iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone/iPad or Mac can automatically upload and store the entire library in iCloud to aces photos and videos from all your devices. However, as we all know, there is only 5GB free for iCloud at the very beginning and the photo library can quickly eat up space. Therefore, many users will choose to transfer photos from iCloud to external hard drive to free up iCloud space. Today, on this page, we will show you how to transfer photos from iCloud to external hard drive on Windows PC and Mac. Meanwhile, at the end of this page, we also recommend EaseUS MobiMover Free to help you transfer photos from PC or Mac to your iPhone if you have carelessly deleted some valuable images on your iPhone and won't get them back.
How to download photos from iCloud to PC and Mac
Login into iCloud with your Apple ID and password which you use to sign into iCloud on your iPhone. Choose Photos among the options and then you will see the photos on your iPhone. Select the photos you'd like to import from iPhone to your Mac and then click the Download Selected items icon at the top right corner of your screen. Jul 23, 2019 Step 5. Download a local backup of your iCloud Photos (Optional) If you chose to back up high-quality photos and videos to Google Photos, this is your last chance to download a copy of the originals from iCloud. If you want to do that, make sure you have enough storage to save them all on your computer first. Additional iCloud information. In the event a Mac user wishes to access iCloud files using an iPhone, iPad, or Windows system, the process should be quick and easy; Apple maintains iPad and iPhone.
- Find out how to download photos from iCloud to your Mac computer in 2 easy ways! We'll show you how to have your iCloud photos automatically sync to your Mac.
- Today’s Apple iOS devices can play the same media: photos, music, books, TV shows, and such. (Some iOS devices, such as your iPhone and iPod touch, can share applications that you install.) Therefore, it makes sense to share all your digital media, and that’s what iCloud is all about. Apple calls this synchronization pushing.
Transfer photos from iCloud to PC or Mac is easy by following tips below. Except for pictures downloading, you also can delete all iCloud photos if you don’t need them anymore instead of saving them to another place.
1. Open a browser on your PC or Safari on Mac, and go to www.icloud.com.
2. Log into your Apple ID account username & password and access the main interface like below.
3. Click on Photos in the main interface. Then, choose All Photos album.
4. Press Ctrl on your PC or Command on Mac and choose multiple or total photos in iCloud.
5. Go to the right upper corner and click the Download button in cloud shape and click Download to save the photos on your Windows PC or Mac.
How to transfer photos from PC/Mac to external hard drive
After you have downloaded the photos from iCloud on your Windows PC or Mac, you can start to transfer them to your external hard drive.
1. Plug in your external hard drive to your computer via a USB cable.
2. Find the photo files saved from iCloud and copy them to your external hard drive with ease.
How to transfer photos from Mac/PC to iPhone
If you have deleted some important photos from your iPhone and want them back. You can choose to use EaseUS MobiMover Free to help you transfer files from PC/Mac to iPhone, including photos, music, contacts, videos, playlists, ringtones, and books. Besides, MobiMover Free also allows you to transfer photos from iPhone to PC/Mac at one lick and sync data between two iOS devices without any intermediate operations.
Download and install EaseUS MobiMover Free on your computer by clicking the download button below, then follow the steps to copy photos from computer to iPhone within minutes.
Step 1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC, run EaseUS MobiMover, and choose 'PC to iDevice'. Then, click the 'Select Files' to continue.
Step 2. On this interface, you can select unlimited photos to transfer. Then, click 'Open' to move to the next step.
Step 3. Check the genres you have selected. If the folders/files you selected cover other supported categories, you can transfer them all together with photos from the computer to your iPhone.
Looking for a way to move photos from your Mac to your computer? Read on this guide to get some simple methods to transfer pictures from Mac to iPhone quickly.
Computer to iPhone Transfer
There are many ways to move photos from Mac to your iPhone, like iTunes, iCloud Photo Library, AirDrop. And some iPhone photo transfer tool will also do the work for you. In this post, we will offer you 4 step-by-step ways to successfully transfer pictures from your Mac to iPhone.
Download Copies Icloud Photos To Macbook Pro Windows 10
Before we start, we’d like to tell you that this post works for all kinds of iPhones and computers.
- Supported iPhone:iPhone 5/5s, iPhone SE, iPhone 6/6s, iPhone 7, iPhone 8, iPhone X/11/iPhone 12, iOS 14/13/12/11/10
- Supported Computer:Windows XP/7/8/10, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac
Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone Using iTunes
Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone without iTunes
Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone with iCloud
Export Photos from Mac to iPhone Using AirDrop
How to Move Photos from Mac to iPhone Using iTunes
Before you use iTunes to move photos from Mac to iPhone, one important thing you should know: when syncing photos from computer to iPhone, all the photos, music, ringtones, iBooks, and other media files on your iPhone would be erased (just like the following screenshot shows).
Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone with iTunes – Erase Data
Using iTunes on macOS Mojave and earlier versions:
- Connect your iPhone to your Mac and launch iTunes if it doesn’t run automatically.
- Choose your iPhone icon, and choose “Photos” from the left menu.
- Check “Sync Photos” and select Pictures or Choose a folder from the “Copy Photos From” checkbox.
- Click “Apply” to transfer photos from Mac to your iPhone iPad, or iPod touch.
Import Photos from Mac to iPhone with Finder
On macOS Catalina and later, there is no iTunes, but you can sync your iPhone photos and more with Mac with Finder, here is how:
- Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cable.
- Open Finder on your Mac
- Your iPhone should appear in the sidebar of the Finder Window under Locations.
- Click on your iPhone. If prompted, please trust your iPhone.
- Select Photos and check “Sync photo to your device from” checkbox.
- Choose Photos, or Choose folder…, or Pictures from the pod up menu.
- After choosing the photos you need to sync, click Apply.
Sync Photos from Mac to iPhone via Finder
iTunes doesn’t allow you to transfer photos from Mac to iPhone with iCloud Photo Library on. If you get the message of “iCloud Photo is On”, here are three solutions for this.
How to Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone – iCloud Photo is On
Method 1. Turn off iCloud Photo Library
On your iPhone, go to Settings app > [your name] > iCloud > Photos. Tap the button next to Photo, choose to Remove from iPhone or Download Photos & Videos, now iCloud Photo is turned off.
Please note that after turning off the iCloud Photo Library, you have to remove all the iCloud photos on your iPhone or download these iCloud photos to iPhone (this would be a large burden for your iPhone, especially if you are running 16 GB or 32 GB plan).
Method 2. Add photos from computer to iCloud
Download Icloud Photos To Macbook Pro
Add photos from the computer to iCloud directly, then all newly added iCloud photos can be synced to your iPhone once it is connected to WiFi or cellular network. Please refer to this guide to make it. How to Transfer Photos from Computer to iCloud >
Method 3. Try iTunes Alternative
If you want to keep your iPhone data safe while syncing photos from computer to iPhone iPad iPod touch, you can refer to Method 2 to make it.
We received a nice bit of requests asking about how to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac computer, if you have the same question, please move to this guide: How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac with 6 Methods
Transfer Photos to iPhone with AnyTrans
If you prefer an easy, quick, and safe way to export photos from your Mac to your iPhone, then you have a try on AnyTrans. It is a smart iTunes alternative that gives you the best management experience on photos, music, ringtones, movies, and more.
AnyTrans – iPhone Photo Transfer
- Transfer ALL or part of photos from Mac to iPhone.
- Lightning-fast speed to transfer Mac pictures to iDevices.
- No compression, transfer photos with the original pixels.
- Also support transfer photos from iPhone to iPhone directly.
Download for Win100% Clean & Safe
Download for Mac100% Clean & Safe
Step 1: Free download AnyTrans on your computer > Connect your iPhone to Mac via USB cable > Choose “Device Manager” and then click the “+” button to add photos from your Mac.
Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone with AnyTrans – Step 1
Step 2: Choose the folder contains the photos you need > Select the photos you want > Click on the “Open” button to continue.
Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone with AnyTrans – Step 2
Step 3: Click on the “Next” button to start transferring the selected photos from Mac to your iPhone. You can click the “>” button to check the details of the selected photos.
Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone with AnyTrans – Step 3
After the release of iOS 11 version, iDevices use HEIC photos by default. While this new file format is remarkably more efficient in terms of storage space, it is not yet widely compatible. But, don’t worry, you can use free iMobie HEIC Converter to convert HEIC photos into JPG, PNG, and PDF. Read this article to see how to convert HEIC to JPG on computer.
Upload Photos from Mac to iCloud with AnyTrans
Besides that, it also lets you upload photos from Mac to iCloud directly, and then photos will be synced to your iPhone when you have logged in with the same Apple ID.
Step 1: Free download AnyTrans on your computer > Install and run it on your computer > Choose “iCloud Manager” mode > Log in with your iCloud account.
Upload Photos from Mac to iCloud with AnyTrans – Step 1
Step 2: Click on the “Photos” option to upload photos from your Mac.
Upload Photos from Mac to iCloud with AnyTrans – Step 2
Step 3: Click thebutton at the top-right conner > Choose the folder contains the photos you want > Select the photos you need > Click “Open” button to upload photos from Mac to iCloud.
Upload Photos from Mac to iCloud with AnyTrans – Step 3
Bonus Method. How to Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone Wirelessly
When you find out that there is no USB cable available or your iPhone cannot be recognized by your computer, AnyTrans app on your iPhone can help you to transfer photos from Mac to iPhone wirelessly.
It can help you transfer files like music, video, photos, documents from phone to computer and vice versa, or between two devices. You just need to install it on your devices(both iOS and Android are compatible), then you can directly transfer files from one device to another wirelessly via this app.
Make sure your iPhone and Mac are connected to Wi-Fi, and cellular data would not work in the following steps.
Step 1. Install AnyTrans app on your iPhone.
Step 2. On your Mac: Go to anytrans.io from your browser and you will see a QR Code.
On your iPhone: Open AnyTrans app > Tap on the Scan button to scan the QR code on your Mac.
How to Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone Wirelessly with AnyTrans App – Step 2
Step 3. Then all your iPhone photos will show up on your computer > Click the “Upload” button > Select the photos you want to transfer > Click on “Open” button to transfer photos from Mac to your iPhone.
How to Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone Wirelessly with AnyTrans App – Step 3
How to Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone with iCloud
Using iCloud Photo Sharing with Photos for macOS (macOS high sierra) you can keep photos up to date on all your devices including your Mac and iPhone, This means photos will be transferred to your iPhone from Mac if you enabled iCloud Photos on.
Turn on iCloud Photos on Mac with OS X 10.10.3 or later:
- Go to System Preferences > iCloud.
- Click Options next to Photos.
- Select iCloud Photos.
Turn on iCloud Photos on iPhone with iOS 10.3 or later:
- Go to Settings > [your name].
- Choose iCloud > Tap on Photos.
- Turn on iCloud Photos option.
Sync Photos from Mac to iPhone Using AirDrop
With AirDrop, you can easily transfer photos from Mac or external hard drive to your iPhone iPad iPod touch wirelessly. This is a quick way if you only need to send a few photos.
Requirements:
1. Mac from 2012 or later (excluding the mid-2012 Mac Pro) using OS X Yosemite or later.
2. iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using iOS 7 or later.
Turn on AirDrop on both your iOS device and Mac:
- On your Mac, open a Finder window and choose AirDrop.
- Turn on Bluetooth and WiFi to enable the AirDrop feature on your Mac.
- Set the option Allow to be discovered by Everyone.
- On your iOS device, swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone screen to launch theControl Center.
- Tap onAirDrop, and then set your iPhone to be discovered byEveryone.
Send photos from the Mac to the iPhone:
- On the Mac: Simply drag and drop the photos you wish to transfer to your device.
- On your iPhone: The iPhone may ask if you want to accept the photos, just tap Accept to save the picture send from your Mac.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, compared to iTunes, it’s much easier and quicker to use AnyTrans to transfer photos from Mac to iPhone, easy-to-operate and no data loss. Even if you have no prior knowledge of data transfer, you can still add photos to your iPhone without effort. Just give it a try >
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