How to Fix “Error Occurred while Loading a Higher Quality” on iPhone?

When iPhone users encounter the “Error Occurred while Loading a Higher Quality” message, it typically happens while attempting to access photos or videos, suggesting a problem with fetching media stored in iCloud or on the device in a higher resolution or quality​.

This error generally indicates that the device is struggling to load a higher quality version of the media file from iCloud or the local storage, possibly due to connectivity issues, settings configurations, or software glitches.

• Outdated iOS: If your iPhone’s iOS isn’t updated with the latest patches from Apple, this might lead to compatibility issues with iCloud, causing the high-quality versions of photos or videos to be inaccessible.
• Optimize iPhone Storage: If your iPhone is set to store lower-quality images on the device and keep the higher-quality ones in iCloud to save space, an error can occur when it fails to load the better version from iCloud in real-time.
• Camera Configuration: Incorrect camera settings, such as the ‘Record Video’ quality option, may prevent the necessary video codecs from loading, resulting in an error when opening a video.
• Corrupt iOS: If the phone’s operating system is corrupt, it can cause multimedia modules to malfunction when launching photos or videos, leading to errors.

1. Add or Remove the Problematic Video to Favorites in Photos

A minor glitch within the iPhone’s multimedia functions can sometimes prevent videos from playing. Adding (or removing) the affected video to (from) favorites can potentially resolve the error. Before attempting this, ensure there is sufficient space on iCloud; if not, free up some space by either purchasing an iCloud subscription or deleting older data.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone and select the problematic file.

   

2. Next, tap on the Heart icon to add the video to favorites.

   

3. Afterward, remove the video from favorites and verify if the video can be played without error.

2. Perform a Hard Restart of the iPhone

A temporary technical issue in the iPhone’s internals can lead to the high-quality loading error. A hard restart might help. First, ensure the device isn’t in Low Power Mode, which could impair syncing with iCloud.

1. Quickly press and release the volume up button, followed by the volume down button.
2. Press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.

   

3. Release the side button and wait for the iPhone to power on, then check if the error has been resolved.
4. If not, put the iPhone on charge after locking it.
5. Once fully charged, see if the error persists.
6. Alternatively, connect it to a computer and launch iTunes to see if the problematic files open correctly there.

3. Update iOS to the Latest Version

Out-of-date iOS software can cause incompatibility, leading to high-quality loading errors. An update could resolve the issue.

1. Ensure the iPhone is fully charged and connected to Wi-Fi.
2. Go to Settings > General.

   

3. Select Software Update. If an update is available, download and install it.

   

4. After updating, restart the iPhone and check if the error has been fixed.

If the problem persists, ensure the iCloud account is not locked by logging in via a web browser.

4. Disable and Enable iCloud Photo Sync

Communication issues between the iPhone and iCloud might result in the error as the file might not be retrievable in real time. Disabling and re-enabling the photo sync could help.

1. Open Settings and tap on the Apple ID.
2. Select iCloud > Photos.

   

3. Toggle off iCloud Photos.

   

4. Also, disable Upload to My Photo Stream, then restart the iPhone.

   

5. Upon restart, re-enable iCloud Photos and Upload to My Photo Stream.
6. Check if the error is resolved.

5. Edit the Video Within the Photos App

Occasionally, a glitch in the multimedia modules might prevent videos from playing correctly. Editing the video prior to viewing might clear the error.

1. Open the Photos app and select the problematic video.
2. Tap Edit, then select Revert.

   

3. Choose Revert to Original and see if it resolves the error.

6. Manually Backup the iPhone via iCloud

A glitch in the communication between the iPhone and iCloud may cause the photo/video loading error. Manually backing up the phone via iCloud is a potential fix.

1. Open Settings and tap on the Apple ID.
2. Go to iCloud > Backup.

   

3. Press Back Up Now and wait for the backup process to finish.

   

4. After completion, check if the high-quality loading issue is resolved.

7. Change iCloud Storage Mode to Download and Keep Originals

Sometimes to conserve storage, iPhones are configured to retain lower-quality photos/videos locally, with the superior versions on iCloud. This could trigger the aforementioned error when real-time retrieval doesn’t succeed.

Switching to Download and Keep Originals might solve the problem by syncing the original files back to the device.

1. Close the Photos app, navigate to Settings, and tap on the Apple ID.
2. Go to iCloud > Photos and enable Download and Keep Originals.

   

3. Restart your iPhone, then activate airplane mode upon restart.

   

4. After a 10-second wait, disable airplane mode and check for error resolution by opening the affected photos/videos in the Photos app.

8. Disable ‘View Full HDR’ in the Photos App

HDR can improve the balance between shadows and highlights but may trigger errors if the iPhone struggles to process the image with full HDR. Disabling this feature could fix the issue.

1. Access iPhone Settings, tap on the Apple ID, then select iCloud > Photos.
2. Turn off View Full HDR.

   

3. Restart the iPhone to check if the high-quality loading issue is resolved.

9. Disable Cellular Data in Photos

Failure to download data via cellular when needed can result in errors. Disabling cellular data usage for the Photos app may help resolve this if Wi-Fi is already in use.

1. Go to iPhone Settings and select iCloud > Photos.
2. Tap on Cellular Data to disable it, then navigate back to turn off Auto-Play Videos and Live Photos.

   

3. Restart the iPhone, re-enable the previously disabled settings, and verify if the photo/video loading error is resolved.

10. Edit the Camera Settings of the iPhone

Certain Camera Settings, like 4K, may lead to loading errors due to codec incompatibility. Adjusting these settings could alleviate the problem.

1. Navigate to the iPhone Settings and select Camera.

   

2. Choose Formats and select Most Compatible.

   

3. Return to the previous menu and disable Smart HDR.

   

4. Open Preserve Settings and turn on Camera Mode.
5. Restart the iPhone and check if the video error has been cleared.
6. If the issue persists, modify Record Video to 4K at 60 FPS or 1080P HD at 30 FPS to determine if it resolves the error.

   

   

11. Reset the iPhone to Factory Defaults

Should all else fail, corrupted iOS may be the source of the error. A factory reset might be necessary, but this will erase all data.

1. Backup the iPhone’s essential data first with this guide.
2. In Settings, go to General > Reset.

   

3. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
4. Wait for the process to complete, then set up the iPhone again and check if the high-quality loading error is resolved.
5. If the issue still occurs, consider restoring the iPhone from a previous backup to see if it helps.