How to transfer photos from your phone to your computer

What you will learn

In this guide, you will learn how to connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable and copy photos from your phone to your computer. This is useful for backing up your photos, freeing up storage space on your phone, or viewing your photos on a bigger screen.

What you need

• Your phone (iPhone or Android)
• A computer (Windows PC or Mac)
• The USB cable that came with your phone (the same one you use to charge it)

Steps

Step 1: Connect your phone to your computer

Take the USB cable you use to charge your phone. Plug the small end into your phone and the larger USB end into a USB port on your computer. Your computer may take a few seconds to recognise your phone.

Step 2: Unlock your phone and allow access

When you connect the cable, your phone may show a message. On an iPhone, a pop-up will ask “Trust This Computer?” — tap Trust and enter your passcode. On an Android phone, a notification may appear asking you to choose a connection type. Tap the notification and select File Transfer or Transfer files.

Step 3: Open the photo transfer tool on Windows

On a Windows PC, the Photos app may open automatically. If it does not, click the Start button, type Photos, and open the app. Click Import at the top, then select From a connected device. Your computer will scan your phone for photos.

Step 4: Open the photo transfer tool on Mac

On a Mac, the Photos app will usually open automatically when you connect an iPhone. If it does not, open Photos from the dock or Applications folder. Your phone will appear in the left sidebar. Click on it to see your photos. For an Android phone on Mac, download and open Android File Transfer from the internet, then navigate to the DCIM folder.

Step 5: Select the photos you want to transfer

Browse through the photos shown on your computer screen. Click on individual photos to select them, or click Select All to choose everything. If you only want recent photos, look for a date filter or sort by date to find them quickly.

Step 6: Copy the photos to your computer

Click Import or Import Selected to start copying the photos to your computer. Choose a folder where you want to save them, such as Pictures or Desktop. Wait for the transfer to finish. A progress bar will show you how far along it is. Do not unplug the cable until it is done.

Step 7: Verify and disconnect

After the transfer finishes, open the folder on your computer where you saved the photos. Check that the photos are there and look correct. Once you have confirmed everything transferred properly, safely disconnect your phone by unplugging the cable.

Tips

• Create a folder on your computer with today’s date, like “Photos 2026-02-25,” so you can find them easily later.
• Transfer your photos regularly, such as once a month, so you always have a backup and never lose important memories.
• If your computer has both USB-A (the larger rectangular ports) and USB-C (the smaller oval ports), use whichever one matches your cable. You can buy an adapter if needed.
• After confirming the photos are safely on your computer, you can delete them from your phone to free up storage space.

Useful links

• Import photos on Windows
• Import photos on Mac
• Transfer files from Android to computer