Transfer Photos from iPhone to an External Hard Drive on Mac

Jason

By Jason

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Photos from iPhone to an External Hard Drive

From the Internet, you can always find your favorite and meaningful pictures, or you can take pictures/photos to record your life whenever and wherever.

Once stored huge numbers of pictures are on your iPhone; you may want to transfer them to other storage devices, either to make a backup to ensure the safety of these pictures or manage the memory of your iPhone more intelligently.

An external hard drive is a very good choice for you. Here I will show you the top 4 ways to transfer photos from iPhone to an external hard drive.

You can choose either one according to your condition. In addition, here is the detailed guide on hard drive cache for your info.

PS: here, you will learn more about how to fix iPhone photos not showing up on Mac effortlessly.

Method 1. Transfer Photos from iPhone to an External Hard Drive on Mac with Preview

Preview, a simple and handy application, can transfer photos from your iPhone to an external drive on Mac fastly and amazingly.

To complete the task, you only need to connect your iPhone to your Mac via a USB cable and open the tool Preview.

Then as you can see in the starting window of Preview, please click on the “File” menu button and choose the “Import From” option along with the name of your iPhone.

Then you will see all the pictures stored on your iPhone Camera Roll displayed in the window. Thus you can easily transfer pictures to your external hard drive on the Mac by dragging and dropping.

transfer iPhone photos by preview

Method 2. Copy iPhone Photos to an External Hard Drive on Mac with iPhoto

When you want to transfer pictures from iPhone to an external hard drive in Mavericks, iPhoto can make your process very convenient. To start with, you need to connect your iPhone to the external hard drive in Mavericks via a USB cable.

Then the tool iPhoto will be launched automatically. Then iPhoto will detect your iPhone immediately and display all photos and videos stored in your iPhone Camera Roll.

Please click on the “Import All” option to transfer all listing photos and videos. You can also select the part of these listed items to transfer and click on the “Import Selected” option.

When all items are transferred, you will see a dialog box in the window, which asks you to delete those pictures from your iPhone which have been transferred. You can choose either to keep or delete the pictures.

backup iphone photo by iPhoto

Method 3. Image Capture

Without an iPhoto on your Mac, you can also try the program Image Capture. All you need to do is to connect your iPhone to your Mac via a USB cable. Then the program image Capture will be launched automatically.

Then please select the location on your Mac where you want to store the photos. Now click on “Options” and then “Delete” items from the camera after downloading.

After these clicks, you can free up the memory on your iPhone. Lastly, select the “OK” option and click “Download All” to finish.

transfer iphone photo by imagecapture

Method 4. dr.fone – Phone Manager (iOS)

Here is the most excellent program I want to recommend to you, which is called dr.fone – Phone Manager (iOS). With the program’s help, you can transfer pictures from iPhone to an external hard drive on your Mac with just one click.

With the program’s help, you can easily manage all files on your iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Mac, including music, videos, and photos.

In addition, you can also transfer all photos on your iPhone, including those stored in Camera Roll, Photo Library, and Photo Stream, from your iPhone to the external drive on your Mac.

To complete the task, you only need to connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cable and then run the program.

You can choose the photos you want to transfer and choose the “Export” option. The program will then start to transfer files for you automatically.

YouTube video
dr.fone - Phone Manager
Export Photos from iPhone to usb

We now offer you a free trial version of the program; please choose either the Windows version or the Mac version according to your computer’s system. Please just join us to have a try!

Also read: How to permanently delete your iPhone photos with iMobie AnyTrans.

FAQs

1. Can I transfer photos directly from iPhone to external hard drive without a Mac? Yes, with the right adapter and file management app, you can transfer photos directly from your iPhone to an external hard drive.

2. Why doesn’t my iPhone appear on my Mac? Make sure your devices are running the latest software, and the USB cable and port are working. If the problem persists, try restarting your devices.

3. Can I transfer my entire photo library at once? Yes, most methods allow you to select and transfer all photos at once.

4. Is there a limit to how many photos I can transfer at once? No, the only limit is the storage capacity of your external hard drive.

5. Which third-party software is the best for transferring photos? The best software depends on your needs. AnyTrans, dr.fone, and iMazing all offer robust photo transferring features.

Conclusion

Transferring photos from your iPhone to an external hard drive on a Mac may seem complicated, but with the right tools and steps, it becomes a breeze. The peace of mind knowing your photos are safe is well worth the effort.

Jason
Jason

Skilled software testing specialist with expertise in comparisons and research, passionate about blogging, reviews, and creating video tutorials.

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