How to transfer videos from iPhone to PC

Have you tried to copy some videos from iPhone to PC , but failed because the computer does not recognize the smartphone? Would you like to synchronize the iPhone photo gallery with the computer one and you don’t know how to proceed? Do not worry. I assure you that you have come to the right place, at the right time. With today’s tutorial, we will discover together how to transfer videos from iPhone to PC , Windows or macOS, using all the solutions made available by Apple, and not just those.

We will see, in fact, how to copy the videos from the iPhone memory to the computer by physically connecting the two devices to each other, how to activate the automatic synchronization of the photo library on the iPhone and computer via the Internet and how to transfer the videos from the “iPhone by” to the PC in mode wireless and through various other “tricks”. To find out more, read on.

Index

• How to Transfer Videos from iPhone to PC: Windows
  • Transfer videos from iPhone to PC with iTunes
  • Transfer videos from iPhone to PC without cable
• How to Transfer Videos from iPhone to Mac
  • Transfer videos from iPhone to Mac with cable
  • Transfer videos from iPhone to Mac without cable

How to Transfer Videos from iPhone to PC: Windows

If you want to find out how to transfer videos from iPhone to PC and you are using Windows , the instructions you need to follow are the ones listed below.

Transfer videos from iPhone to PC with iTunes

First of all, I want to explain how to  transfer videos from iPhone to PC with iTunes , Apple’s historic multimedia software that contains the drivers necessary for the Microsoft operating system to recognize the “iPhone by”.

To begin with, download and install iTunes (if you haven’t already) on your PC, following the instructions on what to do that I gave you in my specific guide on what to do . Next, connect the iPhone to the PC using the Lightning cable and authorize the connection (if necessary), as I explained to you in my tutorial on what to do . Then wait for iTunes to start and if it doesn’t, call up the software by selecting the relevant link in the Windows Start menu .

Now that you see the main iTunes screen on the desktop, activate the synchronization of photos and videos to transfer the videos on your iPhone to a Windows folder of your choice, by clicking on the Photo item in the left sidebar, selecting the option Synchronize photos and choose the reference folder via the Copy photos from drop-down menu .

As an alternative to the method I just described to you, you can transfer videos from iPhone to PC using File Explorer . In this case, click on the appropriate icon (the one with the yellow folder ) that you find on the Windows taskbar and, in the window that appears on the desktop, select the item This PC  in the left sidebar.

Now right-click on the iPhone icon  visible on the right and select the Import images and videos item from the menu that appears. After a short upload, a new window will open with a preview of photos and videos in the iPhone camera roll and a text field in which to type the tags to be assigned to the multimedia content to be imported. Click, therefore, on the item  Other options located at the bottom left and, in the window that appears, select the Video  folder  from the Import video to drop-down menu  .

At this point, press the OK button , select the item  Review, organize and group the elements to import and press the Next button  , then select the videos to import to the PC and / or divide them into custom groups and click the Import button to start the data transfer to the PC.

You can get the same result as above also by going to the  Computer / This PC> iPhone> Internal Storage> DCIM> 100APPLE folder and copying the videos of your interest “by hand” on the PC.

Transfer videos from iPhone to PC without cable

Let me tell you now how to transfer videos from iPhone to PC without cable . In my opinion, you would do well to rely on  Snapdrop , a web service that allows you to connect two devices to each other without the need for a cable, the important thing is that they use the same Wi-Fi connection. Given its characteristics, it can also be considered an excellent solution to transfer videos from iPhone to Wi-Fi PC .

To use Snapdrop, connect to the service website , both on iPhone and PC, through the browser you usually use on your devices. After doing this, you will see your computer name appear on your smartphone and vice versa. To proceed with the transfer, all you have to do is select the name of the PC , choose the file to send and press the Save button .

Another resource that you can take advantage of to transfer videos from iPhone to PC without iTunes  is  iCloud Photos , which allows you to store photos and videos that are saved in Photos at the highest possible quality on your iCloud Drive account , automatically finding everything on the various devices. linked to the same Apple ID . The service is free, but it erodes the storage space, so with the 5 GB of storage provided by the basic plan you can do very little and you need to subscribe to one of the paid plans (with prices starting from 0.99 euros / month for 50 GB of storage).

To be able to use it, you must first activate iCloud Photos on the iPhone, by going to the Settings> [your name]> iOS iCloud section . Then, install the iCloud client on Windows proceeding as I explained in my specific guide on what to do , log in to your account and activate the use of Photos during the configuration process.

Subsequently, the contents of your library will be synchronized in an optimized version on the PC and downloaded in full version when selected in the File Explorer , from the iCloud folder in the PC Pictures folder .

Alternatively, you can get videos from iCloud by connecting iCloud Photo Library online , logging in with your Apple ID, selecting the images to download and pressing the cloud icon with the down arrow located at the top right.

To transfer videos from iPhone to PC “wirelessly” you can also consider contacting other cloud storage services , such as those I have reported to you in the list below and which in my opinion are among the best in the category.

• Google Photos – is a service offered by Google and takes advantage of the space of Google One , which basically offers 15 GB (possibly expandable for a fee, with prices starting from 19.99 euros / year), to archive all photos and videos present on your devices, including the iPhone, so that you can then access them anywhere, as long as you log in to the same Google account . It works completely automatically. For more information, read my guide on how Google Photos works .
• Dropbox – is another popular cloud storage service that is useful for transferring photos and videos, making it available to users to upload from the camera and synchronize between the various devices being accessed. Basically it is free and has a limit of 2 GB of space, which can possibly be exceeded by subscribing to one of the paid plans (with prices starting from 9.99 euros / month). For more details, read my guide on how Dropbox works .
• OneDrive  – this is the cloud storage service made available by the Redmond company and it also provides a function to automatically upload photos and videos, so that they can be accessed later on all devices connected to the same Microsoft account . Basically it is free and offers 5 GB, but the space can be increased for a fee (with prices starting from 2 euros / month). To learn more, check out my tutorial on how OneDrive works .

How to Transfer Videos from iPhone to Mac

Let’s see, now, how to transfer videos from iPhone to Mac , find the instructions below. It’s a real breeze, I can guarantee it

Transfer videos from iPhone to Mac with cable

If you want to transfer videos from iPhone to Mac with cable , you can do it in various ways, but before anything else you have to worry about connecting the “iPhone by” to the computer using the  supplied Lightning cable and you have to authorize the connection (if necessary), such as I explained to you in my guide on the subject .

At this point, you can first of all make the transfer of the movies from iPhone to Mac with the Finder , which on  macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and later versions has taken the place of iTunes for the configuration and synchronization of iPhone and iPad. To use it, open it by selecting the relative icon (the one with the smiling face) that you find on the Dock bar and click on the name of the iPhone that you find in the Positions section in the sidebar of the window displayed.

At this point, select the Photos tab, then the box to proceed with the synchronization (if it is not visible, you must first disable iCloud Photos, as I explained to you in my tutorial on the subject ) and indicate the folder to copy to the Mac using the appropriate drop-down menu, then decide whether to synchronize all the folders on the iPhone or only the selected ones, select the option to include the videos in the synchronization and press the Apply button to start copying the data.

Alternatively, you can transfer videos with the Photos application , which is the default macOS application for managing photos and videos. So, click on the application icon (the one with the multicolored flower on a white background ) that you find on the Dock bar and, in the window that appears on the desktop, click on the name of the iPhone that you find under the heading Devices , in the sidebar of the program.

Therefore, use the Import to drop-down menu to choose the album in which to transfer the videos, decide whether to delete the items from the phone or not by acting on the appropriate box and press the button to proceed with the import located at the top right. If you want to transfer only some videos, select them in advance and then press the Import selection button (x)  at the top right.

You can transfer videos from iPhone to Mac as well using  Image Capture , a tool available “standard” on macOS that allows you to acquire images from the scanner, camera and even from the iPhone in the form of independent files that can be transferred to other folders on the Mac or to other devices connected and that also works with movies.

To use it, open the Launchpad by clicking on its icon (the one with the colored squares ) on the Dock bar , access the Other folder and start Image Capture by clicking on the application icon (the one with the camera and photos in the background ) .

Now that you see the application screen, select the iPhone icon in the left sidebar of the window shown, indicate the folder to which you want to import the videos from the Import to drop-down menu and click the Download all button . If you want to import only some specific videos, before starting the transfer select them and then press the Download button .

Transfer videos from iPhone to Mac without cable

If you have a Mac manufactured after 2008 and iPhone model 5 or higher, you can transfer videos from iPhone to Mac wirelessly  using AirDrop. In case you’ve never heard of it, it’s a wireless technology from Apple that allows you to transfer files from one device to another using Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth.

To be able to use it, first of all activate and configure the service in the iOS Settings and in the macOS Finder as I explained to you in my guide on the subject . Subsequently, start the Photos app on iOS by selecting the relative icon (the one with the multicolored flower on a white background ) that you find on the home screen and / or in the App Library, press the Select button located at the top right and select the videos you want transfer to your Mac.

At this point, touch the share icon (the one with the rectangle and the arrow ) present at the bottom left, select the AirDrop item that you find in the menu that opens, then the icon of your Mac from the proposed screen and wait for it the transfer is initiated and completed.

As an alternative to AirDrop, you can decide to transfer your movies from the iPhone to the Mac without having to physically connect the devices to each other by taking advantage of the other solutions useful for the purpose that I have already pointed out to you in the Windows step . Just keep in mind that in the specific case of synchronizing the photo library on Mac you have to rely on the use of the Photos application, configuring its use as I explained to you in my tutorial on what to do.