There are several ways to transfer photos from Mac and Windows PC to an iOS device. And yes, you can even move pictures from computer to iPhone without iTunes. Tools and services like AirDrop, iCloud, Finder, Google Photos, Dropbox make it a breeze to export and sync content on multiple devices. So, let us dive right in and see all the easy methods to copy photos and videos from Mac or PC to iPhone and iPad.
- On iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, you can take photos and videos or save images from texts, emails, and other apps such as Safari, Instagram, or Facebook to your device. For these photos and videos, you may want to use your Mac’s Photos App, Image Capture or Photo Stream.
- Open Photos app on Mac Click on Photos from the top menu bar and select Preferences. Select iCloud Tab and check the box for iCloud Photos. Keep the Photos app open.
- IMyFone TunesMate Photo Transfer App. Top of the list is no other than the iMyFone TunesMate.
- Apart from iTunes, users can take advantage of the third-party iPad transfer software for Mac to selectively copy photos from Mac to iPad. Among all the transfer programs for iOS devices on Mac computers, Leawo iTransfer for Mac is regarded as one of the best.
Transfer Photos From Mac to iOS Device via AirDrop
![Transfer Photos From Mac To Iphone App Transfer Photos From Mac To Iphone App](/uploads/1/3/4/0/134041643/352802957.jpg)
To use iTunes File Sharing, connect your iOS device to your Mac, select it in iTunes, and then click Apps in the sidebar. Scroll down to the File Sharing section. With iTunes File Sharing, you can.
An AirDrop is a proprietary tool on Apple devices that is fast, secure, and an effortless way to transfer photos, videos, and files between the same or different Apple developed operating systems.
Before you begin:
- On iPhone: Open Setting app and turn ON Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Also, ensure Personal Hotspot is OFF. Next, in the Settings app, tap on General → AirDrop → select Everyone
- On Mac: Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, to enable AirDrop
- Open the folder on Mac, where you have the photos.
Tip: If your pictures are inside Mac’s Photos app, drag them to the desktop or a folder - Select the photos. Hold the Command key to select multiple images
- Now, Right-Click → Share → AirDrop.
- Click on the iPhone or iPad’s name when you see it.
- Tap Accept on the iPhone or iPad if asked
- The selected photos and videos will be wirelessly and quickly sent to your iOS device. You will find them in the Photos app
Move Photos From Mac to iOS Devices via iCloud Photos
iCloud Photos is a built-in way to sync all your pictures and videos among Apple devices. You turn it on once, and the images are uploaded, stored, and synced across devices that have your Apple ID. You can even access it from Windows PC or web on iCloud.com. Images are organized into years, months, days, and the changes (edits) you make to an image on one device are synced everywhere. Pretty cool!
- Open Photos app on Mac
- Click on Photos from the top menu bar and select Preferences.
- Select iCloud Tab and check the box for iCloud Photos. Keep the Photos app open.
- On your iOS device:Open Settings app → tap on your name card → iCloud.Now Tap on Photos and then turn on iCloud Photos.
Now, you would have to wait until all of your pictures and videos are synced among your devices.
Related: How to Download photos from iCloud to iPhone, Mac, PC
Transfer Photos From Mac or Windows PC to iPhone and iPad with iCloud Drive
iCloud Drive is Apple’s version of Google Drive. You can access iCloud Drive inside the Files app on your iPhone and iPad. On Mac, when you enable it, you will find it in the left sidebar of Finder. And, yes, you guessed it right. It is also available for Windows and web. Let us see how to use iCloud Drive to transfer photos from computer to iOS devices.
Note: I am using iCloud Drive on the web.
- Go to iCloud.com on Mac or PC and log in using your Apple ID
- Click on iCloud Drive.
- Reduce the browser window size. Now drag and drop photos from desktop or folder to it. Or click on the upload icon in the top bar.
- Open the Files app on your iPhone or iPad. Wait for the images to show here
Tip: You can download the photos inside the Files app, select them, tap the share icon, and then tap on Save Image to have them in the Photos app.
Transfer Photos From Mac or Windows PC to iPhone and iPad using iTunes or Finder
Finder for Macs running macOS Catalina and iTunes for earlier Macs and Windows PC is a viable medium to transfer photos and videos from computer to your iOS devices. The steps for Finder and iTunes are almost identical. Take a look.
- Unlock your iPhone or iPad and connect it to Mac/PC using a lightning cable. Tap Trust on your iOS device if asked
- From Finder, click on the device name. In iTunes, click on the iDevice icon.
- Click on Photos.
- Check the box for Sync photos to your device from:
- Select the Photos app or Choose Folder.
Note: You can only select a folder and not individual images - See other options like ‘sync all photos and videos’ or ‘only selected albums.’ Once done, click on Apply from the bottom right.
Note: You can select favorites, entire albums, or people. You can not choose individual images.
The pictures will be synced to the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
You can not delete them from the iOS device itself. To remove these photos, you have to follow the exact method above. In step 4, you can choose to un-sync all photos, or in step 5, you may uncheck the albums/people you wish to remove from your iPhone or iPad. Finally, click on Apply so that the changes can take effect.
Transfer Photos From Mac or Windows PC to iPhone and iPad without iTunes
There are several other ways to transfer photos from your Mac or Windows PC that does not require iTunes. Here are some of the easiest and most seamless methods.
#1. Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone or iPad Using Google Photos
Google Photos is undoubtedly one of the finest and smartest services to store and manage your pictures and videos. You can save up to 15GB of photos in full original quality. You get unlimited storage if you opt for High Resolution. I choose the latter. To use Google Photos, we will first upload the pictures to it from the computer and then use its iOS (or Android) app to get all images on the smartphone.
- Go to Google Photos and log in using your Gmail ID
- Drag and drop the pictures here. Or click on Upload → Computer and select the photos or folders.
- Click on Open. Files will start uploading. Wait for the process to complete.
- Download the Google Photos app on your iPhone or iPad
- Sign in using the same Gmail ID, and there you have it! All the photos and videos you uploaded from your computer are here
If you want to save pictures from Google Photos to the iPhone’s Photos app, select the images, tap on the Share button, and tap Save Image.
#2. Move Photos from Mac to iPhone and iPad Via Dropbox
Dropbox is another useful service to store and transfer photos and videos from computer to iPhone and iPad. But it pales in comparison to Google Photos. First, it only provides 2GB of free storage. So, if you have a few photos then, this is enough.
Secondly, Dropbox is now more focused on business. After you sign up (I did on a Mac), it takes you to a page where it kind of forces you to install its app (No, I do not want to install it now!).
Anyways, once you go through the signup and everything, you can upload photos and videos to Dropbox from the computer using a browser or its app. After that download, the Dropbox app from the App Store and you have all your images on iPhone and iPad. You can further choose to save these images to the iPhone Photos app, from where you can easily edit them.
Some of the excellent alternatives to Dropbox are Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive, Box, and Mega.
#3. Export Photos from Mac to iPhone and iPad using Email
I guess you already know this. But let me refresh it for you. Email is a handy way to quickly transfer one or a few images from a computer to an iPhone or iPad. For this, open the mail service of your choice like Gmail, iCloud, Hotmail, Yahoo, and send an email to yourself or one of the accounts that you use on your iOS device.
Pro Tip for Multiple Images: Create a folder on your computer and add photographs you want in your iPhone; compress (zip) all images. Now send a mail to yourself with the zip file as an attachment. Finally, unzip the file on your iPhone or iPad.
#4. Other Methods to Copy Photos from Mac to iPhone
In addition to the above methods, there are other platforms or tricks to move photos from computer to your iOS device.
A. Social Media Services: You can even use social media services like Facebook, Flicker, to upload photos from PC and then view or save them on your iPhone or iPad using the respective app.
B. Chat Apps: You may even use chat services like iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Hike, etc. Open one of these on your Mac or PC and then send yourself a photo or video. Most of the chat apps do reduce the picture quality, but for a quick share, they might be helpful.
C. Third-Party Transfer Apps: Yet another smart way to import photos from computer to iOS device is using tools like AnyTrans software or WinX MediaTrans.
That’s all, folks!
I hope this detailed guide was helpful and solved your photo transfer needs. If you have a follow-up question or confusion, ask it in the comments down below.
You may also be interested in these posts:
The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
You probably already know how to back up iPhone photos to your computer. Now that you’ve tweaked and edited them to your heart’s content, you might also be wondering: how to transfer photos from computer back to iPhone? And we are here to help!
There are many ways to transfer your images from PC to iPhone, starting with iTunes and ending with different cloud solutions. If you are dissatisfied with standard methods, you may also seek help with specialized software like CopyTrans Photo. In this article, you will find a comprehensive overview of all the ways to transfer photos from PC to iPhone. Keep on reading for detailed info or choose one of the ways below:
![Mac Mac](/uploads/1/3/4/0/134041643/918187886.png)
How to transfer photos from computer to iPhone with CopyTrans Photo
If you are looking for a quick way to transfer your images to iPhone, we have a solution just for you: CopyTrans Photo. The app has an intuitive interface, gets things done quickly and you can see thumbnails of all the files you’re operating at any moment. The process of transfer is intuitive, but you can always see our instructions below!
Here is how to transfer photos from PC to iPhone:
- If you haven’t done so already, download and install CopyTrans Photo:
- Launch CopyTrans Photo. Connect your iPhone to PC with a USB cable. If prompted to trust PC, press “Trust”.
- You will see your iPhone library on the left and your PC library on the right:
- Create a new album in your iPhone’s Photo Library. Click on the album: the working area on the left will display the contents (no files there for now).
- Using the folder tree on the right, navigate to the PC folder with the photos you want to transfer.
- Drag and Drop the files from the right working area to the left.
- Click on “Apply Changes” and wait for the syncing process to complete.
- All done! Your photos are now waiting for you in the folder “From my Mac” on your iPhone.
Some advantages of using CopyTrans Photo:
- The app will save photos from your PC in the native Photos app on iPhone. It will also successfully transfer the EXIF data (date created, location, etc) and preserve the order of images.
- You can also transfer videos from PC to iPhone if they are not larger than 1Gb. They will also appear in the native Photos app after transfer.
- CopyTrans Photo is not a cloud solution and you don’t have to have iCloud Photos enabled in order to use it. CopyTrans Photo doesn’t require an internet connection.
- Another key benefit for users of iPhone 7 and above: the program supports HEIC photos. It can view and transfer HEIC photos, and even convert HEIC to JPG.
Some disadvantages:
- CopyTrans Photo will transfer the first 100 photos for free, and then ask you to purchase a license with us (or get more free actions by spreading word about the product). But you can always try first and consult our 24/7 support service if you have any questions.
- The app does not do automatic syncing and places the photos into Photo Library. However, CopyTrans Photo will provide a much greater opportunity for creating and editing Photo Library albums then iTunes, and once you’ve organized all the photos there you can just copy them to Camera Roll on your device.
How to transfer photos to iPhone using iTunes
The first app that comes to mind when you think about transferring photos to iPhone is, of course, iTunes. Apple-based solution, it will allow you to transfer files to your iPhone quickly. However, as with so many Apple products, the whole process is tainted by some weird-flavoured magic, leaving behind a bitter taste and a silent question of whether it was really worth it (read on for an explanation).
To transfer photos from PC to iPhone with iTunes:
- Launch iTunes and connect your iPhone to PC with a USB cable.
- Click on the device icon in the top-left corner of iTunes window.
- From the panel on the left, choose “Photos”.
- Tick the box “Sync photos” and choose the folder from which to import photos to your iPhone (Copy photos from -> Choose folder).
- Click on “Done” and wait until iTunes finishes syncing your photos.
- Well done! The photos now reside on your iPhone. To browse through them, navigate to “From my Mac” album.
We would not recommend using this method because of the following disadvantages:
- You will only be able to sync one folder at any time. If you change the folder later, your previous images will be erased.
- The operation will erase all the images previously stored in Photo Library (your Camera Roll photos will stay intact).
- Images in the Photo Library can only be changed/deleted from the PC, and iTunes won’t let you delete the images separately – only do a full resync. To be able to create and edit the content of albums inside Photo Library, you can use CopyTrans Photo.
- The sync will not be automatic anyway. You will need to relaunch it every time you need to introduce changes.
Upload photos to iCloud using CopyTrans Cloudly
This option can help you sync PC photos to all your iOS devices at once, provided that you have iCloud Photos enabled. Once you upload photos to iCloud, they will automatically appear on all your devices that share the same Apple ID.
The following steps explain how to upload photos to iCloud via CopyTrans Cloudly:
Iphone Transfer Apps To Computer
- Download and install CopyTrans Cloudly:
- Launch CopyTrans Cloudly and log in with your iCloud credentials. SSL connection guarantees the safety of your personal data.
- Choose “Upload”.
- Select the files you want to upload to iCloud. CopyTrans Cloudly works with .HEIC, .PNG, and .JPEG formats.
- When everything is selected, click “Upload”.
- Wait while CopyTrans Cloudly is doing the job.
- Now you know how to upload photos and videos to iCloud from PC using CopyTans Cloudly. And once the photos are in iCloud, they should appear on your device!
Advantages:
- CopyTrans Cloudly can upload files with native iPhone extension, .HEIC.
- You can upload your whole library in one iteration.
- Easy-to-use interface.
Upload photos to iCloud using iCloud.com
Another option is to use the web interface Apple provides to upload photos to iCloud. For that, open icloud.com in your web browser of choice.
You log in, select the Photos section in the main menu and immediately see your iCloud Photo Library on your computer screen. To put photos on iCloud, click on the “Upload photos” button at the top-right corner and select the photos you want to import.
The photos should immediately appear on your iPhone and any other device having the same iCloud account signed in. If that does not happen, check if iCloud Photo Library is enabled on your iPhone or iPad: Settings> Your Name> iCloud> Photos> iCloud Photos.
Disadvantages:
- Everything that you store in iCloud makes it to the Apple servers as well. If you want to delete some images forever, they will disappear from your account but not from the Apple servers. We even conducted an investigation and created a tool that can recover deleted photos from iCloud.
- On icloud.com, you can manually sort the uploaded images by album. But within an album, the photos are sorted by the transfer date and you cannot change this order online.
- Another major drawback is that if you disable iCloud Photo Library and turn it back on after some time, any pictures you previously added to iPhone with iTunes (or any other third-party app like CopyTrans Photo) will get deleted. That’s why you should be extra careful with this setting and regularly backup your cloud photos to a computer.
Send pictures from computer to iPhone via Google Drive
If you have a Google account, you are automatically eligible for 15Gb of free storage on Google Drive (originally SkyDrive). However, Google Drive shares this storage space with other apps, like Gmail and Google Photos.
In order to use this option, you will need to download the official Google Drive app on your computer and your iOS device. Once you run Google Drive on your PC, create a new folder and copy photos to iPhone. The folder will appear with the photos on iPhone in the Google Drive app.
You can create additional folders to transfer multiple photos to iPhone and move them between folders. There is also a possibility to sort photos within one folder by date or by name.
Disadvantages:
- The uploaded photos will not be saved in the native Photos app on iPhone but in the Google Drive app.
- You cannot edit the photos within the app without first copying them into the native folder – double work.
Dropbox: add photos to iPhone from PC without iTunes
Dropbox offers only 2GB of free storage to their users. On the other hand, you do not have to install the program on the PC. In order to transfer photos from a computer to iPhone, save your data online on dropbox.com directly: log in, create a folder and upload the photos from the computer. After that, go to the Dropbox app on your iPhone to see your imported pictures.
Disadvantages:
- Unfortunately, you can only upload individual photos, since Dropbox does not allow importing a folder.
- Images will possibly lose in quality.
- Although you can import HEIC photos, there will be no possibility to open them.
Transfer photos to iPhone with OneDrive
With Microsoft’s OneDrive you get 5Gb of storage space for free. Just like Google Drive, it requires you to install the official OneDrive app on both your computer and iDevice to transfer photos to iPhone. Drag the desired files or entire albums to the program window and after a few seconds, you will see the images the iPhone in the OneDrive app.
The photos are transferred in the original quality including the date created. You can also choose to sort the photos automatically by tags.
Free App To Transfer Photos From Iphone To Mac
Disadvantages:
- The photos will not make it to the Photos app; instead, they will be placed to OneDrive app, which should be installed on the iPhone beforehand.
- OneDrive app does not provide built-in image editing, nor support for HEIC photos: if you place HEIC images in OneDrive, you won’t be able to view them or copy to the Photos app.
BONUS
Pro-Tip: After you’ve transferred your photos to your iPhone, use a photo editing tool like Instasize to improve how your photos look before uploading them to your feed! Choose any image on your iPhone to improve color settings, size, aspect ratio, or even make a colourful collage. Check it out yourself!
Conclusion
If you don’t trust cloud solutions, find iTunes hard to use and want to keep your photos in the native Photo app, CopyTrans Photo is the best solution for you. The program allows managing iPhone photos and videos on PC and has several unbeatable advantages such as managing Live Photos, viewing pictures in HEIC format, keeping excellent quality, order and EXIF files, and much more. Give it a go today!