How to transfer photos from iPhone to a PC or Mac

The quickest way to transfer photos from iPhone to a Windows PC is a cable and the built-in Photos app: connect, unlock the iPhone, tap Trust, then Import. On a Mac, use Photos or Image Capture. No cable? Use iCloud, Google Photos or OneDrive. Details and fixes below.

Before you start

• Use a data cable. Some cheap cables only charge. The cable that came with the iPhone always works.
• Unlock the iPhone and keep it unlocked during the first connection.
• Tap Trust when the iPhone asks “Trust This Computer?” and enter your passcode.
• Check iCloud Photos. If Optimize iPhone Storage is on, many originals live only in iCloud, and a cable transfer will show fewer photos than you expect. More on this below.

Transfer photos from iPhone to Windows with the Photos app

1. On Windows 10 or 11, install the free Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store (or iTunes on older setups). It installs the driver Windows needs to talk to the iPhone.
2. Connect the iPhone, unlock it and tap Trust.
3. Open the Windows Photos app and click Import (top-right), then choose your iPhone.
4. Pick the photos (or select all), choose the destination folder and start the import.

The Photos app remembers what it already imported, so next time you can bring in only new items.

Copy photos with File Explorer

If you prefer plain folders: open File Explorer → This PC → Apple iPhone → Internal Storage → DCIM. Photos are split into folders such as 100APPLE, 101APPLE, 202410__ and so on. Select them and copy to a folder on your PC or an external drive. Copy, do not move — moving is slower and fails more often on large libraries.

HEIC or JPEG?

iPhones save photos as HEIC (smaller files, same quality). Windows opens them with the free HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store. If you would rather get JPEG files:

1. Open Settings → Apps → Photos (on iOS 17 and earlier, Settings → Photos).
2. At the bottom, under Transfer to Mac or PC, choose Automatic.

With Automatic, the iPhone converts photos to a compatible format during transfer. Keep Originals copies HEIC files as they are — better quality per megabyte, but older software may not open them.

Transfer photos without a cable: iCloud

• iCloud for Windows (Microsoft Store): sign in with your Apple ID and turn on Photos. Your iCloud library appears in File Explorer and in the Windows Photos app; you can download originals from there.
• icloud.com: open icloud.com/photos in a browser, select photos and click the download button. Handy for a few hundred photos; for an entire library, a cable or iCloud for Windows is more reliable.

This only works if iCloud Photos is on (Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Photos) and your photos have finished uploading.

Transfer photos from iPhone to Mac

• Photos app: connect and unlock the iPhone, open Photos on the Mac and select the iPhone in the sidebar. Click Import All New Items or select photos and Import Selected.
• Image Capture: a built-in Mac app that copies photos straight into any folder, without adding them to a Photos library. Choose the iPhone, the destination folder and click Download All.
• AirDrop: fine for a few dozen photos — select them in Photos, tap Share → AirDrop and choose your Mac.

If both devices use iCloud Photos with the same Apple ID, the photos are already on the Mac — no transfer needed.

Other options: Google Photos, OneDrive, external drive

• Google Photos or OneDrive on the iPhone with backup (camera upload) turned on. After the upload finishes, open photos.google.com or OneDrive on the PC and download what you need.
• External drive or USB stick. iPhone 15 and later have USB-C, so a drive plugs straight in; older iPhones need a Lightning adapter. In Photos, select photos → Share → Save to Files → choose the drive.

PC does not see iPhone photos: fixes

1. Unlock the iPhone and tap Trust. If you once tapped Don’t Trust, reset it: Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Reset → Reset Location & Privacy, then reconnect.
2. Try another cable and USB port — preferably a port directly on the computer, not a hub.
3. Install or update Apple Devices (or iTunes), then restart the PC.
4. Empty DCIM folder or missing photos? Usually iCloud Photos with Optimize iPhone Storage: originals are in the cloud. Either download them via iCloud for Windows, or switch to Download and Keep Originals if the iPhone has enough space.
5. “The device is unreachable” error while copying — set Transfer to Mac or PC to Keep Originals and copy smaller batches.

After the transfer: free up space carefully

Many people move photos to a computer to make room on the iPhone. Before deleting anything:

• Check the copy. Open a few photos and videos on the computer, especially the oldest and the largest ones. Ideally, keep a second copy on another drive or cloud.
• If iCloud Photos is on, deleting on the iPhone deletes everywhere — from iCloud and from all your devices. The computer copy made by cable stays safe, but your iCloud library will no longer have those photos.
• Empty Recently Deleted. Deleted photos keep using space for 30 days. See Recently Deleted on iPhone.

To delete your whole library after a backup, see how to delete all photos from iPhone. If you would rather keep the best shots on the phone and drop the rest, go through them one by one in Temfy: swipe left to mark for deletion, right to keep, then confirm once. Everything happens on the phone; photos are not uploaded anywhere.