The fastest way: use the Photos app on Windows

Connect your iPhone to your PC with a USB cable. Windows will recognize it as a device. Open the Photos app (search for "Photos" in your Start menu), click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left, then select Settings. Go to USB devices and toggle on Use USB devices. Close Settings and go back to the main Photos window.

Click the Import button in the top right. Photos will scan your iPhone and show you all the photos and videos it finds. You can select all of them or click individual ones to choose which to bring over. Click Import selected and choose where on your PC you want them saved — the default is your Pictures folder. The transfer starts immediately.

This method works on Windows 10 and Windows 11. It does not require any third-party software and keeps your photos organized by the date they were taken.

Key Takeaways

  • The Windows Photos app is built into your PC and can import directly from your iPhone without extra software.
  • You must unlock your iPhone and tap Trust when prompted the first time you connect it to your PC.
  • File Explorer also works if you prefer to see your iPhone as a folder and drag photos manually to your PC.
  • iCloud Photos syncs your library across devices but requires a subscription for storage beyond 5 GB.
  • Third-party tools like Google Photos or OneDrive offer automatic backup but store your photos on their servers.

Using File Explorer to drag and drop photos

Connect your iPhone with a USB cable and unlock it. When prompted on your iPhone screen, tap Trust to allow your PC to access the device. Open File Explorer (the folder icon on your taskbar) and look for your iPhone in the left sidebar under This PC.

Click on your iPhone name to open it. You will see folders including DCIM (where photos are stored) and Screenshots. Double-click DCIM to see the actual photo files. Select the photos you want — use Ctrl+A to select all, or hold Ctrl and click individual photos to pick specific ones. Right-click and choose Copy, then navigate to your Pictures folder (or any folder you prefer) and right-click to Paste.

This method gives you direct control over where files go and which ones you transfer. It is slower than the Photos app if you have hundreds of photos, but it works if the Photos app is not responding or if you want to organize as you go.

Syncing through iCloud Photos

iCloud Photos keeps your entire photo library in sync across your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. To set it up on your iPhone, go to Settings > Photos and turn on iCloud Photos. Your photos will upload to Apple's servers.

On your Windows PC, download and install iCloud for Windows from Apple's website. Sign in with your Apple ID, check the box next to Photos, and click Options. Choose whether to sync all photos or just new ones, then click Done. Your photos will download to a folder on your PC — by default, C:\Users\[Your Name]\Pictures\iCloud Photos.

The trade-off is that iCloud Photos uses your iCloud storage. You get 5 GB free, but if you have more than that, you pay for a larger plan. Photos stay on Apple's servers, not just on your devices, so they take up cloud space. This is useful if you want automatic syncing, but it costs money for large libraries.

Backing up to Google Photos or OneDrive

Google Photos and Microsoft OneDrive both offer automatic backup from your iPhone and can be accessed from your PC. These services store your photos on their servers, so you can reach them from any device without plugging in a cable.

For Google Photos, download the app on your iPhone, sign in with your Google account, and turn on Backup and sync. On your PC, go to photos.google.com, sign in, and your photos appear in your library. Google Photos offers unlimited storage for compressed photos (smaller file size) or original quality for a fee. For OneDrive, download the app on your iPhone, turn on camera backup in settings, then access your photos at onedrive.live.com from your PC.

Both services are free to start but charge for extra storage. They are best if you want your photos accessible everywhere and do not mind them living on a company's server. They also make it easy to share photos with others.

What to do if your iPhone does not show up in File Explorer

If you connect your iPhone and it does not appear in File Explorer, first make sure you tapped Trust on your iPhone when prompted. If you missed it, disconnect the cable, go to Settings > General > Reset on your iPhone, tap Reset Location & Privacy, reconnect, and tap Trust again.

If it still does not appear, try a different USB cable — some cables are charge-only and do not transfer data. Restart both your iPhone and your PC. If you are using Windows 11, make sure your PC is up to date by going to Settings > Update & Security > Check for updates. Outdated drivers sometimes block the connection.

If none of that works, uninstall and reinstall iCloud for Windows (if you have it), or try the Photos app instead of File Explorer. If the Photos app works but File Explorer does not, the issue is usually a driver problem, and the Photos app is your reliable workaround.

Transferring videos along with photos

All the methods above — Photos app, File Explorer, iCloud, and cloud backup services — transfer videos the same way they transfer photos. When you select photos in the Photos app or File Explorer, videos in your Camera Roll are included. When you sync through iCloud or Google Photos, videos upload alongside photos.

The only catch is file size. Videos take up much more space than photos. A two-minute video can be 500 MB or more, so if you have many videos, the transfer takes longer and uses more storage. If you are backing up to iCloud or Google Photos, large video libraries will fill your free storage quickly and force you to pay for more space.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I transfer photos without a USB cable?

Yes. iCloud Photos, Google Photos, and OneDrive all sync over WiFi without a cable. You set them up once on your iPhone, and photos upload automatically. On your PC, you sign in to the same account and download them. This is slower than a cable for large transfers but requires no hardware.

Will transferring photos delete them from my iPhone?

No. Whether you use the Photos app, File Explorer, or cloud sync, the photos stay on your iPhone. Transferring makes a copy on your PC. If you want to free up space on your iPhone after backing up, you delete them manually in the Photos app on your device.

What if I have thousands of photos?

The Photos app is fastest for large transfers — it can move hundreds of photos in minutes over a USB cable. File Explorer is slower because it processes each file individually. For ongoing backup of thousands of photos, cloud services like Google Photos or iCloud Photos are more practical because they run in the background and you do not have to plug in a cable each time.

Do I need iTunes to transfer photos?

No. iTunes is not used for photo transfer on Windows. The Photos app, File Explorer, and cloud services all work without it. iTunes is only for managing music and apps, which is a separate task.

Can I transfer photos to a Mac instead of a PC?

Yes, but the process is different. On a Mac, connect your iPhone and open the Photos app or Image Capture (in Applications > Utilities). Both work similarly to Windows but are designed for macOS. iCloud Photos also syncs automatically between iPhone and Mac if you use the same Apple ID.