According to your needs, you can choose a free app to transfer photos from iPhone to PC in this detailed guide. And FoneTool mentioned in Method 1 might be the best choice.
When you need to browse, edit, or share iPhone photos on your computer, choosing reliable software to transfer photos from iPhone to PC is essential. But it can be a bit daunting.
You'll need to consider factors such as transfer speed for large files, whether storage space is limited, and whether to opt for a wired or wireless connection. This article will provide you with a detailed guide to help you make the best choice based on your needs.
| Software | Connection | Storage Limitation | Transfer Speed | Effectiveness |
| FoneToolπ₯ | Wired | × | Super-Fast | High - 3 Steps |
| Photos App | Wired | × | Medium | Medium |
| File Explorer | Wired | × | Medium | Medium |
| iTunes | Wired | × | Slow | low |
| iCloud | Wireless | 5 GB for Free | Depends on Internet | Medium |
| Google Photos | Wireless | 15 GB for Free | Depends on Internet | Medium |
| Dropbox | Wireless | 16 GB for Free | Depends on Internet | Medium |
When it comes to free iPhone to PC photo transfer software, the professional & safe iPhone data transfer tool named FoneTool will help you a lot.
Best Free iPhone to PC Transfer Software
100% Secure
Now you can download this free app to transfer photos from iPhone to PC without any limitation.
Step 1. Connect your iPhone to the HP Laptop with a reliable USB cable > If asked, tap Trust on iPhone to continue. Launch FoneTool and go to Phone Transfer > Choose iPhone to PC.
Step 2. Choose the Photos or Videos icon > Select the data you need to transfer and click OK.
Step 3. If necessary, change file storage location from the Transfer Settings to save photos on PC > Click Start Transfer to begin.
For Windows 11, 10 or 8 users, you can rely on the built-in Photos app to transfer photos from iPhone to PC free with a USB cable. And you don’t need to install any third-party software.
Step 1. Connect your iPhone and unlock it. Then click Trust and type the password if you are asked to Trust this computer.
Step 2. Launch the Photos app from the Start menu > Click Import and select From A connected device. After that, it will automatically detect your photos on the iPhone, you just need to wait for a few minutes.
Step 3. Once all the photos on your iPhone are detected, choose the photos you want to transfer. Then, click Import setting > Select Change the import destination to save photos to the folder on PC you like.
Step 4. Now you can click Import Selected to start transferring photos from iPhone to PC.
Windows Explorer or File Explorer is software offered by Windows to help you access and manage iPhone photos/videos stored in the DCIM folder.
Step 1. Connect your iPhone to the computer and unlock it. Then, click Trust to allow your computer to access your photos and videos.
Step 2. Go to Computer or This PC, and you see a new device named xxx iPhone.
Step 3. Then, double-click the iPhone and open the folder named Internal Storage > DCIM folder. Now you can preview and choose your photos, and copy and paste to your computer.
As the official transfer and synchronization software provided by Apple for Windows users, iTunes can also help you transfer photos from your iPhone to a Windows PC.
However, for most users, the iTunes interface is quite complex, the steps can be cumbersome, and unknown errors often occur during the process, like iTunes error 8003. Therefore, we do not recommend using this method for transfer.
Step 1. Download the latest iTunes and install it on your PC.
Step 2. Launch iTunes > Establish a connection between your iPhone and PC via a USB cable.
Step 3. Once your computer has recognized your device, click on your iPhone’s icon > Choose Photos > Check the Sync Photos option > Select All photos and album (You can select include Videos to transfer your videos together) > Hit Apply to begin the task.
Step 4. Once the syncing process is complete, you can click on the Done button and all pictures are saved to your computer now.
For people who need to free transfer photos from iPhone to PC, you can also rely on iCloud to finish the process wirelessly.
Before the operation, you need to confirm your iCloud Photos feature is turned on your iPhone (Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos > Sync this iPhone). Then you can easily download them from iCloud to your Windows computer.
Step 1. Go to https://www.icloud.com/ from your Windows laptop/desktop > Log in with your Apple ID.
Step 2. Click the Photos icon > View the uploaded iCloud photos > Choose the images you need and click the download icon to download them to your PC.
Google Photos is another viable option for wireless transfer. Unlike iCloud's 5 GB, it offers 15 GB of space for free users. You can follow the guidance below to upload and download photos from Google Photos.
Step 1. Launch a browser on your iPhone > Go to https://photos.google.com/ or download the Google Photos app from the App Store to continue > Log in with your Google account > Click Upload to add photos from your iPhone to Google Photos.
Step 2. Once all pictures are uploaded, you can go to https://photos.google.com/ from your computer and log in with the same account > Preview and select the photos you need > Click the three-dots button in the upper right corner > Click Download to download pictures to your computer.
Dropbox is a free cloud storage service that provides users with up to 16 GB of free storage space. Due to its high compatibility, users widely use it to transfer photos from iPhone to PC.
Step 1. Download and install Dropbox from the App Store on your iPhone. Launch the app > Tap Settings > Camera Upload > Switch on Background Uploading to make sure that you don’t need to open Dropbox every time to save photos and videos on your device.
Step 2. Once the upload process is complete, you can launch Dropbox or go to https://www.dropbox.com/ on your Windows PC to download them.
Here you can know 7 free software to transfer photos from iPhone to PC. What is the best program to view iPhone photos on PC? If you need to move a large number of images, the answer is FoneTool. Its fast transfer speed allows you to transfer 1,000 photos from iPhone to PC within 10 minutes. If you need a wireless way, then you can choose iCloud, Google Photos or Dropbox to make it efficiently.