Yes, I just had the same experience - couple weeks. We opted to have photos taken at Staples as I couldn't find any suitable white background in my house.

AAA also does passport photos.

I will probably need to renew mne soon. It expires next January, but if you most countries require at least 6 months so summer travel would cut it close.

We had the same experience in early January last year. About the same length of time for both of us when we renewed.

Walgreens did our photos and I was almost afraid DH’s was overexposed, but it was accepted. His silver gray hair almost blended right into the white background.

Good to know—thank you! This is on my to-do list. Mine expires in July. No international travel planned until 2027 but I do use it for domestic travel.

I had to get mine renewed because I was going to be 17 days over the 6 months on a trip I have planned.

I could not find any business that would take my picture on my phone or send a digital picture to me. Because I was renewing online, my photo had to be digital. The background has to be white or off-white. The wall color in my bedroom is SW Off-White. It photographed as gray as could be. My friend who took the picture is very savvy about digital photography. He lightened the background.

Outside, when I took the grands to get their passports 3 years ago, I had the same problem! They are cotton-tops and they were blending into the background. I had pictures made at Walgreens and at the FedEx store and neither could get it right, although they both put in a lot of effort trying. Finally someone told me that the county clerk’s office where I was applying for the passports also took pictures. They got it right the first time.

I read somewhere recently that, if you need a white background and are able, sit on the floor in front of your washer/dryer. Might not work for front loaders.

We too had issues with our phones taking proper pics, but my lap top did fine. Gee ladies can ya all manage this? From what I hear females are too stupid to get our birth certificates, get a real ID or passport. However are you all managing!

Original against an off-white wall

Edited to make wall whiter

The photo guidelines very specifically state that edited photos are unacceptable. Nevertheless, worked for me.

I recently renewed as well and got my passport back in about 10 days. I took a selfie and used an online service that turned it into an acceptable photo in just a few minutes and it worked great! (I tried myself and couldn't get it to work.)

Most UPS stores, Postal Annex-type places, the major drug chains (CVS, Walgreens) and even many USPS Post Offices offer passport photo services for a nominal cost.

In order to apply online for renewal, the photo has to be available digitally on your device. None of the ones I checked with would take the photo using my phone or digitally send me the photo.