Article updated on February 3, 2025 by Byothe
In today’s digital world, our smartphones, especially iPhones, have become our memory-capturing companions, storing thousands of photos that immortalize precious moments in our lives. However, over time, your iPhone’s storage space can quickly reach its limits, leaving little room for new photos. To avoid this problem and free up space while preserving your precious photos, it is essential to transfer photos from iphone to external hard drive on PC or Mac. In this article, we’ll explore different methods to transfer photos from your iPhone to an external hard drive, whether you’re using a PC or Mac. Learn how to simplify the backup process while preserving the beauty of your captured moments.
Benefits of Transferring Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive
Transferring photos from your iPhone to an external hard drive offers a multitude of practical and data preservation benefits. Here are some of the key benefits:
- Freeing up space on iPhone : By transferring your photos to an external hard drive, you free up valuable space on your iPhone and have room to take new photos.
- Additional backup : External hard drives serve as additional storage devices, ensuring reliable backup of your photos.
- Improved iPhone performance : Less cluttered storage contributes to better overall performance of your iPhone.
- Data Loss Protection : External hard drives provide additional protection against data loss in the event of device failure.
- Easier sharing : When your photos are stored on an external hard drive, it's easier to share them with other people.
Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive via AnyTrans (Compatible with PC and Mac）
Anytrans is a comprehensive iOS manager that can manage all data on an iPhone or iPad, including photos. Unlike other photo transfer tools, AnyTrans offers you the option to back up all your photos at once or select and view photos to transfer to external hard drive. Besides, AnyTrans offers several advantages:
- Compatible with Windows and Mac : You can transfer iPhone photos to external hard drive via your Mac or PC.
- Ability to view and select photos before transferring them to the external hard drive.
- You can transfer photos without USB cable or using cable for fast transfer.
- Transfer all iPhone photos to external hard drive in 1 click.
- Possibility of convert HEIC photos to JPG before transferring them to the external hard drive.
Here is the step-by-step guide on how to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive via AnyTrans:
- First of all, download and install AnyTrans on your PC / Mac.
- Then launch it, connect your iPhone to the computer, and click Photos.
- Additionally, preview and select the photos to transfer and then press the “To PC” button.
- Once the transfer process is complete you can view the folder containing the transferred photos.
- Finally, connect the external hard drive and then send the photos to it.
Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive on PC
iTunes is a software created by Apple that allows you to backup and transfer data from an iPhone. However, with iTunes, you cannot view and select photos before transferring them. Here's how to do it:
- First, install the latest iTunes version on your PC and then connect your iPhone via its USB cable.
- Then a notification will appear on your iPhone, tap Allow.
- Finally, tap the Start button on your computer, tap Photos > Import, then select the option labeled “from USB device” and follow the instructions to complete the transfer process.
Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive on Mac via AirDrop
AirDrop is a service offered by Apple on its Mac that allows you to transfer data from your iPhone to your Mac. AirDrop uses Wi-Fi to transfer data, which can be a bit slow depending on your internet connection compared to transferring via USB cable. Here's how to use AirDrop to transfer iPhone photos to external hard drive on Mac:
- First, please connect your iPhone and Mac to the same Wi-Fi network and then enable AirDrop on both devices.
- Second, go to your iPhone Gallery and select the photos you want to transfer.
- After that, select Share > AirDrop > Your Mac.
- Finally, accept the transfer on your Mac.
Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive on Mac via Lightning or USB-C
It is possible to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive on Mac using just the Lightning or USB-C cable depending on your iPhone model. However, if you have edited photos, you cannot transfer them using this method as it only transfers the original photos. Here's how to do it:
- First, connect your internal hard drive to your iPhone via USB cable and then open the Photos app.
- Next, select the photos and videos to transfer.
- Finally, press the button then click Export Unmodified Original and select your external hard drive.
Conclusion
There are different methods to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive on PC or Mac. However, some methods
cannot transfer all photos and others do not allow you to preview and select photos to transfer. Fortunately, this is not the case with Anytrans because this tool clearly makes the transfer easier by giving you the ability to preview and select photos to transfer quickly via USB cable or Wi-Fi.
Please feel free to share this guide to help other users transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive.
