I've recently switched from my iPhone 14 Pro Max to a Galaxy Z Fold7, and I want to ensure I don't lose access to my media from the iPhone. I've been relying on iCloud for years for backups, but I no longer want to depend on it or pay for storage I won't use. I have around 14,730 photos and 1,762 videos, and though ideally, I would like to sift through them to remove duplicates, I just don't have the time right now. My goal is to find a way to back these up on my computer without using iCloud or any cloud storage. I've got plenty of space on my PC, but I'm unsure about the best and most reliable methods for transferring such a large quantity of media. What are my options for transferring this media to my PC? Are there important things to keep in mind before starting this process? Any advice would be appreciated!
4 Answers
You can start by simply plugging your iPhone into your computer and copying the media files directly over to the hard drive or an external drive. Just remember that both online storage and physical drives can fail, so consider the costs of maintaining them in the long run.
I went through this hassle myself and found that using the iCloud website to download everything in sequential zip files could work, but it's quite slow. If you're using USB, I think it's easier with a Mac, but I’m not sure if that’s the only route. Still, it can be done!
If you're looking for software to help, iMazing is a solid option for backing up to a Windows computer. It lets you back up your iPhone and even gives you prompts about older snapshots, which is handy for keeping all your data.
Just a heads up, having your photos in iCloud isn't actually a secure backup. It's more like a sync service, so be sure to transfer everything to an external hard drive as soon as you can. Consider using Immich as a free tool for managing and backing up your media.
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