Transferring photos from iphone to pc

Technology
1

With the greatest respect to @Rachel05 who has been helping me with this by relating what she and Stuart do without recourse to icloud, I have tried almost everything to control it without success.

I have spent the best part of 3 hours with AI who advised no less than half a dozen different ways to do it.

I bought a cable to join the iphone with the pc (windows 11) but it makes no difference. Strangely though at some point in this convoluted episode about 5 of the most recent pics on the phone did make it to the PC, no idea how but, when I tried to get it to replicate it with the ones I wanted all it did was show me a long list of photos that were already on the pc before I even bought the iphone.

Please be aware that anything recommended is almost certain to have been already tried and I will do my very best not to be rude, but simply weary.

Suicide is not an option, I am looking forward to my dinner too much for that but, I tremble to ask, is there anyone who can help? :weary_face:

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I am so sorry that our method of transferring photos to the PC has not worked for you David. I can understand how frustrating it all must be but can I ask, is Eddie someone who would be able to help? Or, is there anyone on the forum who lives near you that could come to show you in person ? :pink_heart:

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You can transfer photos using a USB cable and the Windows Photos app or File Explorer, as detailed by Apple Support. [1]

Using a USB Cable and Windows Photos App

  • Connect your iPhone to your PC using a USB cable.
  • Unlock your iPhone with your passcode.
  • Tap Trust or Allow on your iPhone when prompted to permit access.
  • Open the Photos app on your Windows PC.
  • Click Import in the top right corner and select your iPhone.
  • Choose the photos you want and select the destination folder. [1, 2, 3]

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Laptop:

Using File Explorer

  • Plug your iPhone into your PC with a USB cable and unlock it.
  • Open File Explorer and go to This PC.
  • Click on Apple iPhone and open Internal Storage.
  • Open the DCIM folder to find your photos sorted by year and month folders.
  • Copy and paste the desired photos to a folder on your PC. [1, 2]
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First one works for me. Couple of details. I have “photos” in the drop down menu on the left hand side of my pc screen when I click on the windows logo. Nb I have windows 10.
The photos app brings up ALL my photos already on my pc so that takes time. Top right hand side “import” button also downloads all your photos from your phone. There is the option to click on a button that says something like “import new only”.
Your photos will all go in your “pictures” folder on your pc unless you create a specific folder and ask the app to download your photos to that.
Hope this helps.

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If you have an email account on the phone and on the computer then you can email them to yourself. Obviously not suitable for thousands of pictures, but you might have a few score that actually mean something and you want to save.

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Oh Rachel, I knew that you would be the first to reply. You haven’t let me down at all, even though I have failed I am sure that what you do must be right, it doesn’t appear to have penetrated my thick skull enough to do it justice.

@NotALot I have followed all that advice to the letter as encouraged by my artificial friend, but for one reason or another, it simply does not work for me. To pick one vital thing alone I simply cannot persuade my computer to recognise its Windows photo app. Even though I have tried several times. it simply cannot be found.

Your 2nd suggestion likewise, Internal Storage is a foreign country to this blessed iphone, it couldn’t have been more certain than if I had declared myself its wayward parent.

@SuePJ You were doing well Sue, until you got to the ‘import’ button. I have searched and searched and it simply is not there.

I promise that not a drop of gin or kir passed my lips before I tried all the above several times, but as they have now, I will enter the fray again, possibly in the morning.

@Ancient_Mariner An interesting thought. I have tried it just now and it didn’t work but I don’t use the iphone for emails and it isn’t obvious how to send one. As you say though, very long-winded having to hit all those tiny keys with a thick finger, I can hardly get through one sentence on the computer without a couple of typos.

Thank you all for well intended help, and to Rachel, Eddie has his hands full with an injured wife, so best not disturb them for the time being. :wink: No harm in ringing tomorrow though and seeing if he has a window free.

With so many people saying it is possible there must be a way, so the problem must be with me.

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Not you personally David - just unfamiliarity with the tech involved, which it must be said often does things in a way that only makes sense to those already tech-inclined.

Getting photos off my phone on to my Mac is also not intuitive - sometimes I email them to myself or just wait for the Photos app to put them on iCloud so I can grab them from there. :slight_smile:

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I do feel, from observing those with i devices, that if you don’t buy into the whole ecosystem then they can be more difficult to use than necessary.

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9

I think it’s tech in general not specifically Apple - I have an Android tablet that I use for telescope control and that’s just as annoying sometimes. :slight_smile:

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I recall a time when iPhone users were struggling with file transfers in general if they didn’t want to go through iPlayer. But yes, Android stuff can also have poor design, but usually it’s exactly that, rather than being deliberate and obstructive.

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I just let the Mac decide where it’s going to put stuff then get the OH to find and reorganise in an order dumbo here, understands. Its amazingly efficient, for me :joy:

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Not just me then. If I was looking for a beautiful new partner, I’m not, there are advantages living alone (for instance, I have nowhere to go today so I woke up for a pee at 7.30 and went back to bed for half an hour, then woke just after 10 :joy:. The dog is happy with this, but I doubt a wife would be), but I can see a techie one might be an advantage.

Anyway, this late arising might have something to do with late to bed last night because I got hooked again trying to work this puzzle out.

I thought I had got it licked at one point. I arrived at a large black panel on the screen headed ‘Apple iPhone’ and I got some pictures there that were obviously from it rather than the pc. I could select an individual pic bu not copy it. Most frustrating. Finally I jotted down on a pad the route I thought by which I got there, then removed it from the screen.

MS Photos
Apple iPhone
Select Pic
Transfer ? But no luck again with that
At the bottom was a reference IMG_0163.HEIC

But I couldn’t get back there. No idea how I got there in the first place let alone manage to transfer.

I’ll tinker again this morning, but it is overcast outside so might take Jules for a morning walk rather than a afternoon keeping to the shadows one. :grinning_face:

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David - Is this video any good. I think your method would be option 2 but it may be worth having a look. He does explain it quite well. :pink_heart:

14

Another thing which may work but is a total nightmare and a dead bore* is plugging the telephone in and opening the photo folder, and then manually transferring each one by clicking on it and dragging it over with the mouse to a new folder you made on your computer. Having said that my devices aren’t apple. It has worked transferring from my phone to a memory stick via an apple computer though.

(* Voice of experience, obv).

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What about a screenshot, it may help our motivated team of SF assistants :slightly_smiling_face:?

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David it seems your phone is saving its files in HEIC format instead of the more common JPEG format - it may be that your PC is struggling because it can’t read HEIC images.

While HEIC is a “better” format technically (it saves space), it’s mostly only used by Apple devices so having your phone save images in JPEG format is sensible.

To change this, on your iPhone go to Settings / Camera / scroll down to Formats, tap on that and then change camera capture from “High Efficiency” to “Most Compatible”.

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Also @ChrisMann - is there a possibility that the phone is on ‘charge’ instead of being able to transfer. If you think so, can you do the honours and show David how to change the setting on the phone. Much appreciated. :pink_heart:

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There isn’t a specific setting for that on iPhones. Instead, you allow transfer by saying “trust this computer” when asked the first time you connect it.

Here are the steps for Windows according to Auntie Google (I don’t have a Windows computer).

Step 1: Check the physical connection

  1. Unlock your iPhone screen using your passcode or Face ID.
  2. Connect your iPhone to the Windows PC using your USB cable.
  3. Tap Trust or Allow on the iPhone screen prompt to give Windows permission to read your photos and videos.

Step 2: Choose your transfer method

Method Best For How to Do It
File Explorer Moving photos and videos quickly without extra software. Open File Explorer (Win + E) → Click This PC → Double-click Apple iPhone → Go to Internal Storage > DCIM to copy your media.
Apple Devices App Syncing music, movies, and full backups on Windows 10/11. Download the Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store. Open it to manage and sync your device content.
Windows Photos App Bulk importing all new photos and videos automatically. Open the built-in Photos app → Click Import (top right) → Select From a connected device and follow the prompts.
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@David, please read from posting 12 onwards for further instructions. We might be getting there ! :pink_heart:

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All good and I will be coming back to you all later, but one bit of news is that, in desperation, I re-tried icloud again and followed through their steps to overcome the problem.

They don’t make it easy though and I have to wait for up to 24 hours for an email telling me if I can continue or not. So that will be interesting.

I said I will come back to all the suggestions that @Rachel05 mentions but I have been away from the computer for a while (guess where :wink:) and am feeling quite good about stuff so I will check another few replies here and then take my old mate for his walk (the sun came out this morning :roll_eyes:)

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