User level: Level 2 (164 points)If I use my iPhone to take a picture of a physical photo print from 1993, then on iPhone I go to Adjust Info > Adjust Date & Time and change the year to 1993, and then connect my iPhone to Mac via USB-C cable, and import the photo, in my macOS Photos Library view and Import view, the date of the photo is today, the date of capture, instead of what I would expect which is the *adjusted* date.
MacOS photo imports from iPhone should maintain the adjusted date of the photo, shouldn't it?
Posted on Sep 15, 2026 10:21 AM
User level: Level 10 (205,585 points)Sep 15, 2026 10:44 AM in response to marcresure254
The best way to transfer photos with the adjusted dates is syncing with iCloud Photos, not the manual syncing with the USB cable. iCloud Photos will sync the adjusted dates to a Mac.
When you sync with a USB cable the unmodified original will be transferred. There may also be a second version with an "E" in the filename. Have you checked, if an edited version is also there? Does it have the adjusted date?
Which system version is running on your Mac and on your iPhone? The syncing via USB may differ, depending on the system versions.
User level: Level 7 (25,466 points)Sep 16, 2026 6:54 AM in response to marcresure254
How do you use the "USB-C cable" to "import the photo?" Do you use Finder, or do you wait for the phone to pop up in Photos, or do you use Image Capture? There are lots of ways !
Dates and things aren't really stored with the pictures-- they are stored in the "database," and they may or may not be included with the picture in exports. I've seen that a file with an "E" is edited, but it does not have the new database metadata.
As léonie suggests, using iCloud Photos automatically transfers Photos' database information, so it works every time.
User level: Level 7 (25,466 points)Sep 18, 2026 6:43 AM in response to marcresure254
marcresure254 wrote: I import the photo in the default macOS way, which is to import it with and into the Photos app. I'd suggest to Apple that if I change the capture date of a photo on my phone, I can reasonably expect that capture date to be conveyed to macOS Photos when importing the photo.
The "default method," iCloud Photos, does exactly that. I'm still not sure how you "import" pictures--is it one of the methods I listed, or something else? Have you tried other methods?
You can see this:
Understanding iCloud Photos - Apple Community
User level: Level 2 (164 points)Sep 17, 2026 1:23 PM in response to Richard.Taylor
I import the photo in the default macOS way, which is to import it with and into the Photos app.
I'd suggest to Apple that if I change the capture date of a photo on my phone, I can reasonably expect that capture date to be conveyed to macOS Photos when importing the photo.
User level: Level 2 (164 points)Sep 18, 2026 9:25 AM in response to Richard.Taylor
How I import pictures: I plug my iPhone (latest iOS 27) into my MacBook Pro (latest OS 27) with an Apple USB-C cable. On my Mac in Photos, my phone shows up under Devices. I select the phone in Photos, and the main window shows the Import screen. It says Import at the top of the window. From the array of new photos thumbnails, I select the photo and click the button at top, Import 1 Selected. Photos then switches views to the Utilities > Imports view, and the top of the main window is titled Imports. And there's my photo.
That's the method. I understand that I can also get a photo from my phone to my Mac via the Image Capture app. I have no questions or comments about Image Capture here.
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256357437