Transfer Photos from an iPhone to a Computer

There are lots of ways to transfer photos from an iPhone to a computer. You can use AirDrop if you have a Mac. If you have an Apple account, you could use iCloud instead. Lastly, you can always use a USB cable to transfer photos directly. A USB cable will work for both Windows computers and Mac computers.

Steps

Using AirDrop

  1. Open your Mac's Finder. This is the blue face icon in your dock.
  2. Select AirDrop. This option may be in the "Favorites" section on the left side of the Finder window. If it isn't, you can type "AirDrop" into the search bar in the top right corner of the Finder window and click on the AirDrop icon to open it.
  3. Click the "Allow me to be discovered by" link. It's at the bottom of the AirDrop page.
  4. Select "Everyone." This will increase the chances that your iPhone will discover your Mac.
  5. Open your iPhone's Photos.
  6. Select an album. You may have to tap Albums in the bottom right corner of your screen in order to view the Albums page.
    • To view all of your photos, select the "All Photos" album in the top left corner of the page.
  7. Tap Select. It's in the top right corner of your screen.
  8. Select each photo you wish to share. If you accidentally tap a photo you don't want to share, you can tap it again to de-select it.
  9. Tap the share icon. It's the upward-facing arrow in a box in the bottom left corner of your screen.
  10. Tap the "AirDrop" icon. This should be below the row of selected photos.
    • If this icon is blue, your AirDrop is already enabled.
  11. Tap your Mac's icon. This will appear in the same place as the AirDrop icon was.
  12. Switch back to your Mac. You should see a window pop up with options regarding your AirDrop media.
  13. Click Save. This will save your iPhone's AirDrop photo(s) to your Mac's hard drive. You can access them by navigating to your Downloads folder from the Finder.

Using iCloud

  1. Open your iPhone's Settings. This is the grey gear icon on one of your iPhone's Home screens (or in a folder named "Utilities").
  2. Scroll to the fourth group of options and select iCloud.
  3. Select Photos. It's below the Storage tab.
    • If you aren't signed into iCloud yet, you'll need to do so with your Apple ID credentials in order to view the "Photos" tab.
  4. Slide the iCloud Photo Library switch right to the "On" position. It should turn green, and your photos should begin uploading to iCloud.
    • You'll need to have enough storage space in iCloud for all of your photos in order to enable this option.
    • You can Use-iCloud-Storage if you don't have enough to store your photos.
  5. Open the iCloud website. You'll need to do this on a computer.
  6. Enter your Apple ID email address and password.
  7. Click →. If you have two-factor authentication enabled for your Apple ID, you'll need to type the code that appears on your iPhone's screen into the provided field here.
  8. Click Photos. It's the multicolored pinwheel icon.
  9. Click on a photo you wish to download. You can also select multiple photos by clicking the Select Photos option in the top right corner of the page.
  10. Click the "Download" button. The download icon resembles a cloud with a downward-facing arrow. Your selected photo(s) will now download to your computer.
    • Depending on your browser, you may have to confirm your photo download by clicking Allow or selecting a save location.

Using a USB Cable (Windows)

  1. Connect the small end of your USB cable to your iPhone. This is the cable you use to charge the phone (sans the socket plug-in brick).
  2. Connect the large end of your USB to your PC. The USB end should fit into one of the rectangular USB ports on the left or right side of your computer's case.
    • The USB port has a three-pronged symbol either beneath it or to the side of it.
    • If you're using a desktop computer, check the front or sides of your CPU box for the USB ports.
  3. Double-click the "This PC" icon. If this isn't on your desktop, type "This PC" into the search bar in the bottom left corner of your screen and click the result at the top of the page.
  4. Double-click your iPhone's name. It'll be under the "Devices and Drives" heading at the bottom of the "My PC" menu.
    • Your iPhone should be named something like "(Your Name's) iPhone" here.
    • If you don't see your iPhone in the "Devices and Drives" section, plug your USB cable into a different port and try again.
    • If you still don't see your iPhone, type "devices and printers" into the search bar in the bottom left corner of your screen, click the top entry (the "Devices and Printers" menu), right-click the "Apple iPhone" option at the bottom of this screen, and click Troubleshoot. Following the on-screen instructions should force your iPhone to appear in the Devices and Drives section of the "This PC" menu.
  5. Double-click the Internal Storage folder.
  6. Double-click the DCIM folder.
  7. Double-click a folder. Since your iPhone doesn't store your photos and videos in a sequential order, you may have to try a few different folders on this page before you find the photos you're looking for.
  8. Select each photo you want to transfer. To do this, hold down Ctrl and click the pertinent pictures.
    • Your selection will only remain if you hold down Ctrl whenever you're clicking.
  9. Click and drag a photo over to your desktop. Any selected photos will come with the one you drag.
    • You may have to click the two overlapping squares in the top right corner of the folder you're in to resize it so you can view the desktop.
  10. Disconnect your iPhone from your PC when you're done. Your photos have successfully been transferred.

Using a USB Cable (Mac)

  1. Connect the small end of your USB cable to your iPhone. This is the cable you use to charge the phone (sans the socket plug-in brick).
  2. Connect the large end of your USB to your Mac. The USB end should fit into one of the rectangular USB ports on the left or right side of your computer's case.
    • The USB port has a three-pronged symbol either beneath it or to the side of it.
    • If you're using a desktop Mac, check the side of your monitor or your keyboard for the USB ports.
  3. Allow your Mac access to your iPhone if prompted. To do this, you'll need to type in your iPhone's passcode (if applicable) and then tap Trust This Computer on the pop-up menu.
  4. Wait for the Photos app to open. You can also open Photos manually by double-clicking the multicolored pinwheel icon in your dock.[1]
  5. Select the Import tab. It's in the top right section of your screen.
    • This tab may also open automatically.
  6. Select each photo you want to transfer. If you're only looking to import new photos, you can simply click Import All New Photos.
  7. Click Import Selected. This is in the top right corner of your screen.
  8. Choose whether or not to keep original photos on your iPhone. Clicking Keep will preserve the photos, while clicking Delete will remove them from your iPhone.
    • Removing original photos from your iPhone will clear up a significant amount of space.
  9. Disconnect your iPhone from your Mac. Your photos have successfully been transferred.

Tips

  • You can also upload your photos to a cloud storage app (e.g., Google Drive, OneDrive, or DropBox) and then access that storage option's website in order to download photos to your computer.

Warnings

  • Be sure to back up your photos--be it on your iPhone or to a cloud storage service--so that if your computer crashes, you don't lose the originals.
  • Your iPhone must be within 30 feet of your Mac in order for AirDrop to activate.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-nz/HT201302
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