How to Transfer Photos From iPhone to Computer (Windows and Mac)

Quick answer: Connect the iPhone with a USB cable, unlock it and tap Trust when the prompt appears. On a Mac, open the Photos app, pick the device in the sidebar, and click Import All New Photos or Import Selected. On Windows, open the Photos app and import from the connected device. The step nobody warns you about comes next: the imported files are often .heic, and Windows will not open them without an extension. Apple's own fix for future photos is Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible, and for the photos you already transferred, converting HEIC to JPG takes a few seconds in a browser.

On a Mac

Apple's official steps:

1. Connect the iPhone to the Mac with a USB cable. If you see a prompt to allow the accessory to connect, click Allow.
2. Open the Photos app on the Mac. It shows an Import screen with everything on the connected device. If that screen does not appear, click the device's name in the Photos sidebar.
3. If asked, unlock the iPhone with your passcode. If the iPhone asks you to Trust This Computer, tap Trust.
4. Choose where the photos go. Next to Album you can pick an existing album or create a new one.
5. Click Import Selected, or Import All New Photos.

If you have iCloud Photos turned on, you can skip all of this: the photos sync to the Mac on their own. The catch is that iCloud syncing depends on both devices having space and signal, and it copies the library, not a folder of files you control.

On a Windows PC

Windows works, but there is a format problem to head off first. Apple's own guidance for best compatibility with Windows:

On your iPhone, open Settings → Camera → Formats, and tap Most Compatible. From then on, the camera captures photos and videos in JPEG and H.264 rather than HEIC and HEVC.

That setting only affects future photos. Everything already in your library stays HEIC.

Then import:

1. Connect the iPhone to the PC with a USB cable, unlock it, and tap Trust on the iPhone.
2. Open the Photos app in Windows and choose to import from a connected device. (Windows also exposes the iPhone in File Explorer under This PC, where the photos live in the DCIM folder, if you would rather drag them yourself.)
3. Select what you want and import.

One important caveat from Apple: if iCloud Photos is turned on, you have to download the original, full-resolution versions to the iPhone before importing to the PC. Otherwise you may copy across optimised placeholder versions instead of the real files. On the iPhone that is Settings → Photos → Download and Keep Originals.

The HEIC problem, and how to fix it

This is the actual reason most people end up searching for help after the transfer works.

Since iOS 11, iPhones save photos as HEIC by default. It stores the same image at roughly half the size of a JPG, which is great on the phone and awkward everywhere else. Once the files land on a PC you may see:

• Windows Photos saying it needs an extension to open the file
• Thumbnails that never render
• Upload forms rejecting the file outright
• Editing software that will not open it

There are three fixes, in order of how much work they are:

1. Convert the files you already transferred. Drop them into a HEIC to JPG converter and download JPGs that open anywhere. It handles batches and gives you a ZIP back, and because it runs in the browser the photos never get uploaded to anyone's server. If you need PNGs instead, HEIC to PNG does the same job.

2. Change the setting so it stops happening. Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible, as Apple recommends above. Photos take more space on the phone, but they open everywhere without a conversion step.

3. Install the Windows extension. The HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store make Windows open HEIC files natively. This fixes viewing but not the upload forms that reject the format, so it solves half the problem. There is more detail on the format itself in what is a HEIC file.

Check what came across before you do anything else

Two things are worth knowing about the transferred files:

The dates may be wrong. Some transfer methods (especially anything that goes through a messaging app or a re-save) drop the original EXIF capture date, so photos arrive dated today and sort out of order. Drop one into the EXIF viewer to see whether the original capture date survived. If it did not, you can set the correct date and restore the ordering.

They probably carry your location. iPhone photos usually store the GPS coordinates of where they were taken. That is useful in your own library and less useful when you email a batch to someone. See exactly what a photo reveals with the photo location finder, and strip the metadata from copies you are about to share.

Which transfer method should you use

Method	Best for	Watch out for
USB + Photos app	Getting real files into a folder you control	HEIC format on Windows
iCloud Photos	Keeping a Mac in sync automatically	Needs storage and signal; download originals before a PC import
AirDrop (to Mac)	A handful of photos, quickly	Not available on Windows
Email or messaging	One or two photos	Often recompresses the image and can strip EXIF

For a whole camera roll, USB is still the fastest and the most predictable, and it is the only one that does not depend on cloud storage.

Frequently asked

Do I need iTunes to transfer photos? No. Importing photos uses the Photos app on both Mac and Windows. iTunes is only relevant for syncing photos to the device.

Why does my iPhone not show up on the PC? Almost always because the phone is locked or you have not tapped Trust. Unlock it, unplug and replug, and watch for the prompt. A charge-only cable will also do this, since some cables carry power but no data.

Can I transfer without a cable? Yes, through iCloud Photos, or AirDrop to a Mac. For a Windows PC without cloud storage, USB is the practical route.

Will transferring delete the photos from my iPhone? No. Importing copies them. Deleting from the phone is a separate, deliberate step, and worth doing only after you have confirmed the copies open properly on the computer.

Bottom line

USB cable, unlock, Trust, then import through the Photos app on either platform. The transfer itself is easy; the format is what trips people up. If the files land as .heic and nothing will open them, convert them to JPG in your browser and switch the iPhone to Most Compatible so it stops recurring.

And before you forward that folder to anyone, check what the metadata says. Holiday photos carry the GPS of where you took them, which is fine on your own drive and less fine in someone else's inbox.