Transferring iPhone photos and videos to your Mac can save precious space on your mobile device. Plus, it’s easier to edit and retouch when you’ve got a larger screen with a higher resolution, not to mention that native Mac tools allow you to convert, resize, and organize your images in no time. In this article, we’ll cover the four quickest ways to transfer your images over.
The photos will automatically transfer to the downloads folder on your Mac. That’s all there is to it. Now you can quickly share photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac computer. Here are some quick fixes that you can try on both your iPhone and your Mac for you to be able to import your photos from your iPhone device to your Mac. Solution #1: See Your iPhone Status Now, for you to be able to transfer your photos over from your iPhone to your Mac, make sure that you have unlocked your iPhone device once that you have connected it your Mac. Here's exactly how to use it to transfer photos from your iPhone to Mac when the Photos or iPhotos app doesn't work on your Mac; before you start, you need to download, install and run the program. Connect your iPhone to iMyFone iTransor, and select 'Export from Device & Backup' and then click 'Export from Device'. How can I transfer live photos from my iPhone to Mac (latest OS in both devices). MCAsan macrumors 601. Jul 9, 2012 4,557 419 Atlanta.
The best ways to transfer photos from an iPhone to a Mac
Because iPhone and Mac are parts of the Apple ecosystem, there are multiple ways to connect them and move content around. Some involve using a USB cable, others work wirelessly. These methods have proven the handiest in our experience:
- Sync photos to your Mac using Finder (macOS Catalina or later)
- Move photos and other content with AnyTrans
- Import pictures to the Photos app
- Upload photos using ImageCapture
- AirDrop photos from iPhone to a Mac
- Transfer photos using iCloud
Let's talk about all these in more detail.
Before you transfer your iPhone pictures to the Mac
Although Macs have more storage than iPhones, that storage is not infinite, so you might want to avoid dumping thousands of unneeded pics onto your Mac. We’re talking blurry party selfies, multiple shots of the same sunset, taken just seconds apart, long-forgotten screenshots of long-forgotten conversations — those can add up to a few gigabytes.
So before you start the transfer, scan your iPhone pics with Gemini Photos: Gallery Cleaner. This app will find all the clutter you’ve accumulated over the years, such as similar shots and blurry photos, and help you delete them in no time.
Now that you’ve done that, here are our top ways to transfer photos and videos.
How to import photos from an iPhone or iPad to a Mac with a USB cable
The most common ways to transfer pictures from your iPhone to your Mac involve connecting your devices with a USB cable. But even then, you have options depending on which application you want to use. Below you’ll read about four different apps that will help you sync your photos.
Move photos from iPhone to Mac using Finder
Starting with macOS Catalina (10.15) or later, you can sync your iPhone with a Mac using Finder. Follow these steps to sync photos from your iPhone to your Mac:
- Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cable.
- On the Mac, open a new Finder window.
- In the sidebar, under your Devices, click on your iPhone.
- At the top of the window, click Photos.
- Check the “Sync Photos” box.
- Choose the app or folder that you want to sync from.
- Choose to sync all photos and albums or just selected albums.
- Click Apply.
Copy photos from iPhone to Mac with AnyTrans
iCloud and Photos are obvious choices for image transferring, but they're not without flaws. If you want to transfer all content from your iPhone without having to wait forever, and back it up at the same time, a third-party utility like AnyTrans for iOS makes much more sense.
A combination of a backup tool and media downloader, AnyTrans helps you migrate content. Here’s how you use it to move photos and everything else from your iPhone:
- Launch AnyTrans and ensure both your devices are connected to the same network.
- Connect iPhone to your Mac’s USB port.
- Allow AnyTrans access to your photo library.
- Go to Device Manager > Export iPhone content to computer.
Your content will travel instantly. What’s more, it will sync to iCloud — so there’s no need to worry your photos don’t have a backup.
Import photos from an iPhone or iPad to a Mac using Photos
One of the quickest methods is to plug the Lightning-to-USB cable you use to charge the iPhone into one of your Mac’s USB ports. When an iPhone is connected, the macOS Photos app automatically opens and suggests importing your photos. Here’s the import process, step by step.
- Connect your iPhone to the Mac using a Lightning-to-USB cable
- If needed, unlock your iPhone and confirm it trusts the device
- The Photos app should load and show you the images from your iPhone in the main window. If that doesn't happen, select your iPhone from the left-hand menu in the Photos app. Now you’ll see all of the images and videos stored in your iPhone’s Camera Roll.
- Click Import All New Items in the top right-hand corner, or go through the photos, select the ones you want to import, and click Import Selected
Once the import is complete, you can ask Photos to automatically delete the pics on your iPhone, giving you space to start again and take even more pictures.
Upload photos from iPhone to Mac using Image Capture
Another method for transferring your pictures from iPhone to Mac is with the Image Capture app, which comes by default with macOS. Follow these steps to import pics from your iPhone:
- Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cable.
- On your Mac, open Image Capture.
- In the sidebar, select your iPhone under the Devices category.
- At the bottom of the window, click the Import To menu to choose where to save your pictures.
- Select the pictures you want to import and click the Import button or click Import All.
How to transfer photos from an iPhone or iPad to a Mac wirelessly
If you don’t have a USB cable nearby, don’t worry. You can still send pics from your phone wirelessly. And even if you have a cable close, you might want to try one of these methods to save you the hassle of plugging your iPhone into your computer.
Send photos from iPhone to Mac using AirDrop
If you need to move just a few of your images over to your Mac, the quickest way to do that is by using AirDrop.
Start by switching AirDrop on your iPhone.
- Go to Settings
- Tap General
- Scroll to AirDrop
- Set this to Everyone to send data via AirDrop to any device
Now switch it on on your Mac:
Why Won't My Pictures Download From Iphone
- Open Finder
- Click Go in the menu bar and select AirDrop
- A Finder window will open, with the AirDrop icon at the bottom. It looks like an old-fashioned set of blue radio waves
- Below this icon is a dropdown. Click on it and select Everyone.
Give both devices a few moments to find one another.
Now, here’s how you transfer photos from your iPhone to your Mac with AirDrop:
- Open Photos on your iPhone
- Select the pics you want to transfer
- Tap the sharing button in the bottom left-hand corner
- Wait till AirDrop finds your Mac and tap on it
- On your Mac you’ll see a pop-up window asking you to accept the photos. Click Accept.
Depending on your Mac’s settings, you may be asked where you want to save the photos. Once you’re done transferring, you can switch off AirDrop on your Mac and iPhone.
Sync photos from an iPhone or iPad to a Mac using iCloud
Another way to move photos from an iPhone to a Mac is with iCloud. iCloud Photo Library, a.k.a. iCloud Photos, can do all the heavy lifting. However, if you’ve got over 5GB of photos and videos, you’ll need to upgrade your storage plan, paying anything from $0.99 per month for 50GB to $9.99 for 2TB of cloud storage.
To set up iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings
Tap on your name at the top
- Go to iCloud
- Underneath the iCloud storage indicator, you’ll see a list of Apps Using iCloud
- Tap on Photos
- Switch on iCloud Photos
Now, to set it up on your Mac:
- Launch the Photos app
- Go to the Photos menu in the menu bar
- Click on Preferences
- Next, click on iCloud
- Check the box next to iCloud Photo Library (iCloud Photos in macOS Mojave)
Provided you’ve followed both series of steps and both your devices are using the same Apple ID, your photos and videos will automatically sync between iPhone and Mac.
Remember: while you have iCloud Photo Library on, any changes you make to photos on one device will automatically sync to the other. So if you want to delete them on your iPhone and keep them on your Mac, switch off the sync after you’ve transferred everything.
Whichever method you use, Apple makes it easy to transfer photos and videos from an iPhone to a Mac. Just make sure you move the pics you really need, otherwise you’re just shuffling clutter around.
There are many ways to import photos from iPhone to PC: iTunes, FonePaw DoTrans, Windows Photos, Autoplay, Picasa and more. The most direct way to transfer photos from iPhone to PC is clicking Import on Autoplay window(Windows 7) and on Photos app(Windows 10/8).
However, importing photos from iPhone doesn't always work. Somehow, you can't import photos from iPhone to PC with Windows showing prompts like:
There are no photos to import.
iPhone internal storage folder (DICM folder) is empty.
No New Photos found.
Something went wrong. Try again.
If you can't import pictures from iPhone because you can't view iPhone photos on PC or not all photos can be imported from iPhone to PC, here are the solutions you can try to fix the issue. If you are looking for a better way to transfer iPhone photos, try FonePaw DoTrans, which can import not only photos but also videos, music, contacts from iPhone to PC, or vice versa.
Why Won't My Pictures on iPhone Import to My Computer?
Photos can't import from iPhone to computer possibly because of one of the following reasons.
Faulty USB cable;
iPhone doesn't trust the computer;
Apple components are not properly installed on your computer;
USB connection between iPhone and your computer cannot set up as USB driver is corrupted;
File permissions for Pictures folder on your computer has been changed because of Windows update;
Some of your iPhone photos are stored on iCloud so not all photos on you iPhone can be imported.
Change A New USB Cable
If possible, get an official Apple USB cable to connect your iPhone to computer. Some third-party USB cables can make your iPhone recognized by the computer and even let you view iPhone photos on PC, but it can't import your iPhone photos to PC. So try to import iPhone photos with a different USB cable to ensure that the USB cable is not the problem.
Let iPhone Trust Your Computer
Keep your iPhone unlock when connecting your iPhone to PC via USB cable. Once it is connected, a notification will pop up on iPhone home screen asking if the iPhone would like to trust the computer. Tap Trust.
Once the computer is trusted, you should be able to choose Import photos and videos to transfer photos with Windows' Photos app (Or go to Portable Devices, right-click your iPhone, and press Import Pictures and videos). Also, you can access your iPhone photos on File Manager > Your iPhone > DICM folder.
Import Photos from iPhone to PC with FonePaw DoTrans
If you have trouble importing photos from iPhone to Windows PC, you can get help from a third-party data transfer tool -FonePaw DoTrans.
Not only photos but also videos, music, movies, contacts, messages on the iPhone can be imported into PC via DoTrans. And with DoTrans, not only iPhone photos can be imported to PC but also photos on PC can be transferred to iPhone, and photos can be transferred between iPhone and Android.
Import photos from iPhone to PC with DoTrans.
Step 1 Launch FonePaw DoTrans on PC. (Your computer should have iTunes for DoTrans to work properly)
Step 2 Connect iPhone to computer and contents on your iPhone will be displayed on DoTrans.
Step 3 Click Photos and select the photos you want to import to PC and click Export to PC.
Install Apple Mobile Device Support and Restart the Apple Mobile Device Service (AMDS)
Apple Mobile Device Support and Apple Mobile Device Service is used to help your computer to communicate with iPhone. So if they are not functioning, the computer can't recognize your iPhone and thus you can't import photos from iPhone.
First of all, make sure that Apple Mobile Device Support is installed on your PC. Open Control Panel > Programs and Features and see if Apple Mobile Device Support is listed. If not, Apple Mobile Device Support is missing on your PC so you have to reinstall iTunes to get Apple Mobile Device Support.
If Apple Mobile Device Support is already installed but photos can't import from iPhone to PC, try to restart Apple Mobile Device Service. Keep iTunes closed and your iPhone disconnected. Then open the Run window on PC, enter services.msc to open Services window. On the list, find Apple Mobile Device Service, right click it and choose Properties. Set Startup type as Automatic from drop down list.
First click the Stop button to stop the Apple Mobile Device Service.
Then click the Start button to restart the service.
Update Apple Mobile Device USB Driver
On your Windows PC, go to Device Manager and find Apple Mobile Device USB Driver under Universal Serial Bus controller(If Apple Mobile Device USB Driver is missing, read how to reinstall Apple Mobile Device USB Driver on Windows). If there is '!' or '?' next to the driver's name, uninstall the drive and then reinstall it.
Change Pictures Folder Permission
If your computer doesn't have full control of the Pictures folder, the computer won't import photos from iPhone. So get full control permission for the Pictures folder on your PC.
Step 1 Go to This PC > Pictures folder.
Step 2 Right click the folder and select Properties > Security > Edit.
Step 3 Highlight one of the account names and check Full Control under Allow.
x
If you want to give full control permission to all accounts. Click on Add button under user names. In Enter the object names to select field, enter Everyone and click Check Names > OK. The Everyone group is created. Now you need to give Full control permission to Everyone.
Reset Your iPhone's Location and Privacy Settings
Another trick you can try is resetting Location and Privacy Settings for your iPhone.
Step 1 Disconnect your iPhone from the computer.
Pictures Won't Download From Iphone To Mac
Step 2 On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset location & privacy.
Step 3 After reset, plug your iPhone to the computer and trust the computer. You should be able to import pictures from iPhone to PC now.
Iphone Won't Download Pictures To Computer
Import Smaller Selections of Photos
Photos Won't Transfer From Iphone To Macbook
If you can see iPhone photos on PC but can't import the photos from iPhone, you can try to import only a small portion of photos on your iPhone to PC for one time. Some users found they can't import all thousands of photos on their iPhones to PC at once. A batch of 250-300 photos is recommended to import from iPhone to PC at a time.
If you want to import all iPhone photos at once, try FonePaw DoTrans, a data transfer tool for iPhone to transfer photos, videos, music, and more.
Turned off Antivirus Programs
If you have antivirus programs installed on your computer, disable the program temporarily when importing iPhone photos to PC.
If you still cannot import photos from iPhone to Windows PC, describe your issue below.