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Briarouu's avatar
Briarouu
Copper Contributor
May 18, 2026

What is the fastest way to export all photos from my iPhone to pc?

I have a huge number of photos on my iPhone that I need to transfer to my Windows PC, and I'm getting really frustrated with how long it's taking. I've already tried two methods and neither is workin...
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Elijahow's avatar
Elijahow
Copper Contributor
May 18, 2026

To export photos from iPhone to PC with USB. If you have iCloud Photos enabled on your iPhone (Settings > Photos > iCloud Photos), your photos may not all be stored locally on your device. In this case, the DCIM folder might appear empty.

To transfer photos in this situation, you have two options:

1. Turn on "Download and Keep Originals" on your iPhone (Settings > Photos > Download and Keep Originals). This will download full-resolution photos to your device so you can transfer them via USB

2. Use iCloud for Windows to download photos directly from your iCloud account to your PC

However, since you want to avoid iCloud and use USB only, enabling "Download and Keep Originals" is your best path forward. Just be aware that downloading your full photo library to your iPhone may take time and requires sufficient free space on your device.

Using iCloud Photos to export photos from iPhone to PC with USB is possible, but it works a bit differently than you might expect. Rather than transferring photos directly over the USB cable, iCloud Photos is primarily a cloud-based syncing service.