OneDrive File Issues

How to Prevent iOS Photos from Renaming on OneDrive and SharePoint

Huma Ashraf Ch Oct 20, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users need a way to stop iOS devices from automatically renaming photos and removing customized file names when uploading to cloud storage.

How to Prevent iOS Photos from Renaming When Uploaded to OneDrive or SharePoint

Product: Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint
Device & OS: iOS (iPhone, iPad)
Scenario: Uploading photos that have meaningful, app-generated file names (like those from the Solocator app) from an iOS device's camera roll to OneDrive or SharePoint.
Observed behavior: Uploaded photos are automatically renamed by the system, losing their original device-generated or app-assigned file names, which makes sorting by date, project, or location extremely difficult.

Before you start

Verify that your iOS device and the OneDrive or SharePoint apps are updated to their latest versions to ensure you are viewing the most current settings available.

Solution 1Recommended

Submit a Feature Request to Microsoft

Since there is currently no native toggle in iOS or OneDrive to prevent this behavior, the official recommendation is to submit feedback for a future update.

Due to how iOS handles file metadata during exports from the Camera Roll, custom file names assigned by third-party apps like Solocator are stripped out upon upload. Reporting this discrepancy helps the Microsoft development team understand the need for an auto-rename toggle.

Open the Microsoft Feedback Portal

Navigate to the official Microsoft 365 feedback page using your web browser.

Detail the iOS upload issue

Explain clearly that uploading photos from the iOS camera roll to OneDrive or SharePoint automatically removes meaningful file names, whereas equivalent Android uploads do not.

Submit your request

Click submit so the relevant Microsoft product team can review the feedback and consider adding a toggle to preserve original file names.

Solution 2

Workaround: Upload via the iOS Files App

Bypass the automatic Camera Roll renaming by first saving your customized photos directly to the iOS Files app before uploading them to OneDrive.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does OneDrive rename my iPhone photos but not Android photos?

iOS and Android handle media file exports differently. When uploading directly from the iOS Camera Roll, the system or the app processes the images and assigns a new default name (often based on upload timestamps). In contrast, the Android version of the app reads and preserves the original file name directly.

Does this auto-renaming affect photos taken with third-party apps like Solocator?

Yes. Photos taken with specialized apps that automatically generate custom file names based on location, project, or timestamps will lose those names if they are first saved to the iOS Camera Roll and then uploaded to SharePoint or OneDrive.

Is there a setting in iOS to stop OneDrive from renaming uploads?

Currently, there is no built-in toggle in iOS, OneDrive, or SharePoint to disable this automatic renaming behavior during Camera Roll uploads. Submitting feedback to Microsoft is the recommended action to request this feature.

Document & File Issues