Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC

With the Photos app and a USB cable, you can transfer photos and videos to your computer. You can also make your photos available on all of your devices with iCloud Photos.

Use iCloud Photos

iCloud Photos keeps your photos and videos safe, up to date and available automatically on all of your Apple devices, on iCloud.com and even your PC. When you use iCloud Photos, you don't need to import photos from one iCloud device to another. iCloud Photos always uploads and stores your original, full-resolution photos. You can keep full-resolution originals on each of your devices, or save space with device-optimised versions instead. Either way, you can download your originals whenever you need them, as long as you have enough space on your device. Any organisational changes or edits you make will always be kept up to date across all of your Apple devices. Find out how to set up and use iCloud Photos.

Import to your Mac

You can import photos and videos to your Mac by connecting your device to your Mac. However, if you use iCloud Photos, you don’t need to import.

To import to your Mac: 

1. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a USB cable.

2. If you see a prompt to allow your accessory to connect to your computer, click Allow.

   

3. Open the Photos app on your computer.

4. The Photos app shows an Import screen with all the photos and videos that are on your connected device. If the Import screen doesn't automatically appear, click the device's name in the Photos sidebar.

5. If asked, unlock your iOS or iPadOS device using your passcode. If you see a prompt on your iOS or iPadOS device asking you to Trust This Computer, tap Trust to continue.

6. Choose where you want to import your photos to. Next to Album, you can choose an existing album or create a new one.

7. Select the photos you want to import and click Import Selected, or click Import All New Photos.

   

8. Wait until the process has finished, then disconnect your device from your Mac.

Import to your Windows PC

You can import photos to your PC by connecting your device to your computer and using the Apple Devices app:

1. Install the Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store.

2. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your PC with a USB cable.

3. If asked, unlock your iOS or iPadOS device using your passcode.

4. If you see a prompt on your iOS or iPadOS device asking you to Trust This Computer, tap Trust or Allow to continue.

Then visit Microsoft’s website to find out how to import photos to the Microsoft Photos app in Windows.

If you have iCloud Photos turned on, you’ll need to download the original, full-resolution versions of your photos to your iPhone or iPad before you import to your PC.

When you import videos from your iOS or iPadOS device to your PC, some might be rotated incorrectly in the Microsoft Photos app. You can add these videos to iTunes to play them in the correct orientation.

If you want to ensure photos from your iOS or iPadOS device have the best compatibility with Windows, try these steps:

1. On your iOS or iPadOS device, open the Settings app.

2. Tap Camera, then tap Formats.

3. Tap Most Compatible. From now on, your camera will create photos and videos in JPEG and H.264 formats.

More ways to transfer photos and videos to your computer

• Use AirDrop to quickly send photos and videos to your Mac.

• Import photos and video from storage media, like a hard disk or SD card, to Photos for macOS.

• Use a scanner and Image Capture to import photos that were taken using a camera with a film.

• Import your images directly to a folder on your Mac with Image Capture.

• Sync music, films and more from your iOS devices using your computer.

• Use Time Machine to back up all of your files, including your photos and videos, to an external hard drive.