How to transfer iphone photos to seagate external hard drive

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If you have plenty of photos on your iPhone, you know how much space they can take up. Transferring photos from iPhone to an external hard drive is always a wise choice. It can save space both on your phone and your computer, and also it can prevent permanent loss. When it comes to how to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive, you should try the best 4 methods below.

Can I Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive? Yes!

When it comes to getting plenty of movement carried out, then, you want to understand the easiest plan to backup iPhone photos to external hard drive sources. Here are the most effective solutions you can utilize.

1 Free Way to Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive

This takes just three simple steps, and is pretty easy to carry out. One of the easiest ways to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive is to look at a software kit known as iMyFone TunesMate, an iPhone transfer tool. With its free trial, you can backup photos directly from iPhone to external hard drive/computer (as easy as drag-and-drop) and delete unwanted photos in bulk.

TunesMate supports to transfer photos, albums, music, playlists, ringtones, movies, podcasts, audiobooks, TV shows, iTunes U, etc. from iPhone to external hard drive.

  • Selectively backup photos/albums (not just photos) from iPhone to external hard drive or computer (camera roll and photo stream are inclusive).
  • Two-Way Transfer - You can transfer files from iPhone to computer, and from computer to iPhone freely.
  • Free Deletion - You can delete unwanted photos, music, videos, playlists in bulk for free.
  • Add Files without Data Loss - When adding files to iPhone, the old files on iPhone will be well-remained. No data will be lost.
  • Share Music/Movies - You can share music and movies (paid and free) to friends within different Apple IDs.
  • Cheapest Transfer Software in market, as there is an official coupon code(5ED-FQ1-KZU) for you. Click here to know how to save money.
  • Wide Compatibility - It compatible with all iOS versions and devices including iOS 14 and iPhone 11 Pro (Max).

1. How to 1-Click Backup All iPhone Photos to External Hard Drive

Step 1: Start off by launching iMyFone TunesMate, connecting it to your iPhone and your external hard drive.

Step 2: Then, you can turn to Backup Photos to PC/Mac from the home interface and click on it.

How to transfer iphone photos to seagate external hard drive

Step 3: Select your external hard drive from the pop-up window and hit "Select Folder" to begin transfer.

How to transfer iphone photos to seagate external hard drive

2. How to Transfer Photos/Albums from iPhone to External Hard Drive Selectively

Step 1: Connect your iPhone and external hard drive to computer and launch iMyFone TunesMate.

Step 2: Go to Photos tab from the top menu and you will be in the Camera Roll window. All the photos will be dispalyed at the right panel and the albums will be shown at the left sidebar.

  • To Transfer Photos: Select the photos and hit Export > Export to PC/Mac. Browse your external hard drive for the transferred photos.
  • To Transfer Albums: Right click on the specific album from the left sidebar and select Export to PC/Mac.

How to transfer iphone photos to seagate external hard drive

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2 Transfer iPhone Photos to External Hard Drive - iCloud Drive

Now, you could also turn to using the iCloud drive to ensure that you are using the ‘official source’ – now, that might make sense, but it’s not always necessary or even recommended to. To help you make this easier, you just need to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drives by using the iCloud feature.

Step 1: Make sure you turn on iCloud Photo Library from Settings > iCloud > Photos on iPhone.

Step 2: On your computer, download the iCloud program or go to iCloud.com and log in with your Apple ID.

Step 3: Once login, choose Photos tab there. Select the photos you want to transfer. (Hold down Ctrl key when selecting to select multiple photos one time.)

How to transfer iphone photos to seagate external hard drive

Step 4: Tap Download selected items from the top right bar. It might need a few minutes if there are a lots of photos to transfer.

Step 5: Plug in your external hard drive and open it.

Step 6: Find the photos downloaded on computer and copy them to the external drive.

Disadvantages:

  • However, please keep in mind that iCloud can be pretty slow. If you have large photo library, you should wait patiently for photos to load.
  • It can also have limitations both in how many photos you can transfer at once, and what kind of photos are uploaded to the Cloud in the first place. Only 5GB iCloud storage is free. If you need more, purchase the plan.
  • You need to upload and download photos instead of plug in and download, which causes time-consuming.

3 Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive on Windows

Of course, you could just make the transfer yourself. To make this possible, you simply need to follow these steps:

Step 1: Simply plug your external HD and connect up your iPhone to your PC.

Step 2: Then, an AutoPlay window will appear. Click on Import pictures and video using Windows and then hit Import to take all images from the Camera Roll.
Note: For Windows 10, you will need to go to launch Photos app instead, and use the “Import” button. You can then select photos.

Step 3: Choose your external hard drive and hit Import or Continue to make transfer selected photos from iPhone to external hard drive.

How to transfer iphone photos to seagate external hard drive

Disadvantages:

  • It doesn't support iOS 13 HEIC photos.
  • You can't preview and select only some wanted photos to transfer. It just allows you to transfer all photos and videos at a time.
  • You can't transfer photo albums from iPhone to external hard drive or computer. All you can transfer is photos.
  • Photos in Photo Stream won't be transferred as well.

4 Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive on Mac

Step 1: Connect both the external hard drive and iPhone to Mac in the first place.
Step 2: Then, use Spotlight search to look for Image Capture, launching it.
Step 3: Verify the name of your device, and all of the photos that it has on there will appear.
Step 4: Click on Import To and select the external hard drive as the backup folder.
Step 5: Select photos and then hit Import. If you want to transfer all photos, you can click on Import All.

How to transfer iphone photos to seagate external hard drive

Disadvantages:

  • All the photos are shown according to date. That means you can't view or transfer the albums.
  • Of course, photos in My Photo Stream won't be accessed or transferred.

However, as with iCloud, this is slower, takes more work and has limitations as to how quickly you can transfer images from A to B. To make your life a little easier, you should look to turn to iMyFone TunesMate to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive instead. Compatible with both and easy to work with, this offers a friendly and simple solution for all.

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After reading this article, you will learn all the workable ways on how to transfer photos from iPhone to an external hard drive on Windows/Mac or without a computer. Apply one of the methods to back up your iPhone photos to an external hard drive within minutes.

Compared with the size of an iPhone storage, the capacity of an external hard drive is generally much larger. Common external hard drives from Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba range from 500GB to 2TB. In addition to the large storage capacity, external hard drives also have the advantages of an excellent read and write speed, high portability, long life, and more. Thus, it's reasonable that an external hard drive is the choice of many users when they want to back up iPhone to external hard drive or copy iPhone photos to external hard drive.

Speaking of importing photos from iPhone to an external hard drive, you can get it done either with or without a computer. Here are the details:

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive on PC

To transfer photos on your iPhone to an external hard drive on a Windows PC, you have four ways to choose from. After you learn the tips in detail, you will know which one fits your needs best. Whether you want to transfer photos from iPhone directly to an external hard drive or get photos from iPhone to an external storage device without using a USB cable, you can find the way you need from the paragraphs below.

Method 1. Back Up iPhone Photos to External Hard Drive with EaseUS MobiMover

Do you want to transfer all photos from your iPhone to the external hard drive at once? Do you want to copy other files like videos, audio files, messages, books, and more together with the pictures from your iPhone to the external drive to make a backup? If you do, the iOS data transfer software - EaseUS MobiMover will help.

EaseUS MobiMover allows you to transfer files between iPhone and Mac or PC or between two iOS devices. Thus, it also allows you to transfer files between an iOS device and an external storage device like an external hard drive, USB flash drive, SD card, and more.

Download for PC Download for Mac 

To transfer photos from iPhone to an external hard drive on Windows:

Step 1. Connect devices and launch EaseUS MobiMover. 

Connect both the iPhone and the external hard drive to the PC and make sure these devices are recognized by the computer. Afterward, launch the photo transfer tool and click "Phone to PC" > "Next."

How to transfer photos from iPhone to PC running Windows 10/8/7 - Step 1

Step 2. Select the category.

Check "Pictures" among all the supported categories. If you need to, you can also transfer other files from your iPhone to the external hard drive, together with photos. Besides, since the default destination is the desktop, you need to click the storage path to change it to your external hard drive.

How to transfer photos from iPhone to PC running Windows 10/8/7 - Step 2

Step 3. Start transferring photos from iPhone to hard drive.

Click the "Transfer" button to start importing photos from the iPhone to the external hard drive. When it has done, go to the selected folder on the hard drive to check these items.

How to transfer photos from iPhone to PC running Windows 10/8/7 - Step 3

If the photos are lost on your iPhone someday, you can use this tool to transfer photos back to your iOS device from the external hard drive. You can refer to the guide on how to transfer photos from PC to iPhone for more details.

EaseUS MobiMover also allows you to manage iPhone data from computer or convert iPhone photo to JPG. Isn't it great? Get it now and make it your good helper.

Download for PC Download for Mac 

Method 2. Import Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive on Windows 10 with Photos

On Windows 8 and Windows 10, there is a built-in app on PC called Photos, which will help you manage the photos on the computer and import photos from a folder or a USB device to PC. Thus, it can not only help to transfer photos from iPhone to PC without iTunes but also work to transfer iPhone photos to external hard drive on Windows. 

To import photos from iPhone to an external drive on PC:

Step 1. Connect devices to PC.

Connect the external hard drive to your computer. Unlock your iPhone and connect your device to PC running Windows 10 or Windows 8. (Make sure the external storage device can be recognized by the computer.)

Step 2. Trust the computer.

When a prompt appears on your iPhone asking you for permission, click "Allow".

Step 3. Launch the Photos app.

On your PC, open the "Photos" app and click "Import" > "From a USB device" to let Photos find the items on your iPhone.

Step 4. Select photos.

After finding all the photos and videos on your iOS device, there will be a window in Photos asking to select the items you want to import. Select the photos you want to transfer.

Step 5. Change the storage path.

Then click "Import setting" > "Change the import destination", choose a location on your external hard drive, and then click "Done."

Step 6. Start importing photos.

Click "Import Selected" to start transferring photos from iPhone to the external hard drive.

How to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive

Windows 10 Photos app not working? Don't worry. Follow the fixes to make it work again.

Method 3. Back Up iPhone Photos to External Hard Drive Using iCloud

The last way suitable for both Windows and Mac users is to use iCloud Photos. By enabling iCloud Photos on both your iPhone and the computer, you can transfer your iPhone photos to the computer, and then download the items to the external hard drive. If you want to transfer photos from iPhone to iPad someday, you can also apply iCloud.

To upload photos from iPhone to an external hard drive via iCloud:

Step 1. Turn on iCloud Photos on iPhone.

Turn on iCloud Photos on iPhone: Go to "Settings" > [your name] > "iCloud" > "Photos" and switch on "iCloud Photos".

Step 2. Turn on iCloud Photos on the computer.

  • Download and install iCloud for Windows.
  • Sign in with the Apple ID you use on the iOS device. (You need to ensure you are using the same Apple ID on the iPhone and PC.)
  • Click the "Options" button next to Photos and check the "iCloud Photo Library" and the "Download new photos and videos to my PC" options. Then click "Change" under "Download new photos and videos to my PC" to change the default location as your external hard drive.
  • Click "Done" > "Apply".

Step 3. Wait for the syncing process to finish.

After the syncing process, the photos on your iPhone will be transferred to the external hard drive successfully.

How to move photos from iPhone to external hard drive

Method 4. Transfer Photos from iPhone to Hard Drive on Windows PC via File Explorer

Using File Explorer in Windows 10 or Windows Explorer in Windows 8/7 is an exclusive solution for Windows users. With File Explorer, you can directly copy the photos to an external hard drive without any software installation. However, you can only transfer photos in the DCIM folder by date. If you want to transfer photos by album, try EaseUS MobiMover instead. If your iPhone photos are not showing up on PC, follow the troubleshooting guide to solve the problem first.

To import photos from iPhone to external hard drive:

Step 1. Connect devices to the computer.

Unlock your iPhone and connect the iPhone and the external hard drive to your Windows PC using a USB cable. (Make sure the USB cable is a good one.)

Step 2. Allow transferring photos.

Then a prompt will pop up on your iPhone asking for your permission. Click "Allow" to continue.

Step 3. Access iPhone photos on PC.

Go to "This PC" > "Apple iPhone" > "Internal Storage" > "DCIM" > "100APPLE" and you will see all the photos in your iPhone Camera Roll.

Step 4. Copy iPhone photos to the external hard drive.

Copy the photos on your iPhone and paste them to the external hard drive. By doing so, you can back up photos from your iPhone to the external hard drive easily and quickly.

How to copy photos from iPhone to external hard drive

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive on Mac

If you are a Mac user, there are two more solutions besides using iPhone transfer software or iCloud. (Undoubtedly, the ways below also work to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac.)

Method 1. Import Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive on Mac via Image Capture

Image Capture is a program on Mac that enables users to take and upload photos to Mac from digital cameras, iOS devices, and other devices that have a camera. Therefore, you can move photos and videos to an external storage device from your iPhone/iPad with the help of Image Capture.

How to back up photos from iPhone to external hard drive:

Step 1. Connect Your External Hard Drive to your Mac.

Connect the hard drive to your Mac with a USB cable and make sure it is recognized by the Mac.

Step 2. Connect Your iOS Device To Your Mac.

Connect your iPhone to the Mac with a USB cable.

Step 3. Launch Image Capture.

Open "Image Capture" on your Mac and choose your iPhone from in the "Devices" section.

Step 4. Select Destination.

Click the "Import To" pop-up menu, then choose to save the images to your external hard drive.

Step 5. Click Import.

Choose "Import All" to transfer all the items or select the photos you want to transfer and click "Import".

How to back up iPhone photos to external hard drive

Method 2. Move Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive via Photos

On Mac OS X 10.10.3 or later, there is also an app called Photos. It's the replacement of iPhoto in earlier versions. The Photos app enables you to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac using a USB cable. And thus, it will also allow you to transfer photos from iPhone to an external hard drive on Mac.

To transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive on Mac:

Step 1. Connect devices to Mac.

Connect your iPhone and the external hard drive to the Mac.

Step 2. Launch the Photos app.

Run Photos for Mac, go to the "Devices" section and select your iOS device.

Step 3. Choose the storage path.

Click the "Import to" option and choose to save the imported photos to the external drive.

Step 4. Import photos from iPhone to the external drive.

Click "Import All New Photos" or select the photos you want to transfer to the Mac and then click "Import [number] Selected". 

How to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive on Mac

For more workable solutions to import photos from iPhone to external hard drive on Mac, refer to the guide on how to transfer photos from iPhone to flash drive on Mac.

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive Without Computer

Sometimes you don't have a computer available and need to transfer photos from your iPhone to an external hard drive without a computer. Actually, with the growing trend to connect an external storage device to an iPhone or iPad directly, it's common that there will be a USB-C cable included when you purchase an external hard drive.

With that cable, you can connect the external hard drive to your iPhone or iPad without a computer and exchange data. Even if you don't have such a cable, you can use Apple's Lightning-to-USB camera adapter to help you connect these devices.

To import photos from iPhone to external hard drive without a computer:

Step 1. Connect the external hard drive to the iPhone.

Connect the external hard drive to the iPhone with a USB-C cable or via an adapter.

Step 2. Check the connection.

On the iPhone, go to "Files" > "Browse" to check whether the external hard drive is attached successfully.

Step 3. Save iPhone photos to the external hard drive.

Go to the Photos app, choose the pictures you want to move, tap the "Share" button, and then choose "Save to Files." Tap "On My iPhone" and select the external hard drive.

How to transfer photos from iPhone to external hard drive without computer

By doing so, you can move photos from iPhone to an external hard drive directly without a computer. Besides, you can copy files from the external drive to your iOS device if you need to.

The Bottom Line

These are the proven ways to transfer photos from iPhone to an external hard drive. Whether you want to use a computer or not, you can find the solution you need. All of the solutions can be applied to transfer photos from iPhone to computer. Command these tips to help yourself out whenever you need to perform data transfer between an iPhone/iPad/iPod and a computer/external storage device.

FAQ

1. Can the iPhone connect directly to an external hard drive?

You can connect your iPhone or iPad with a flash drive, USB hard drive, SD card, and other external storage drives, as long as you have the appropriate adapter. The choice of such adapters depends on your device model and the device you want to connect. You can find a suitable adapter from Amazon. 

2. How do I organize my iPhone photos to an external hard drive?

To organize an external hard drive, you'll need to connect it to a computer and organize it by backing up important files and deleting unneeded or duplicated items.

3. How do I transfer files from my iPhone to an external hard drive without a computer?

To do this, you will need a formatted hard drive and an adapter to help. First, connect your iPhone or iPad to the external hard drive via an adapter. Then, go to the Photos app (or you can select other apps that support file sharing) and select the photos you wish to transfer, click the Share button, tap Save to Files, choose your external hard drive, select a folder to hold your pictures, and then tap Save