How to Transfer Photos From iPhone to PC or Mac (Free)

Disclosure: Jotter is ours. The advice works with any app, or with pen and paper.

In short

On a Windows PC, connect the iPhone with a USB cable, unlock it and tap Trust, then open the Photos app, click Import and choose your iPhone. On a Mac, connect it and import in the Photos app, or AirDrop a few photos. To get JPGs instead of HEIC files, first set Settings → Apps → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC to Automatic.

A cable and the Photos app: best for a whole library.
iCloud Photos or AirDrop: no cable.
Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic gives you JPGs.

Before you start: two settings

JPG or HEIC? Settings → Apps → Photos (on older iOS, Settings → Photos) → Transfer to Mac or PC. Automatic converts photos to JPG, and videos to a widely supported format, as they copy. Keep Originals copies HEIC files as they are.
Are the originals on the phone? If iCloud Photos is set to Optimize iPhone Storage, many full-size photos live only in iCloud, and a cable copies only what’s on the phone. For a complete copy, download from iCloud instead (see below).

Windows 11 or 10: with a USB cable

Connect the iPhone to the PC with a USB cable and unlock it.
When the iPhone asks, tap Trust and enter your passcode.
Open the Photos app on the PC, click Import and choose your iPhone.
Pick the photos, or all of them, and import.

Prefer plain folders? Open File Explorer → This PC → Apple iPhone → Internal Storage → DCIM and copy the folders to your PC.

If the iPhone doesn’t appear, try another cable or USB port, and install Apple’s free Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store (or iTunes on older Windows), which adds what Windows needs to talk to an iPhone.

Windows without a cable

iCloud for Windows: install it from the Microsoft Store, sign in with your Apple Account and turn on Photos. Your iCloud Photos show up in File Explorer and stay in sync.
iCloud.com: with iCloud Photos on, sign in at iCloud.com in any browser, open Photos, select what you want and download it.
OneDrive or Google Photos: their iPhone apps can back up your camera roll, and you download the photos on the PC.

Bluetooth won’t do it: an iPhone can’t send photos to a PC over Bluetooth.

Mac: with a cable or AirDrop

Connect the iPhone to the Mac, unlock it and tap Trust if asked.
Open the Photos app on the Mac. Your iPhone appears in the sidebar, under Devices.
Click Import All New Items, or select photos and click Import Selected.

For a handful of photos, AirDrop is quicker: select them on the iPhone, tap Share → AirDrop and pick your Mac. They land in the Mac’s Downloads folder. And if iCloud Photos is on for both, they already sync — just open Photos on the Mac.

To copy straight into a folder or onto an external drive, skipping the Photos library, open Image Capture (in Applications), select the iPhone, choose where to import to and click Download All.

HEIC files on Windows that won’t open

Copied with Keep Originals, iPhone photos arrive as HEIC files, which Windows only opens once Microsoft’s HEIF and HEVC extensions are installed from the Microsoft Store. The quicker fix is to convert them: drop them into our free Image Converter, choose JPG and download. It runs in your browser, so the photos are never uploaded. More ways in how to convert HEIC to JPG.

Before you delete anything from the iPhone

Open a few of the copied photos and videos on the computer to check they came across.
With iCloud Photos on, deleting a photo on the iPhone deletes it from iCloud and every device that syncs with it. Your copies on the computer stay, as long as they sit outside iCloud.
Keep a second copy of photos you can’t replace, on an external drive or another cloud.

Get the photos out of your notes with Jotter

Jotter on iPad: All notes, Pinned, Checklists, Handwritten and Recently deleted, then the Travel, Home and Work folders in the sidebar, the note list in the middle and a travel checklist open — Jotter on iPhone

Know where they are. The copies of pictures and scans in your notes live in Jotter, not in your Photos library — so a Photos import won’t pick them up.
Open Settings → Export all notes. Every note becomes a Markdown text file, in folders named after yours, with its photos, drawings, scans and recordings beside it.
Move the folder to your computer. Save it to Files or send it wherever you like, then copy it to your PC or Mac.
Only need one note? Open its More menu and choose Export as PDF.

Jotter is free, with no account and no ads, and needs iOS 18 or later. Locked notes are included in the export only if you unlock them when asked.

Common questions

Why won’t my iPhone show up on my PC?

Unlock the iPhone and tap Trust when asked, try another cable or USB port, and install Apple’s Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store. Then open the Photos app again.

Can I transfer photos from iPhone to PC with Bluetooth?

No. Use a USB cable, iCloud for Windows, iCloud.com, or a cloud app such as OneDrive or Google Photos.

How do I transfer photos from iPhone to PC as JPG?

Set Settings → Apps → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC to Automatic before you connect the cable. Photos already copied as HEIC can be converted to JPG with a free converter.

Do I need iCloud to move photos from iPhone to Mac?

No. Connect the iPhone with a cable and import in the Photos app or Image Capture, or send a few with AirDrop.

Published 11 October 2026 · No affiliate links

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