Which is that one device that you never leave when you are away from home? It must be your smartphone. Mobile phones have become inseparable from their owners as they have now become mini-computers. The fact that you can take awesome photos right from your smartphone is another big attraction to these small devices. The quality of the cameras associated with these smartphones is one of the biggest selling features in the modern market.
However, their memory capacity may not be that big to hold all your shots. You may also want to transfer such photos into a device that will allow you to edit them into perfection. Learning this trick thus comes in handy when you want to transfer your photos from the iPhone to your PC:
You can use several approaches to transfer your photos from the iPhone to your target computer.
Transfer through iCloud Photos
It is one of the best solutions if your photo gallery is less than 5GB. All you need is to set up your devices to transfer your photos and videos to iCloud Photos. This will, in turn, synchronize your other devices such as iPads, Macs, iPods, and your Apple TV. Ensure that you are signed-in to the iCloud using the same Apple ID if you want the automatic synchronization to work.
Follow these steps to set up iCloud Photos on your iPhone:
- Go to the settings on your iPhone
- Tap on the icon that shows your name
- Select iCloud
- Check on the iCloud storage and tap on Photos
- If you are using iOS 12, then select iCloud Photo Library
How to set up iCloud on your Mac
- Select system preferences
- Select iCloud
- Click on Options
- Select iCloud Photos
Your photos should now synchronize automatically between your Mac and iPhone when iCloud is turned on. The only limitation is that iCloud is free only up to 5GB. You can then opt for paid options such as $0.99/month for 50GB or even go for heavy usage at $9.99/month for 2TB.
Use a lighting cable
Follow these steps:
- Use your Apple Lightning-to-USB cable to connect your iPhone to your Mac
- Your iPhone might request you to confirm that you trust the device
- The Photos app will launch automatically
- If it fails to open, use the manual approach through the floating toolbar or applications folder
- The photos may still fail to appear on your computer. Move to the left-hand menu where you will select your iPhone and bring the videos and images onto the main window
- Click on “Import All New Items”
- You can as well click “Import Selected” if you want to import photos and videos selectively.
Anyone who uses iTunes 12.5.1 and above can use this approach, so everyone with a model produced in 2012 and beyond is sorted.
Transfer photos using AirDrop
This will only work if your Mac runs on OS X Yosemite or later versions. However, you must have both your Mac and iPhone within Bluetooth or Wi-Fi range. Follow these steps to set up AirDrop:
- Turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on both devices
- Turn off your personal hotspot
- Set AirDrop to receive everyone (check Settings-General-AirDrop)
- Use the Finder app on your Mac to land on AirDrop
You can then allow the two devices to connect and follow these steps to transfer the photos:
- Open the Photos folder on your phone
- Click on or select all the photos you want to transfer
- Use the sharing button on the left-hand corner at the bottom
- Select the Mac as the recipient
- Click Accept when a pop up appears on your Mac screen
- Turn off AirDrop on both devices once you are through with the transfer
Transfers photos from iPhone to a PC without iTunes
We shall use PCs that use Windows OS for illustration
- Get your iPhone and Mac and connect them using a lighting USB-cable
- The iPhone may demand that you unlock using your passcode
- ‘Trust This Computer’ may appear on your Mac, and you should click on Allow or Trust to continue.
Use the following steps to transfer to Windows 10
- Click on the Start button and select Photos
- Locate the Import icon on the right-hand corner
- Select all the photos you want to import and then click Continue
- There will be a pop-up that allows you to choose where to store the imported photos (you can as well delete them from the phone)
- Click the Import button
Transferring your photos when your phone is running low on storage is not that hard when you follow any of the above tricks. The beauty of these approaches is that you do not have to be a techie. Evaluate what suits you best and the resources you have at hand, and let your photos find a new home.