How To Download Pictures From Iphone 5s To Laptop

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This wikiHow teaches you how to move photos from your iPhone onto a Windows or Mac computer. You can do this by using your respective computer's built-in Photos application, or you can use iCloud Photos to upload photos from your iPhone to iCloud and then download them from there onto your computer.

1
Connect your iPhone to your Windows computer. Plug one end of the iPhone's charging cable into the iPhone's charging port, then plug the USB end into one of your computer's USB ports.
- If this is the first time connecting your iPhone to the computer, you will need to tap Trust on the iPhone and then enter your iPhone's passcode or TouchID.
2
Open iTunes. Its app icon resembles a multicolored musical note on a white background. In order for a Windows computer to recognize an iPhone, you must open iTunes and allow the phone to connect to it.
- If you don't have iTunes on your computer, install it before proceeding.
- If iTunes prompts you to update it, click Download iTunes when prompted. You'll have to restart your computer after the download finishes.
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3
Wait for the "Device" icon to appear. This iPhone-shaped icon will appear in the upper-left side of the iTunes Library page. Once you see it appear, you can proceed.
- It may take several seconds for your iPhone to connect to iTunes.
- If the Library tab near the top of the iTunes window isn't highlighted, click it to shift to Library view.
4
Unlock your iPhone. Once the "Device" icon appears, enter your passcode (or Touch ID, or Face ID) and press the Home button on your iPhone to unlock it.
- If prompted, tap Trust on the "Trust this computer?" pop-up before proceeding.
5

Open Start . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
6
Click Photos . You'll usually find this mountain-shaped app icon somewhere in the Start window.
- If you don't see Photos here, type in photos and then click Photos at the top of the Start window.
7

Click Import . This tab is in the upper-right side of the Photos window. A drop-down menu will appear.
8
Click From a USB device . It's in the drop-down menu. Clicking this will prompt your computer to begin scanning your iPhone for photos and videos to import.
- If you have more than one USB item plugged in, click your iPhone's name before proceeding.
- If Photos prompts you that it can't find a USB item, close and re-open Photos and try again. It may take a couple of tries to get your iPhone to show up here.
9
Select photos to transfer onto your computer. All of the photos on your iPhone will initially be selected, but you can click the checkmark in the upper-right side of each photo that you don't want to import to prevent it from importing.
- You can also click the Unselect all link near the top of the "Select items to import" window to uncheck every photo and then click each photo that you want to import.
- If you want to delete the photos you're importing from your iPhone after they're added to your computer, click the Import settings link near the bottom of the window, then check the "Delete items from my device after I import them" box and click Done.
10

Click Import selected . It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so will prompt the photos to begin importing into your computer. Once they're finished, you'll see a notification appear in the lower-right corner of your computer's screen, at which point you can detach your iPhone from your computer.

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1

Connect your iPhone to your Mac. Plug one end of the iPhone's charging cable into the iPhone's charging port, then plug the USB end into one of your computer's USB ports.
2
Unlock your iPhone. Enter your passcode (or Touch ID, or Face ID) and press the Home button on your iPhone to unlock it.
- If prompted, tap Trust on the "Trust this computer?" pop-up before proceeding.
3
Open the Photos app. Click the Photos app icon, which resembles a multicolored pinwheel, in your Mac's Dock.
- The Photos app may open automatically when you connect your iPhone.
- Your iPhone's icon should appear in the upper-left corner of the app's window.
4

Select your iPhone. Click your iPhone's name on the left side of the window to select it as the place from which you'll import photos.
5
Select the photos you'd like to download. Do so by clicking on images in the window.
- Skip this step if you want to import all of the photos that aren't already on your computer.
6
Click Import Selected . It's in the upper-right corner of the window. The number of photos that you selected will appear in this button (e.g., Import 5 Selected).
- If you'd like to transfer all the photos on your iPhone that aren't already on your Mac, click Import All New Items.
7

Click Imports . It's on the left side of the window. The photos you just transferred will be listed on this page.

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1

Make sure that you have enough space. This method allows you to upload all of your photos to iCloud, at which point you can download them onto any computer with Internet access; however, your iCloud storage must exceed the amount of storage that your photos take up. You start with 5 gigabytes of free storage, but you may need to upgrade your storage before you can store your photos.
2

Open your iPhone's Settings. Tap the Settings app icon, which resembles a grey box with gears on it.
3
Tap your Apple ID. It's the top section in the Settings menu that contains your name and image if you've added one.
- If you are not signed in, tap Sign in to iPhone, enter your Apple ID and password, then tap Sign In.
4

Tap iCloud . It's in the second section of the menu, near the middle of the screen.
5

Tap Photos . It's near the top of the "APPS USING ICLOUD" section.
6
Tap the white "iCloud Photo Library" switch . It will turn green

. At this point, your existing Camera Roll photos and videos will be uploaded to your iCloud account as long as you're connected to Wi-Fi.
- The upload process can take several hours if you have a lot of photos, so be patient.
- If you'd like to save storage space on your iPhone, tap Optimize iPhone Storage to store smaller versions of photos on your device.
7

Tap the white "My Photo Stream" switch . It will turn green

. This will ensure that future photos will be uploaded to iCloud whenever you have an Internet connection.
8
9
Log into iCloud. Enter your Apple ID email address and password, then click → .
- If you're already logged into iCloud, skip this step.
10

Click Photos. It's a multicolored pinwheel-shaped icon.
11

Click the Photos tab. You'll find this in the upper-left side of the page.
12

Select photos to download. While holding down Ctrl (Windows) or ⌘ Command (Mac), click each photo that you want to download.
13

Click the "Download" button . It's the cloud-shaped icon with a downward-facing arrow that's in the top-right side of the page. Doing so will prompt the photos to download onto your computer, though you may be asked to choose a download location first.

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Add New Question

Question

Where do I plug my iPhone 6 in order to transfer pictures to my computer?

You use the lightning USB port on the bottom of the phone. You can also transfer with wifi, but that takes a little more initial effort.
Question

After pressing the import, it starts to import and then stops with a message saying "there is a fault", but doesn't describe the fault. What should I do?

Did you allow access to the data. Check the iPhone, unlock the screen and allow access in the popup of the iPhone OS.
Question

What should I do if my device does not show up?

If your computer doesn't recognize your device, then download iTunes and try again. You can also use cloud storage and access it from your computer.
Question

How can I reverse this and transfer photos from my PC to my iPhone?

Yes. Plug your iPhone into your computer, then go to file explorer. You will see iPhone at side. Open up the folder where your photos are saved, and drag them to your iPhone's icon.
Question

Why do I see a message that says "No photos found" when there are photos?

I had that problem, even after I clicked "Trust this computer" on my iPhone's pop-up window. The only thing that solved it was opening up iTunes on my laptop with my phone synced to it. I was then able to import photos using the Windows Photo app.
Question

How do I select all my photos without clicking each one individually?

Tae Balat

Community Answer

Shift key + "A" key should select all the items at once. To double check, in the upper right corner of the photo page, there should be an indicator showing how many are selected.
Question

Why are not all the photos showing up on my iPhone?

Try unplugging the USB cable and plug it in again. After that, more photos should show up. Repeat as often as needed until all photos show up.

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Video

When using Windows, if you do not connect your iPhone to iTunes, you won't be able to import photos.

About This Article

Article SummaryX

To download photos from your iPhone to your computer using the photo app on Windows, start by connecting your phone to your computer. Once you're connected, open iTunes and wait for the "Device" icon to appear. After iTunes recognizes your phone, enter its passcode and press the "Home" button on your iPhone to unlock it. Next, click the "Windows" logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen and click "Photos." From here, tap "Import" to access the drop-down menu, and click "From a USB device" to prompt your computer to scan your phone for photos and videos. Finally, tap "Import selected" to move your phone's photos onto your computer. To learn how to download photos from your iPhone to your Mac using the photos app, keep reading!

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