Report a Bug (this attaches crash logs automatically). Mention your device model and iOS/Android version, and describe when the crashes occur.

Why aren't my photos uploading? ​

If your photos or videos aren't uploading to Ente, try these troubleshooting steps:

Check network connectivity:

  • Verify your internet connection is stable and working
  • Try switching between WiFi and mobile data
  • If using a VPN, try disabling it or switching to a different provider
  • Check if your firewall or network security settings are blocking Ente

Check storage quota:

  • Check your storage quota in the app
  • If you've exceeded your limit, upgrade your plan or delete unwanted photos
  • Items in trash count towards your quota - empty trash to free up space

Check file compatibility:

  • Ente supports all image/* and video/* file types
  • RAW format support is currently limited
  • Files larger than 10 GB cannot be uploaded
  • If a valid file isn't uploading, contact support@ente.io

Why does upload show "Waiting to upload"? ​

This usually indicates a network connectivity issue:

  1. Check your internet connection is active
  2. Try switching networks (WiFi to mobile data or vice versa)
  3. If using VPN, try disabling it temporarily
  4. Check if your firewall is blocking Ente's servers
  5. On desktop/web, try disabling "Faster uploads" in Settings > Preferences > Advanced

Why are uploads failing on desktop or web? ​

We use a Cloudflare proxy to speed up uploads (blog post). However, in some network configurations (depending on your ISP) this might prevent uploads from going through.

Solution:

Open Settings > Preferences > Advanced (desktop/web), disable the "Faster uploads" option, and try uploading again.

If uploads still fail after disabling this option, check your network connectivity and firewall settings.

Why can't the app detect certain file types? ​

The desktop/web app tries to detect if a particular file is a video or image. If the detection fails, the app skips the upload.

Solution: Contact support@ente.io if you find that a valid image or video file was not detected and uploaded. Include:

  • The file extension (e.g., .jpg, .mp4)
  • The file's MIME type if you know it
  • A sample file if possible

Mobile Backup Issues ​

Why isn't background sync working on my phone? ​

On Android:

  1. Disable battery optimization for Ente:

    • Open device Settings > Apps > Ente > Battery
    • Select "Unrestricted" or "Don't optimize"

  2. Check storage permissions:

    • Open device Settings > Apps > Ente > Permissions
    • Ensure "Photos and videos" or "Files and media" is allowed

  3. Verify backed up folders:

    • Open Ente app, go to Settings > Backup > Backed up folders
    • Ensure the correct albums/folders are selected

On iOS:

  1. Check Background App Refresh:

    • Open device Settings > Ente > Background App Refresh
    • Ensure it's enabled

  2. Keep app in foreground for initial upload:

    • For large libraries, keep Ente open during the first upload
    • Once initial upload completes, background sync will work automatically

Learn more in Backup and Sync FAQ.

Why can't Ente access my photos? ​

On iOS:

Open device Settings > Ente > Photos and select "Full Access" (not "Selected Photos").

On Android:

Open device Settings > Apps > Ente > Permissions, enable "Photos and videos" or "Files and media", and ensure permission is set to "Allow" (not "Ask every time").

If you've granted permission but Ente still can't access photos, try:

  • Restarting the app
  • Revoking and re-granting the permission
  • Reinstalling the app (your backed-up photos are safe in the cloud)

Desktop App Issues ​

Why does my desktop app crash during large uploads? ​

If you're uploading a very large library (multiple terabytes) and the desktop app seems to freeze or restart during upload, especially when uploading large videos, this is related to Electron's 4GB RAM usage limit.

Workarounds:

  1. Separate large videos: Put problematic large videos in a separate folder, complete the rest of your upload, then upload that folder separately

  2. Use drag and drop: Instead of using watch folders or uploading a zip, drag and drop the folder directly into the app. This works better because the app has direct access to files via browser APIs

  3. Upload in batches: Split your library into smaller chunks and upload them separately

The app will detect and skip already uploaded items, so you can safely drag and drop the same folder multiple times.

Technical note: The underlying issue is Electron's 4GB RAM usage limit. We stream large videos to avoid reading them all at once, but in some cases even streaming exceeds the limit.

Why are my photo thumbnails missing or incorrect? ​

If thumbnails aren't generating properly, the most common cause is browser security settings blocking canvas access.

Firefox users: If you have "block canvas fingerprinting" enabled (privacy.resistFingerprinting set to true in about:config), Firefox will prevent the app from generating thumbnails.

Solution:

  • Disable canvas fingerprinting for Ente's domain, OR
  • Check if you're using browser extensions that block canvas access and whitelist Ente

Important: Once thumbnails are incorrectly generated or missing, they cannot be regenerated. You'll need to:

  1. Delete the affected files from Ente
  2. Fix the browser settings
  3. Re-upload the files

Ente will automatically skip files that have already been uploaded, so you can drag and drop the original folder again after removing the files without thumbnails.

Why aren't my watch folders syncing? ​

If watch folders aren't uploading new files automatically:

  1. Check the watch folders list:

    • Click "Watch folders" in the sidebar
    • Verify the correct folders are being watched

  2. Check upload status:

    • Look for the sync status indicator in the bottom right
    • Expand it to see any errors

  3. Restart the desktop app

  4. If the issue persists:

    • Remove the watch folder
    • Re-add it
    • Ente will skip already uploaded files

Learn more in Backup and Sync FAQ.

Can I upload from a network drive (NAS)? ​

Not recommended. While the desktop app may work with network drives in some cases, network storage often has:

  • Flaky file system emulation causing upload issues
  • Poor performance during large uploads
  • Unreliable file change notifications (critical for watch folders)

Recommended approach: Temporarily copy files to local storage before uploading rather than uploading directly from network drives.

Exception: Exporting to network drives generally works better than importing. If exporting to a UNC path (Windows network path like \\server\share), map it to a network drive letter first.

Can I safely close the desktop app while it's uploading? ​

Yes! The desktop app supports resumable uploads. You can close the app at any time, and when you open it again, it will automatically resume from where it left off. Your progress is saved and no files will be uploaded twice.

Platform-Specific Issues ​

Why is my iOS app stuck on "Please wait..." when I purchase a subscription? ​

If you purchased a subscription through the iOS App Store but the app shows "Please wait..." indefinitely or doesn't reflect your upgraded storage, this is a known issue with App Store subscription processing.

Recommended solution:

  1. Request a refund from Apple for the App Store purchase
  2. Purchase your subscription directly from web.ente.io instead

How to request a refund from Apple:

  1. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com
  2. Sign in with your Apple ID
  3. Find the Ente subscription purchase
  4. Select "Request a refund"
  5. Choose "It's not working as expected" as the reason

Alternative workaround to try first:

  1. Force close the Ente app completely
  2. Update to the latest version from the App Store
  3. Reopen the app and wait a few minutes
  4. If still stuck, proceed with the refund and web purchase

Why purchase from web.ente.io?

  • More reliable payment processing
  • Can apply discount codes (not possible through App Store)
  • Avoid App Store's 30% fee
  • Better refund and support options

If you continue experiencing issues after purchasing from the web, contact support@ente.io.

Why is my Android app stuck on the splash screen? ​

If the Ente app freezes at the splash screen for 15+ seconds on Android, try these solutions in order:

Solution 1: Clear app cache

Open device Settings > Apps > Ente > Storage and tap "Clear cache" (NOT "Clear data" - this preserves your login), then reopen the app.

Solution 2: Log out and log back in

  1. If you can access Settings in the app, log out
  2. Log back in with your email and password
  3. This refreshes the app state

Solution 3: Reinstall the app

  1. Uninstall Ente from your device
  2. Reinstall from your preferred source (Play Store, F-Droid, GitHub)
  3. Log back in
  4. Your backed-up photos are safe in the cloud

Note: This is a known issue being investigated by our team. If none of these solutions work, please contact support@ente.io with your device model and Android version.

Why is the Linux desktop app still showing the old icon after updating? ​

You might need to update the icon cache of your Linux desktop environment.

Solutions:

  1. Restart your computer (or logout and login again)
  2. Refresh the icon cache manually (steps vary by distro):
    • Example: xdg-desktop-menu forceupdate

AppImage users: If you're using an AppImage and not seeing the icon, you'll need to enable AppImage desktop integration (see below).

How do I enable AppImage desktop integration on Linux? ​

AppImages are not fully standalone and require additional steps to enable full "desktop integration":

  • Showing the app icon
  • Surfacing the app in the list of installed apps
  • Handling redirection after passkey verification

Solution:

  1. Download appimaged AppImage
  2. Run the appimaged AppImage
  3. Download the Ente Photos AppImage into your ~/Downloads folder
  4. appimaged will automatically pick it up and integrate it

See the AppImage documentation for all integration methods.

Why doesn't the AppImage work on my ARM64 Linux machine? ​

If the AppImage doesn't do anything when you run it on ARM64 Linux, you need to create a symlink:

sh
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/libz.so{.1,}

This creates libz.so as an alias for libz.so.1. The exact path might differ on your machine.

Why does AppImage say it requires FUSE? ​

Solution: Install libfuse2. For example, on Ubuntu:

sh
sudo apt install libfuse2

See the AppImage FUSE documentation for more details.

Why do I get a "SUID sandbox helper" error on Linux? ​

If you run the AppImage from the command line and see:

The SUID sandbox helper binary was found, but is not configured correctly.

Solution: Either:

  1. Double-click the AppImage in your file browser instead of running from CLI, OR
  2. Run it with the --no-sandbox flag:
    sh
    ./ente.AppImage --no-sandbox

Why won't the Windows desktop app start (JavaScript error)? ​

If you see "A JavaScript error occurred in the main process - The specified module could not be found" when starting the app on Windows, you need to install the Microsoft VC++ runtime.

Solution: Install the Microsoft VC++ redistributable runtime.

Why can't I log in to web.ente.io on my mobile browser? ​

If web.ente.io loads infinitely or gets stuck when you try to log in on a mobile browser (Safari on iPhone, Chrome on Android), this is a known limitation.

Why this happens:

Mobile browsers cannot handle the computationally intensive password derivation process that Ente uses for security. The login process requires significant processing power and memory that mobile browsers don't provide.

Solutions:

  1. Use the native mobile app instead (recommended):

  2. Use a desktop or laptop computer:

    • web.ente.io works on desktop browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
    • Or install the desktop app

Feature differences:

Mobile browsers on web.ente.io are not supported. Use native apps for the best experience:

  • ✅ Mobile apps: Full features including ML, search, video streaming
  • ✅ Desktop/laptop web: Most features (no ML)
  • ❌ Mobile web browsers: Not supported

How do I identify which files failed to upload? ​

On desktop: Check the sections within the upload progress bar for:

  • "Failed Uploads"
  • "Ignored Uploads"
  • "Unsuccessful Uploads"

Click on each section to see the specific files and error messages.

On mobile: Open Settings > Backup to see the backup status and any errors.

Performance Issues ​

Why is the app slow to load my photos? ​

Check your internet connection:

  • Slow loading usually indicates network issues
  • Try switching between WiFi and mobile data
  • VPNs can sometimes slow down loading

On mobile:

On desktop:

  • Large libraries may take time to load initially
  • Once loaded, the app caches data for faster access

Why is face recognition or magic search taking so long? ​

Machine learning features (face recognition and magic search) require downloading and indexing your entire library on your device. This can take time depending on:

  • Library size
  • Device processing power
  • Network speed

Tips for faster indexing:

  • Enable ML on desktop first (faster processor)
  • Use WiFi for initial indexing
  • Keep the app open and in the foreground
  • Once indexed on one device, the indexes sync to other devices

Learn more in Search and Discovery FAQ.

Getting Help ​

How do I share debug logs with support? ​

If you need to contact support, debug logs help us diagnose issues faster.

Note: Debug logs contain potentially sensitive information like file names. Feel free to not share them if you have privacy concerns. We'll try to diagnose without logs, though they make the process faster.

On mobile:

Open Settings > Support > Report a Bug. This will open your email client with logs attached.

On desktop:

Open Settings > Support > Help to view logs location, then go back to Settings > Support to open your email client. Attach the logs and describe your issue.

Desktop log locations:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Logs/ente/ente.log
  • Linux: ~/.config/ente/logs/ente.log
  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\ente\logs\ente.log

On web:

Open Settings > Support > Help to download logs, then email the downloaded logs to support@ente.io.

Email manually: If the automatic email doesn't work, send logs directly to support@ente.io with:

  • Your platform (iOS, Android, Desktop, Web)
  • Description of the issue
  • Steps you've already tried
  • Any error messages you see

Where can I get help? ​

  1. Check the FAQ sections for answers to common questions
  2. Join our Discord community for community support
  3. Email us at support@ente.io with details about your issue
  4. Report bugs on GitHub if you've found a technical issue

For security vulnerabilities, please email security@ente.io directly.