MomentStays

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How do I convert Motion Photos to Live Photos on a Mac?

Copy the original Motion Photo files to your Mac, convert them with MomentStays (free, open source, runs locally), and import the results into Photos. With iCloud Photos on, they sync to your iPhone as playable Live Photos.

Why Motion Photos don't move on iPhone

An Android Motion Photo is a single JPEG with an MP4 clip appended after the image data and located via metadata. An Apple Live Photo is a still image plus a separate MOV, paired by a shared identifier. iOS doesn't read the Android layout, so you only see the still.

Brands name it differently: Samsung "Motion photo", Huawei "Moving picture", Google Pixel "Top Shot / Motion". Pixel files are usually named PXL_date_time.MP.jpg (older ones: MVIMG_…jpg).

Step by step

  1. Copy the original files to your MacUse a USB cable with OpenMTP (Google no longer offers Android File Transfer), or LocalSend over the same Wi-Fi. Copy from the phone's DCIM/Camera folder.
  2. Open MomentStaysIf macOS blocks the first launch: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.
  3. Add files and convertAdd single files, whole folders, or read from your Photos library. Batch conversion is supported.
  4. Import into PhotosSend the Live Photos straight into a Photos album, or save them as JPEG/HEIC + MOV pairs.
  5. Sync to iPhoneWith iCloud Photos on for both Mac and iPhone, the Live Photos appear on your iPhone. Press and hold to play.
Don't send them through messaging or social apps. Samsung and Huawei both note that motion photos shared through third-party apps arrive as still images. Some cloud or web uploads can drop the video too, so always start from the original file.

Supported phones

Android → Live Photo: Google-compatible Motion Photo JPEG, Huawei/Honor, Samsung (including SEF and some validated HEIC layouts), OPPO, vivo (V2). The reverse also works: Live Photo → Google/generic, Xiaomi, Samsung, Huawei/Honor, OPPO, vivo (JPEG) and Samsung HEIC. Have a file it doesn't recognize? Open an issue.

FAQ

Does converting reduce quality?

No re-encoding. Video and audio are remuxed and verified sample by sample. The original cover-frame timestamp is kept and matched to the exact video frame by its original timestamp; missing timing is reported, not guessed. Ultra HDR gain maps are preserved with their parameters, and unsupported HDR is flagged.

Are my photos uploaded anywhere?

No. MomentStays runs 100% locally on your Mac.

Which Macs does it run on?

macOS 12 or later. It's tested on Intel with macOS 12; Apple Silicon testing is in progress. The app is ad-hoc signed, not notarized, so the first launch needs System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

Download MomentStays (free)

Download from GitHub

macOS 12+ · Open source (GPL-3.0) · Runs 100% locally · Tested on Intel/macOS 12; Apple Silicon testing in progress

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