Tag: syncing

Adding Additional Devices

Posted on | by Matt @ Mylio | Leave a Comment on Adding Additional Devices

Mylio is designed to keep all of your photos with you on all of your devices all of the time. This means that getting Mylio installed on all of your devices is an integral part of the Mylio experience.

Mylio can be installed on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows devices that meet Mylio’s system requirements. Each device can be used to store all original files, called a Vault, or sync with auto-optimized versions of your files to save space.

To better protect your photos you can add additional Vaults that have the necessary storage to want Original images. Alternatively, you can add a device to sync in auto-optimized quality so that you can show off your pictures wherever you are. To add a new device:

  1. Open the Dashboard.
  2. Select the Add button in the top right of the Devices section of the Dashboard.
  3. Mylio will offer recommendations for protecting your photos. These may include:
    1. Add Computer
    2. Add External Drive
    3. Add NAS
    4. Add Amazon Drive, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive

Once selected, Mylio will guide you through getting started on these devices.

 

Mylio Quick Start Guide

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Welcome to Mylio, the home for your photos, videos, and documents. This guide will help you set up Mylio, add files, and protect them.

 

Download and Sign In on a Computer

 

We recommend starting on a computer, to do this visit mylio.com/get-app to download Mylio. Open the installer. Sign in with an email and password, then verify your email. Alternatively, you can sign in with a preferred third-party on the left.

 

 

 

Add Files using the Setup Wizard 

 

The Setup Wizard helps you add files to Mylio. Click “Add Files”, then choose one of the four options to where your photos are currently stored that you want added to Mylio. Most new users start with “This device”. When you select this option, Mylio checks your computer’s drive for photos. It shows you the folders that have photos and lets you choose which ones you want to consolidate in your Mylio library. This process will not move the photos from their existing locations nor will it duplicate them; it simply presents them in one convenient, unified library. Click the circular ( BEGIN ) button to get started. 

*Click here for a more detailed walkthrough of the Setup Wizard.

 

 

Take the Welcome Tour 

At the end of the Setup Wizard, select the option to “Take the tour”. If you already finished the Setup Wizard, you can relaunch the tour by going to the View menu (the three vertical dots in the top-right), selecting “Help”, and then selecting “Show Welcome Tour”.

 

Add a Protection Device 

Protecting your memories is an integral part of Mylio. To protect your files, your Originals need to be stored on at least one device. This device should have a significant amount of storage space. External drives, NAS devices, and online services like Amazon, OneDrive, or Google Drive make good protection devices. 

You can add a protection device through the Setup wizard or you can open the Mylio Dashboard, and select the “+Add” button

 

 

Sign In to Mylio on Your Mobile Device

 

Mylio is engineered to connect multiple devices. When you add Mylio on your phone and tablet, you’ll be able to manage your library conveniently from those devices. The photos you take on those devices can also be automatically added to Mylio. 

 

To get Mylio on your mobile device, download Mylio from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Sign in with the same email and password (or third-party method) you used on your computer and follow the prompts of the setup wizard. Mylio will sync optimized versions of your files on mobile so you don’t run out of space.

Protecting Media to Microsoft OneDrive

Posted on | by Michael @ Mylio

Mylio allows you to protect your photos to the cloud by protecting your library with Microsoft OneDrive. Once this feature is enabled, any media within your Mylio Library will automatically be protected to OneDrive. If your device is lost, stolen, or broken you can retrieve all synced media from OneDrive and fully repopulate your Mylio Library – including photos, videos, files, metadata, albums, events, labels, and any other Mylio specific data. OneDrive can also be used to populate Mylio on computers that are not able to be synced peer-to-peer.

Once OneDrive has been added as a Vault it will be listed in the Devices section of the Dashboard. Unlike other Vaults, protecting your files to OneDrive does not give you the ability to edit data within OneDrive for reflection in Mylio. This feature is designed solely as a tool for Mylio to communicate with and is not an alternative uploader for OneDrive.

 

Uploading Encrypted vs Unencrypted

Before deciding on an encryption method, it is important to understand that Mylio utilizes OneDrive as a Vault for your files. Mylio does not preserve your file structure when uploading, and changes should not be made to the uploaded files on the OneDrive website (even if uploaded unencrypted). This protection method is solely meant to protect your Mylio Library and not designed to give compatibility between the two services.

Uploading Encrypted


Mylio’s default behavior is to upload your photos as encrypted files. If your images are uploaded encrypted, Mylio will encrypt your files in a way that Microsoft is not able to read these images, keeping your library fully secure. This ensures the highest level of protection as Mylio is the sole key to locking and unlocking your images.

Encrypted OneDrive protection uploads your files as “other files” and not “photos”, which means you will see a series of “.bin” files in your OneDrive. These are your encrypted files.

Mylio protects your images in the cloud with AES 256bit encryption. Only your Mylio account can be used to unencrypt these images.

Uploading Unencrypted


Mylio will upload your files directly to OneDrive in full, original quality. These images will upload as their actual file-extension and be viewable by OneDrive. Mylio will not be needed to view your images. However, your file structure and folder structure will not be visible in OneDrive.

Working with OneDrive in Mylio

Adding OneDrive as a Mylio device

1. Open Mylio on a computer or mobile device and open the Dashboard.

2. Select the plus sign in the top right of the Devices section of the Dashboard.

 

3. Select OneDrive.

4. Mylio will display the Add Cloud Storage options. Here, you can decide if you wish to upload your files as encrypted or unencrypted. Once decided, select Add OneDrive at the bottom of this window.

 

5. Sign in to the Microsoft account that you wish to protect your files to.

6. Once signed in, Mylio will display OneDrive within the Dashboard as a Vault.

Restoring Mylio from OneDrive


In some cases, you may need to restore your Mylio Library from OneDrive. This may happen if your device is lost, stolen, broken, or if you are starting Mylio on a remote device that cannot connect to another device via a peer-to-peer connection. By signing in to your Mylio account that has previously been protected to OneDrive, Mylio will automatically download your media in the quality designated by your device’s default Sync Policy. You can adjust the Sync Policy for individual files or folders if you wish to keep higher or lower quality photos on your device.

  1. Open and sign in to the Mylio account previously associated with OneDrive.
  2. Open the Dashboard and ensure OneDrive is listed as a Vault.
  3. Mylio will automatically begin to download your Mylio catalog and library to the new device.
      Note:  this process may take time. To speed up syncing connect to another device via a peer-to-peer connection that has your Mylio Library.

 

Unregistering OneDrive

If you wish to unregister OneDrive as a location that Mylio can sync to, you can do so from the service’s device preferences. By unregistering OneDrive, you will prevent Mylio from protecting any new media to OneDrive. Media currently on OneDrive will not be removed from the service.

  Warning:   If OneDrive is unregistered and then set up again your library will need to fully resync to the service.
  1. Open Mylio’s Dashboard and navigate to the Devices section.
  2. Select OneDrive and open the Device Settings menu.
  3. Select Unregister Device.
  4. Confirm that you would like to unregister the device by typing in your Mylio password.

The Mylio Dashboard

Posted on | by Michael @ Mylio

The Mylio Dashboard is your one view to fully understand everything about your Mylio Library. From your library’s media count to your device’s sync status, the Mylio Dashboard is full of fun and practical information to help you keep control of your growing photo library.

To access the Mylio Dashboard, simply select the Dashboard icon in the top right corner of Mylio.

The Dashboard icon will also display a red badge with a number on it when images need to sync to the device you’re using. This serves as a quick reminder that you have imported new photos on another device and should sync them when you have the time.

Parts of the Dashboard

The Mylio Dashboard is made up of many different panels. These panels include…

  • Devices – Your device list and their current sync status. To learn more about this panel see the Devices tab on this page.
  • People – Part of your Library Stats, this page shows you the people that make up your photo library and how many images you have of them.
  • Places – Part of your Library Stats, this page shows you the locations that make up your library and how many photos and videos were taken in each spot.
  • Keywords – Part of your Library stats, this page shows you the keywords that are used in your images.

 

Devices

Mylio’s Devices tab will show you important information about all of the devices registered to your Mylio account. This is an important page and can be used to view your devices, their sync status, and make changes to how they operate.

Let’s take a closer look.

  1. Add a new device with the plus sign in the top right corner of the Devices panel.
  2. The device you’re currently using is always listed at the top of the page.
  3. The icon in the circle will tell you what type of device it is. Whether a computer, a phone, or an external drive, Mylio will display that for reference here.
  4. The shield icon at the top right of a device dictates that this device is a Vault and will store all Originals and optimized versions to sync to other devices. A yellow shield shows that it needs to sync, or a white shield shows that it is in sync.
  5. The circle around the device shows how much space it has. This information is also shown in the device stats listed below the device.
  6. Selecting the device will open the Device Settings.
  7. The next section of the Devices list will show other Vaults on your Mylio account. Here, you can see:
    • The device type icon
    • The space used vs free space
    • The current status of the device
    • When the device was added to the account
    • The device’s sync status
      • Selecting the Sync Status will show you which devices to turn on to receive the media to this device.
  8. The final section of the Devices panel will show you the non-Vault devices. This includes Auto-optimized devices and devices utilizing Selective Sync to set a specific Sync Policy. Much like the Other Vaults section, here you can see:
    • The device type icon
    • The space used vs free space
    • The current status of the device
    • When the device was added to the account
    • The device’s sync status
      • Selecting the Sync Status will show you which devices to turn on to receive the media to this device.

Library Stats

Your Library stats are made up of a few different panels and tell you about your library and its contents.

  • People – How many people are tagged in your library and how many photos of each.
  • Places – How many locations you’ve visited and how many photos were taken in each location.
  • Keywords – Which keywords have been used in your library.

Additionally, Mylio has some less frequently used panels that can be toggled on by clicking the gear in the top right corner of the Dashboard and turning them on. These include:

  • Import Sessions – A list of your imports that have been made in your library.
  • Bandwidth – How much bandwidth Mylio is using when syncing your images between devices.
  • Task – A list of important tasks that Mylio is currently taking or has queued.

Understanding Syncing with Mylio

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Keeping all of your memories on all of your devices is easy with Mylio. Syncing allows each of your devices, whether it be computers, phones, tablets or external hard drives to always have the same information. Syncing also ensures that new photos added to one device are available on other devices and that edits, metadata, and organization changes made on one device are available on all of your devices.

How Syncing Works

Mylio syncs over a peer-to-peer connection to ensure that photos and videos are shared between your devices quickly and safely. Peer-to-peer means that your devices do not utilize the internet or the cloud to transfer photos. Instead, Mylio uses a direct wireless connection between your devices to sync information. Mylio gains this direct connection by looking at your devices on a network. This network can be a home wireless network, a wired/wireless hybrid network, or even an open Wi-Fi network (restrictions apply). Even though Mylio utilizes a network, it does not require the internet – simply that your devices be connected to the same network.

Mylio must meet three criteria in order to sync your devices:

  1. All devices must be logged into the same Mylio account.
  2. All devices must be connected to the same network.
  3. All devices must be running Mylio (Mylio must be in the foreground on mobile devices).

When these three criteria are met Mylio will transfer your photos, videos, edits, metadata, and organization between all of your devices quickly and safely.

Photo Quality Basics

In its default state, Mylio is designed for you to only need to answer one question:

Do I want to store all of my original photos on this device, or do I want Mylio to automatically optimize my images for me to save space?

If you choose to store all of your Original images as well as the Thumbnails and Previews on a device, you are creating a Mylio Vault. Vaults are designed to keep your information safe by keeping a copy of all of your files. And the more Vaults you have, the safer your photos are. Vaults can be any device that has enough storage to hold your entire photo library, but popular Vaults are cloud storage providers, external hard drives, NAS devices, and desktop computers.

Mylio has three different photo quality sizes that can be stored on your devices:

  • Thumbnails – A small version of your photos (20kb to 30kb) that is great for referencing your full library. Ideal for mobile devices. Does not allow editing.
  • Previews – Medium quality (approximately 1mb) that gives an accurate representation of your photos at a fraction of the space. Perfect for laptops. Fully editable.
  • Originals – Your full quality file (original file size). RAW compatible. Fully editable.

If you have told Mylio to automatically optimize the storage of your device, we’ll choose what photo quality we think you’ll want to see based off of specific criteria.

You can change a device between a Vault and Auto-Optimized quality by:

  1. Open Mylio and select the Dashboard in the top right corner.
  2. Select the device that you wish to change between a Vault and Auto-Optimized quality to open the Device Settings.
  3. Select Device Sync Policy Settings
  4. When viewing just the default Simple Device Settings, you can toggle between Vault and Auto Optimized as your desired quality. You can also create a Custom Device Sync Policy by toggling on Advanced Settings. 

Advanced Quality Settings

If you’re looking for a bit more control over how your images sync, then Mylio’s Advanced syncing options are for you.

When toggling on Advanced syncing options, Mylio allows you to change your device’s Sync Policy on a more granular level. Your device’s Sync Policy is what quality of photo your device will sync images in. Any new photo added to Mylio on another device will sync to this device in this quality.

To turn on Mylio’s Advanced sync options, simply:

  1. Open Mylio and select the Dashboard in the top right corner of Mylio.
  2. Select the device that you wish to change the Sync Policy of.
  3. In the Device Settings, toggle on the Advanced option under Device Quality to show Mylio’s advanced Sync Policies.

Mylio has three different Sync Policies:

  • Thumbnails – A small version of your photos (20kb to 30kb) that is great for referencing your full library. Ideal for mobile devices. Does not allow editing.
  • Auto-Optimized – Mylio will manage your library based on the available storage on your device.
  • Vault – All three file types are stored. Great for desktops.

 

To learn more about setting Custom Sync Policies, please see this article. Any Custom Sync Polices to the device or folders will override the sync policy set at the top of this window. You can reset any folders or cutom polices overriding the Device Sync Policy by selecting the “Reset Device Quality” button at the bottom.

Troubleshooting: Fixing Unprotected Images

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In some circumstances, Mylio may display images as unprotected in the Dashboard or the Sync panel. This means that your photos are not on all devices that have a sync policy to “want” them. If some images are listed as unprotected, the steps below will help you identify images and get them protected across multiple devices.

  Note:   the steps below assume that you have at least a device set as a Vault. If no device is set as a vault then all images are marked as unprotected.

Identifying Which Photos Are Not Protected

  1. Open Mylio and select the Dashboard icon at the top corner.
  2. Select the “X Unprotected Images” text at the top of the Devices list.
  3. Mylio will display the images that are not protected across all devices.
  4. Select 1 of the images (or all of them)
  5. Open the Sync panel by selecting the two arrows in the top right of the Details panel.
      Note:  if you do not see the Sync Panel you can turn the feature in the Advanced section of the Device Settings.
  6. Using the Sync panel, locate the device that has a solid green line (or green squiggly line) under the Originals column. This is the device that has the Originals. If you do not see a device with green under Originals please see the next section of this article.
  7. While in the Sync panel, locate the device that has orange under Originals. This is the device that wants Originals.
  8. Bring both the device that has Originals and the device that wants Originals online by opening Mylio on both devices while they are on the same wi-fi network. If the device that wants Originals is an external drive, plug that drive into a computer and run Mylio on that device.
  9. Mylio will automatically protect the unprotected images.

 

Working with Photos That Do Not Have Originals On Any Device

If, when looking at the Sync panel, you cannot identify a device that has Originals (green line under Original) this means that the Original file is not available to Mylio and the file is not able to be protected. This can happen for multiple reasons:

  1. The file is missing and needs to be relinked. In this case, the folder that the file resides in should say Missing on it in red text. You can relink the folder to fix this.
  2. The Original file has been deleted from the initial device creating a Lost Original. This can happen most commonly on mobile devices if a photo has been deleted directly from the Camera Roll before Mylio has been given time to sync the original to another device.
  3. The library has been restored from a Time Machine or other backup, causing Mylio to know that is has images but doesn’t know where those images are.

 

Sync On Demand

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Sync on Demand allows devices storing low-quality images (Thumbnails) to temporarily be shown a higher resolution version of the photo (Preview)without permanently taking up storage on their device.  Mylio will seamlessly sync a higher resolution version of a photo from a connected device when the file is viewed, and then cache the image for deletion when it is not being viewed.

For instance, if you are browsing photos on an iPad with low-quality images, while a computer with higher-quality images is connected, the higher-quality will automatically be sent to the iPad for viewing, and then removed from the iPad (cached) when navigated away from.

Turning on Sync on Demand

  • Navigate to Mylio’s Settings by selecting Settings from the View menu.
  • Select Sync.
  • Toggle on Sync on Demand.

 

Error Message: “Editing is not possible without a Preview or Original”

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If you receive the message “Image/Thumbnail editing is not possible without a Preview or Original” when trying to edit a photo, this may mean the device you are currently using does not have the proper Sync Policy to allow for editing on your device. Editing a photo in Mylio requires a Preview or Original quality photo on the device you wish to edit on.

There are multiple ways to change the Sync Policy of a photo, folder, or even your entire device. Once Mylio has been adjusted the Sync Policy to sync a higher quality photo you will then need to connect your device to another device that currently has that higher quality for syncing to occur.

To learn more about how to adjust your media’s Sync Policy, please see this article.

Error message: “Disk Storage Full”

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At times, Mylio may display the error message “Storage available to Mylio is almost full” in the Notifications and Activity Center. This indicates that the drive that Mylio is saving photos to may be running out of space.

If you see this error message, click on the arrow to follow Mylio’s suggestions for feeing up space:

The first thing you can do is empty the Trash or Recycling folder your computer

After that, Mylio can recommend to Free up space by adjusting the Sync Policy or finishing syncing to another device.

We can also help you adjust the storage size by dragging the minimum free space slider to the left to increase available disk space for Mylio to use.

Troubleshooting: Unable to Sync Photos Between Devices

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Mylio will transfer photos and edits between your devices whether you’re syncing just Thumbnails, Previews, or Originals. If your devices are not receiving or sending photos and edits to your other devices, follow the steps below and you should be syncing in no time!

Are the Devices Seeing Each Other?

The first step in getting your devices to sync is to make sure they can see each other on the local network.

To do this, open the Dashboard by selecting it from the Navigation panel.

  • Devices that are visible to each other will have white icons and say “In Sync” or “Syncing” underneath them.
  • Devices that cannot see each other will have gray icons and say “Unavailable” or “Out of Sync” underneath them.

No, Devices Do Not See Each Other

Mylio will not sync to devices that are not visible to each other in the Dashboard. Be sure you are meeting Mylio’s three basic syncing criteria:

  1. Devices are all on the same Mylio Account. You can check this from Mylio’s Settings > Account.
  2. Devices are all on the same wi-fi or local network.
  3. Devices all have Mylio open and running. On mobile devices, Mylio must be in the foreground.

Additional Troubleshooting

  • If you’re on Windows, ensure that Mylio is allowed through the Windows Firewall on both public and private networks:
    • Navigate to Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Firewall, then select “Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall” on the left.
    • Locate Mylio in the list of applications and ensure both the PRIVATE and PUBLIC columns are checked.
      • If these settings need to be adjusted, select Change Settings at the top right of this window, then OK at the bottom to confirm the change.

Yes, Devices See Each Other

If all of your devices are listed in the Dashboard as online but photos are not syncing between them, there are a few troubleshooting steps to go through:

  • To rule out the possibility that the network your devices are connected to is causing the issue, try an ad-hoc network to establish a direct connection between devices. Click here for instructions.
  • Check that your subscription is current. Your photos will stop syncing if your account is no longer valid. To verify your subscription status, click here and sign in.
  • Check to make sure there is not stuck activity at the bottom of the Sync Panel, such as “Stuck Moving Files or Folders on Disk”. If there is, follow these steps.

Are There Still Photos Waiting to Sync?

You may have a few devices online and still not have a fully synced Mylio library. This will be indicated by gray or red bubbles above devices in the Dashboard. Since Mylio watches photos on many devices, it can be challenging to remember what devices may have added an original that is waiting to sync. To determine what device, or devices, need to be synced:

  1. Open Mylio.
  2. Select the Dashboard.
  3. Select a device that has a gray or red bubble above it.
  4. Select ‘Show Media Waiting to Sync’.
  5. Mylio will display all of the images that still need to sync. Select them all by using the Action menu.
  6. The Sync panel will now show you where the Originals are for the selected photos, you can look for the green bar under Originals to see who currently has that photo.
  7. Make sure the device that is storing the originals is currently online. If not, open Mylio on that device and give it some time to sync the photos.