Transfer photos from your iPhone to a PC

How SendTheStuff will get iPhone photos onto your PC

SendTheStuff will pair your iPhone and your PC with a QR code, right in the browser. The PC will show a code, and your iPhone's Camera app will open its link in your browser.

• No cable, no driver, no iTunes: SendTheStuff will work over the internet, so the Apple Devices app and Trust prompts won't come into it.
• No iCloud storage: SendTheStuff won't touch your iCloud plan or need iCloud Photos turned on.
• Photos and videos together: SendTheStuff will take up to 1,000 files and 5 GB in each send.
• A daily allowance: SendTheStuff will allow 5 GB of device sends per email address, per rolling day.
• No squeezing of its own: SendTheStuff will pass on the files your iPhone hands it. SendTheStuff will clear each one 1 hour after you download it.

SendTheStuff won't carry a Live Photo's movement, since Apple says services without Live Photos get a still photo. The PC won't need to sign in to receive. Your iPhone will confirm your email once, since only a signed-in phone can send.

Every way from iPhone to PC, compared

The cable: Windows Photos and the Apple Devices app

Apple's steps for a Windows PC start with installing the Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store. Then you connect the iPhone with a USB cable and unlock it.

Your iPhone may ask Trust This Computer. Tap Trust or Allow, or Windows won't see it. Then open Photos from Start, select Import, and pick your iPhone.

The Apple Devices app itself doesn't import anything. Its Photos option, Sync Photos to your device from, copies photos from the PC to the iPhone. With iCloud Photos on, it shows no photo options at all.

If iCloud Photos is on, the iPhone may hold only small copies. Optimize Storage is on by default, keeping space-saving versions on the phone and originals in iCloud. Apple says you must download the original, full resolution versions to the iPhone before importing. The setting is under Settings > your name > iCloud > Photos, then iPhone Storage on iOS 27 or later. Switch it away from Optimize Storage so originals download.

HEIC, HEVC and the Keep Originals setting

Your iPhone shoots in the format set at Settings > Camera > Formats. High Efficiency saves photos as HEIC and videos as HEVC. Apple says these keep the same visual quality as JPEG and H.264, in less space.

Windows may not open HEIC until you add Microsoft's HEIF Image Extension. Its store page says .heic files also need the HEVC Video Extensions. In the US Microsoft Store, the HEVC extensions cost $0.99, and they also play HEVC videos.

During a cable import, Apple says HEIC and HEVC might be converted to JPEG or H.264. That's handy if you can't open HEIC, but it's a converted copy. To get the files exactly as shot, choose Settings > Apps > Photos > Keep Originals before you import.

To skip HEIC from now on, choose Most Compatible under Formats. New photos save as JPEG and videos as H.264, which take more space.

iCloud for Windows and iCloud.com

iCloud for Windows puts an iCloud Photos folder in File Explorer. Photos show as thumbnails until you download them. Double-click one to download it, or select several with Ctrl.

• Format: the iCloud Photos options include "Download High-Efficiency format photos and videos". Turn it on only if your PC opens HEIC and HEVC files.
• Storage: everything in iCloud Photos counts against your iCloud plan, and the free one is 5 GB.
• Windows version: Apple says the latest iCloud for Windows needs Windows 11 or later. On an older PC, iCloud.com works in any browser.

No app at all? Sign in at iCloud.com/photos and select up to 1,000 items. Under More Download Options, pick Unmodified Originals to get the files as captured.

Live Photos on a Windows PC

A Live Photo is a still plus a few seconds of movement, and it doesn't play as one on a PC. What you get depends on the route:

• A cable import: Apple's steps don't say what happens to a Live Photo, so this page doesn't cover it. Check what lands in your folder.
• iCloud for Windows: Apple says the latest version shows a JPEG or MOV file for each Live Photo stored in iCloud Photos.
• iCloud.com: Apple's download steps don't say what happens to a Live Photo either, so this page doesn't cover it.
• Shared to apps or devices without Live Photos: Apple says it goes as a still photo.

Until SendTheStuff launches

Everything at once, by cable:

1. Install the Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store.
2. If iCloud Photos is on, open Settings > your name > iCloud > Photos and switch away from Optimize Storage, so the full photos download to the iPhone.
3. To get files exactly as shot, choose Settings > Apps > Photos > Keep Originals.
4. Connect the iPhone, unlock it, and tap Trust or Allow.
5. Open Photos on the PC, select Import, pick the iPhone, choose the photos and a folder.

Without a cable, through iCloud:

1. Install iCloud for Windows and sign in with your Apple Account.
2. Turn on iCloud Photos in its Photos options.
3. In File Explorer, open iCloud Photos and double-click what you need.

When Windows doesn't see your iPhone

• Nothing happens when you plug in. Use a cable that can transfer files, not a charge-only one. Unlock the iPhone and stay on the Home Screen.
• No Trust prompt appeared. Unplug, unlock the iPhone, and plug in again. Tap Trust or Allow this time.
• Some photos are missing from the import. With Optimize Storage on, their originals live in iCloud. Download originals to the iPhone first, or use iCloud for Windows.
• The files won't open. They're HEIC or HEVC. Install the two Microsoft extensions, or import again without Keep Originals.
• iCloud Photos shows only thumbnails. That's normal until you double-click. Large videos take a while.