[Solved] iPhone Unable to Share Photos

Unable to Share Photos

I am trying to share a photo on iPhone but go an error message saying ‘There was an error while preparing to share. Please try again later.' What should I do?

- Question from developer.apple.com

In daily life, you can share funny moments or precious memories with others by sharing photos. But some people report that their iPhones are unable to share photos. If you are also suffering from this problem, don't worry. Here are some solutions to help you fix this problem.

Causes of Unable to Share Photos on iPhone

Some unpredictable changes and malfunctions may result in the iPhone unable to share photos error. The following are possible causes:

The network connection is unstable or lost.

Your iPhone is in low battery mode.

Your photos are stored in iCloud but your phone is disconnected from iCloud.

5 Fixes to iPhone Unable to Share Photos

Now that we know what is causing your iPhone photos unable to share, let's have a look at how to fix it. We have listed 5 methods. Please try them one by one to troubleshoot your problem.

Way 1. Restart Your iPhone

Before trying anything complicated, we recommend you restart your iPhone. Most of the problems, such as iPhone white screen of death and iPhone not responding, can be solved by restarting the device.

Restart iPhone 8 or later: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button, press and quickly release the Volume Down button, and then, press and hold the Power button. Slide to power off when a slider labeled appears.

Restart iPhone 7 or 7 Plus: Press and hold the Power button and the Volume Down button for seconds. Wait for seconds and drag the slider to turn off your device.

Restart 6s, iPhone SE, or earlier: Press both the power button and the Home button until the power-off slider appears.

Way 2. Check Internet Connection and Settings

When you want to share photos or other files over the network, please make sure your network connection is working properly. No or unstable network connection may prevent you from sharing photos properly on your iPhone.

You can reset your network settings to get back to original network options and values and fix the “unable to share photos from iPhone” issue.

Step 1. Go to Settings on iPhone, select General, and click on Reset (Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset for iOS 15 or later).

Step 2. Tap Reset Network Settings, input the passcode, and click Reset Network Settings.

Way 3. Deactivate Low Power Mode

Please check if you have turned on the Low Battery Mode. This is because, in Low Battery Mode, some functions may be disabled to prolong the standby time of the battery.

You can try to turn off Low Battery Mode to resolve the "unable to share iPhone photos" as shown below. Head to Settings > Battery, and temporarily disable it.

Way 4. Turn off & on iCloud Photos Library

This problem may occur when your iPhone cannot connect with iCloud. Quite a few users suggest that turning off the iCloud Photos Library and turning it on again after a few seconds can help to fix "iPhone unable to share.”

Step 1. Navigate to iPhone Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos to turn off iCloud Photos.

Step 2. Wait for seconds and toggle it on once again to see if the problem is solved.

Way 5. Check Your Free Storage Space on iPhone

If your photos are stored in iCloud, you need to have enough free storage space on your phone for photos to be downloaded from iCloud to your phone before being shared with others. If your iPhone storage is full, you can free up space by deleting some useless programs or files to fix the “unable to share pictures on iPhone” issue.

Bonus Tip. An Easy Way to Free up Space on iPhone

Storing too many photos and videos on your phone tends to run out of storage space quickly. A simple way to free up space on iPhone is to backup your phones, videos, and other files and delete them from your phone. In this way, you can also protect your phone data from loss caused by virus invasion, device being stolen, etc.

Luckily, a professional iPhone backup and transfer tool - FoneTool allows you to freely backup all iPhone data with one click. With this tool, you can choose to create a full backup for your phone or back up only the changed or newly added files via incremental backups.

 ✓ Simple and interactive GUI. No requirement to sign-up for a trial and data backup is done in a few clicks.
✓ Superfast backup speed. With a data cable connection, you can backup 100 photos in less than three seconds.
✓ Protect photo quality. You can backup iPhone photos in their original quality, protecting them from quality damage.
✓ Restore data flexibly. You can choose to restore backups to a new iPhone or the original device and you could preview files before restoration.

Follow the steps below to back up photos, videos, messages, and other types of files from iPhone to computer and remove them from your phone to make room on iPhone.

Step 1. Download and launch FoneTool. And Connect iPhone to computer via a USB cable.

Step 2. Select Phone Backup and click on Selective Backup on the main interface.

Step 3. Click on the Photos, Videos, Music, Contacts, or Messages icon and select the items your want backup. After selecting, click OK.

Step 4. Choose a storage path and tap on Start Backup.

Now, you can delete the files that you have backed up to PC to make room on your iPhone and share photos with others properly.

Final Words

When you encounter the "iPhone unable to share photos” problem, don't worry, choose an appropriate method from above and follow the guides to make your photos shareable properly again.

If you are unable to share photos due to insufficient storage space, don't forget that you can use FoneTool to back up your phone for free. Then, you can delete the backed-up data to clear up space on your phone without any hassle.