How to transfer photos from your iPhone to your PC

By Jaclyn Kilani, Rebecca Spear
published

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Ios 13 Photos Iphone 11 Pro Dog Images (Image credit: iMore)
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If you like to have your photos on multiple devices, getting images off your iPhone can be a critically important task. If you have a Mac, you know that Apple makes it easy to move your photos from your iPhone to your Mac in multiple ways. But what about Windows PC owners? Are they left out in the cold?

The good news is that, no, Windows users aren't left behind. In fact, you might say it's just as easy to transfer photos from your iPhone to your Windows PC as it is with your Mac. You have a couple of options for moving over a USB-to-Lightning, as well as iCloud Photo Library, which can indeed be set up on Windows.

Here's what you need to know about how to transfer photos from your iPhone to your PC.

Download iTunes

If you're transferring photos over via one of the best USB-C cables, you'll need to install iTunes for Windows 10 onto your PC. This will allow your iPhone to be recognized by your PC in the File Explorer, which you'll need for the manual transfer.

You can download iTunes for Windows from the Windows Store here (opens in new tab).

Connecting your iPhone

Connecting your iPhone to your Windows PC requires a few more steps than just plugging it in.

  1. Connect your iPhone to your PC using a USB-to-Lightning cable.Source: Rebecca Spear / iMore

Plug Phone In To Cable (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / iMore)

Plug Lightning Cable Into Pc (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / iMore)
  1. Tap Trust on your iPhone. This might take a few seconds to pop up.
  2. Enter your passcode on your iPhone.

Connect iPhone to Windows PC, showing how to tap Trust, then enter your passcode (Image credit: iMore)

You should now be able to transfer photos to your Windows PC over a wired connection.

How to transfer photos from your iPhone to your PC with the Windows 10 Photos app

  1. While your iPhone is connected to your PC, click the Start button on the lower left side of your PC screen.
  2. Scroll down the file menu and select Photos.Source: iMore

Start Icon Windows (Image credit: iMore)

Start Photos Windows (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Select Import.
  2. Choose From a connected device.Source: iMore

Import Photos App Windows (Image credit: iMore)

Import From A Connected Device Photos App Windows (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Click the drop down menu under Select.
  2. You can choose to import All items or Items since last import.Source: iMore

Photos App Drop Down Menu Select Windows (Image credit: iMore)

Items Since Last Import Photos App Windows (Image credit: iMore)

After making your image import choice, you'll simply need to wait until the PC finishes importing your iPhone images. When that's done, you can close the Photo app and can disconnect your iPhone from the PC.

How to transfer photos from your iPhone to your PC with File Explorer

This isn't the easiest option available, but it is the one that gives you the most choices in where to store your photos.

  1. While your iPhone is connected to your PC, click the Start button on the lower left side of your PC screen.
  2. Select Pictures.Source: iMore

Start Icon Windows (Image credit: iMore)

Pictures Windows (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Click This PC from the side bar menu.
  2. Now select Apple iPhone or any other name associated with the Apple device you are using.Source: iMore

This Pc Windows (Image credit: iMore)

This Pc Apple Iphone Windows (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Select Internal Storage.
  2. Choose the DCIM folder.Source: iMore

This Pc Apple Iphone Internal Storage Windows (Image credit: iMore)

This Pc Apple Iphone Internal Storage Dcim Windows (Image credit: iMore)
  1. If you have more than one file, choose the file you'd like to get pictures from.
  2. Using the mouse, click and drag over the images you'd like to bring to your PC. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + A to select everything.Source: iMore

Iphone Image File Windows (Image credit: iMore)

Select Iphone Images Windows (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Right click the mouse.
  2. Select Copy.Source: Rebecca Spear / iMore and iMore

Right Click Mouse Pc (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / iMore)

Copy Selected Iphone Images Windows (Image credit: iMore)
  1. In the side menu, choose the place that you'd like to import these images to. For me that was Pictures.
  2. Select any file that you want to place the iPhone images into.Source: iMore

Pictiures Windows (Image credit: iMore)

Choose A File Windows (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Now right click the mouse.
  2. Select Paste. After a moment, the images you selected will be brought to your PC.Source: Rebecca Spear / iMore and iMore

Right Click Mouse Pc (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / iMore)

Paste Iphone Images Windows (Image credit: iMore)

Once all of the images have been brought over, you can close the windows you used and then disconnect your iPhone from the PC.

How to transfer photos from your iPhone to your PC over iCloud

Of course, you might not want to bother with a wired connection. Maybe you want your photos to your PC over the cloud. Well, you can do that with iCloud Photo Library. Apple makes an iCloud app for PCs that allows you to set up features like iCloud Photo Library and iCloud Drive on Windows:

How to set up and use iCloud Photo Library on a Windows PC

Mastering easy transfers

As you can see, using an iPhone with a PC computer isn't so hard after all! Apple can play nice with all the other tech brands, as long as you know what you're doing. Maintaining an organized iCloud account can also make a big difference. Once you transfer those photos, back them up on iCloud to make sure they are safe in the future.