How to Transfer Pictures from iPhone to External Hard Drive

This post will show you how to transfer pictures from iPhone to external hard drive. You can transfer your photos via professional tools, Windows Photo app or File Explorer. Let’s have a look.

May by May Updated November 20, 2023
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Can I transfer photos from iPhone directly to external hard drive?

My iPhone is full, so I want to transfer all my photos to an external hard drive. Does anyone know of any applications or methods that can readily help me? Thanks a lot!.

- Question from Reddit

Full iPhone Storage

For avid iPhone photographers, managing their iPhone storage space will be a challenge. Luckily, transferring your photos to an external hard drive not only helps free up your iPhone storage space but also serves as a safe backup solution. There are three methods for you to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive PC, and you can choose one of them to accomplish this task.

Transfer Pictures from iPhone to External Hard Drive in Easy Way

When your iPhone storage is full, one of the best ways to free some storage space is to transfer photos, videos, or other files from iPhone to external hard drive on PC. There are many programs available that can help you transfer photos to an external hard drive. Here it’s highly recommended to use FoneTool – a safe and reliable transfer & backup tool.

Fonetool comes with a user-friendly interface that allows you to transfer a large number of pictures from your iPhone to the external hard drive/USB flash drive/PC. Here is a full guide to transfer photos to external hard drive:

Step 1: Download Fonetool and install it on your PC. Then, connect your iPhone to your PC and enter passcode on your iPhone.

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Step 2: Launch FoneTool > Click Phone Transfer on the Home screen > Choose iPhone to PC > Click Start Transfer.

Click Start Transfer - iPhone to PC

Step 3: Click the plus icon to preview and select photos that you want to transfer to the external hard drive and click OK to continue.

Select Photos to Transfer

Step 4: Click Start Transfer > Choose the external hard drive as the destination > Click Start Transfer.

 Click Start Transfer

In addition to transferring your photos from iPhone to PC/external hard drive, you can use it to create one or more copies of your files on iPhone for data safety. Most importantly, FoneTool allows to batch convert HEIC images to JPG/JPEG/PNG for access on Windows.

Transfer Pictures from iPhone to External Hard Drive with File Explorer

If you don’t want to install any additional software, another way to transfer pictures from iPhone to external hard drive is to use File Explorer on Windows. Here is the step-by-step guide on how to do that:

Step 1: Connect both your iPhone and the external hard drive to your PC using reliable USB cable.

Step 2: Go to This PC > Apple iPhone > Internal Storage > DCIM > 100APPLE to access the photos stored in your iPhone’s Camera Roll.

Access Photos Stored in iPhone

★Tip:
 File Explorer only allows you to transfer photos in the DCIM folder based on their date. However, if you have a large number of photos but can’t download photos from my iPhone to computer, you can use FoneTool to help you move your photos easily and quickly.

Step 3: Choose and copy the desired photos from your iPhone > Navigate to your external hard drive and paste the copied photos onto it.

By following these steps, you can successfully transfer your iPhone photos to the external hard drive.

Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive through Photos App

Windows 8/10/11 users can take advantage of the pre-installed application called Photos to manage their pictures. This application not only helps you to organize and import photos from folders to the PC but also serves as a useful tool to transfer pictures to an external hard drive. Now, follow the steps below to transfer pictures from iPhone to external drive:

Step 1: Connect the external hard drive to your PC > Connect your iPhone to your PC by tapping Trust This Computer.

Step 2: Launch the Photos app > Go to Import > Choose From a connected device to enable Photos to locate the pictures on your iPhone.

Choose from a Connected Device

Step 3: Once all the photos on your iPhone are detected, choose photos you want to transfer. Then, click Import setting > Change the import destination to choose your external hard drive to store your photos.

Change the Import Destination on Photos App

After that, click Import Selected to begin the process of transferring the selected photos from your iPhone to an external hard drive.

FAQs on Transferring Pictures from iPhone to External Drive

Here are some frequently asked questions about transferring pictures from iPhone. You can check it out!

1. What is the fastest way to transfer a number of photos to external hard drive?

The fastest way to transfer a large number of photos from iPhone to external drive is to use FoneTool which will transfer every 100 photos in 2 seconds.

2. Can I choose specific photos to transfer from iPhone to external hard drive?

Yes! With the help of FoneTool, you can selectively choose the desired photos and then transfer them to the external hard drive.

3. Is it possible to transfer photos wirelessly from iPhone to external hard drive?

Yes, you can transfer photos wirelessly by using cloud storage services like iCloud Drive or Google Drive. It is worth noting that using cloud storage services requires a stable network. Otherwise, you will probably encounter iCloud backup stuck and other issues.

The Bottom Line

That’s all about how to transfer pictures from iPhone to external hard drive. If you just need to transfer a small number of photos, all methods in this post can be suitable.

However, if you have many photos stored in different folders on your iPhone, FoneTool will be a better option for you. It can help you transfer all photos from iPhone to external hard drive or back up your iPhone to external hard drive at super speed. Try it out!

FoneTool - All-in-one iPhone Data Manager

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