iOS 14 "Preparing video" bug in Photos app may have been fixed in latest beta update to iOS 14.4

Several iPhone users are getting stuck on a “Preparing video” progress wheel when trying to edit videos through Apple Photos on iOS 14.

And as a result, some of them have taken to the Apple forums and Twitter to raise a complaint about it.

Bug in Photos app, since iOS 14.1, remains. Try saving a photo from Facebook, email or Messages, it throws up failed error; photo actually saves.
Same for trimming short screen recording or short video via Camera- Circular progress stuck at Preparing, actually saves.
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Is this another iOS14 bug? The 30minute video keeps getting stuck on “preparing video.” Or should people refrain from shooting a 30min video on an iphone?? It would make sense but it’s not like i know this would happen.
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And while a couple of users have stated that the video actually gets saved whilst displaying the “Preparing video” message, there are plenty of others that aren’t so lucky.

The issue occurs quite randomly and the type of editing done prior to saving the video does not seem to matter. Most users have already tried generic workarounds like restarting the Photos app and performing a reboot.

Also, for some reason, the progress almost always gets stuck at 25% for most users.

Moreover, the bug isn’t troubling iPhone users alone as it is also present on Apple iPad running iPadOS 14.

My iPad is stuck on preparing a video, how do I get rid of it.
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If you are one of the users facing this, then try the no-brainer workaround given below which has helped several users.

I was able to fix this issue by double tapping the video when it was stuck. The progress would go back to 0 and slowly make its way to 100%. I was able to do this twice.
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But if it did not work for you, then your best bet could simply be allowing it to take its time and waiting for it to finish. This may take up to an hour though like it did for this user.

The good news though is that the issue is possibly fixed with the iOS 14.4 beta update, as this user has claimed. Take it with a pinch of salt though, as we weren’t able to verify it.

But if this truly is the case, then expect the fix to be rolled out for the general public within a couple of months with iOS 14.4 stable.

With that being said, be sure to check out our dedicated iOS/iPadOS 14 issues tracker for further coverage on problems like these along with their fixes, if any.

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