How to fix problems with the new Collections Feature in Photos on macOS Sequoia

The Photos app in macOS Sequoia introduces the Collections feature, which automatically organizes your photos and videos into helpful categories like Days, Trips, People & Pets, and Featured Photos. If you’ve recently updated to macOS Sequoia and your Collections aren’t updating or showing your trips correctly, you can follow these detailed steps to prompt the Photos app to properly index and display your content.

Method 1: Allow Photos to Index Automatically

First, ensure your Mac stays awake so Photos can complete indexing. Photos uses background processes such as mediaanalysisd, photoanalysisd, and photolibraryd to analyze your library. Click the Apple logo at the top left and then click on “System Settings”.

Click “Energy” on the left and enable “Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off.” Additionally, set “Turn display off when inactive” to a short interval (1–5 minutes), ensuring your Mac doesn’t sleep entirely.

Avoid disabling your screensaver via Hot Corners, since this can inadvertently pause Photos’ background indexing processes. To do that, first click “Screen Saver” on the left and then click the “Lock Screen Settings” button on the right.

Set the screensaver to “Never” in Lock Screen settings. This allows indexing to continue uninterrupted when your Mac is idle.

Leave your Mac running continuously for several days, especially if your photo library is large (over 50,000 photos or videos). You can monitor indexing progress by opening Activity Monitor and looking for the background processes mentioned above. Be aware that moving the mouse or using your Mac may temporarily pause indexing.

Once indexing completes, your Collections will populate automatically, including Trips, Memories, and People & Pets. Patience is key, as large libraries can take significant time to fully process.

Method 2: Optimize External Storage Setup

If your Photos library resides on an external drive, ensure the drive is properly connected and formatted correctly. macOS Photos requires external drives to be formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

Verify your external hard drive format by opening Disk Utility. Open Finder from the Dock and click “Applications” before clicking “Utilities” near the bottom.

Click “Disk Utility” and select your external drive from the sidebar. Then confirm the format is either APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

If your external drive is formatted incorrectly, back up your Photos library to another location, then reformat the external drive using Disk Utility. Choose APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the format type.

After formatting, move your Photos library back to the external drive. Launch Photos while holding down the Option key, and select your library’s new location to set it as the system library.

Proper formatting ensures the Photos app can efficiently access and index your library, resolving issues with Collections not updating.

Method 3: Remove Conflicting Third-Party Software

Third-party software designed to optimize or clean your Mac, such as CleanMyMac or similar tools, can interfere with Photos’ indexing processes and damage your library.

Uninstall any third-party optimization or antivirus software. These applications often disrupt background processes or mistakenly remove critical library files.

After removing these apps, restart your Mac. Open Photos and allow it time to resume indexing. Check Activity Monitor by launching it from the Launchpad in your Dock periodically to confirm indexing processes are active.

If your library was damaged by third-party software, restore it from a recent backup. Always maintain regular backups of your Photos library to prevent data loss.

Removing problematic software helps Photos function correctly and reliably update your Collections.

Additional Tips for Managing Collections

If you experience persistent issues, consider creating a new Photos library and re-importing your photos and videos. This can resolve database corruption issues.
Ensure your macOS is updated regularly, as Apple frequently releases updates addressing Photos app issues and improving performance. Check for updates in System Settings > General > Software Update.
For better organization, manually favorite or pin collections within Photos to keep your most important albums easily accessible.

With these steps, your Photos Collections in macOS Sequoia should update and display correctly, allowing you to enjoy organized memories without hassle. Keep your Mac awake, ensure proper drive formatting, and avoid conflicting software to maintain a healthy Photos library.