One of the best ways to use a Synology NAS is to store photos. If you have an iPhone, a Synology NAS and have been searching how to backup iPhone photos automatically, read below for this very easy solution.
The Synology Moments app is a simple app that allows you to organize and share your photos while keeping them safely stored on your own physical NAS. You can access Moments through a web browser while connected to your home network or directly through the web over HTTPS if you set up your Synology NAS with an SSL certificate for secure remote access.
Synology has also created a Moments mobile app for iOS so you can manage your photo collection from your Apple device. However, it appears that even though Synology included an auto-backup feature in their app, it doesn’t seem to run unless you open the Moments app yourself. This means you have to remember to open it periodically while on WiFi for your photos to start backing up, which can be a pain.
Now with the introduction of the Shortcuts app in iOS 13, you can create a very simple automation to open the app for you, thus starting the backup and having it truly be automatic. The guide below assumes you’ve already installed the Moments app on your Apple device and connected it to your NAS also running Moments. You’ll also need to turn on the Photo Backup option within the app.
How To Backup iPhone Photos Automatically
In iOS 13, find your Shortcuts App and open it. Select the Automation button, tap the plus sign at the top right and then tap Create Personal Automation.
Next, under the Settings section tap Wi-Fi.
Now tap Choose and pick your home Wi-Fi network from the list (or whichever network you prefer). Also, you can pick more than one or choose Any Network and this automation will run each time you connect. After choosing your network, tap Done at the top right, then Next.
Now tap Add Action and choose Scripting from the list of actions.
On the next screen, tap Open App, then tap Choose on the following screen.
Select Moments from the apps list, then tap Next at the top right.
Now you can view your Automation in full and tap Done. That’s it!
The next time you connect to your chosen WiFi network(s) the automation task will start and it will open Moments in the background. Moments should then start backing up your iPhone photos to your NAS.
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Hi Chris!! Super happy to have crossed paths with your content. Very informative and on point. I would be greatfull if you can give me your insight on the following issue. I have a 2 TB Photos library( the Apple native app) Which is currently saved in an external hard Drive. The backup to another disk is dealt with manually. Im looking to invest in a self hosted environment or a DAS. According to various sources the Photos library cannot be read while on the network and over wifi. Presumably the source must be wired to my Mac… is this… Read more »
Thanks for commenting Emilio! Unfortunately, I am not super familiar with how the Apple Photos library must be configured on a Mac. I pretty much started with Moments from Android and then switched to an iPhone. However, I am curious why the Photos library would not be able to be stored on a NAS, as long as the NAS shared folder is mapped or mounted to the Mac as a “drive”. Sort of like how you can mount a shared folder on windows. For example, instead of accessing a shared folder called “pics” via the network path… Read more »
Appreciate the swift reply Chris!! Thank you 🙂
Nice post!