Files AcrossHow to export your whole iPhone photo library to a PC over Wi-Fi
Short answer
In Files Across, tap Send Photo Library and open the address it shows in your computer's browser. The page lists your library by month; click Download all to save one ZIP per month in original quality. If anything interrupts it, reconnect and click Download remaining. This is a Pro feature, and you can try it free for one session.
Before you start
- Free space on the computer roughly the size of your library. On the iPhone, Settings › General › iPhone Storage › Photos shows how much that is.
- Plug the iPhone into power and keep Files Across open. The screen stays on while sharing; locking it or switching apps ends the session.
- iCloud Photos with "Optimize iPhone Storage": originals that live only in iCloud are downloaded by the iPhone as they're sent, which needs internet and takes longer. Anything that can't be fetched is skipped and listed in a
Not included.txtfile inside that month's ZIP. - The iPhone doesn't need free space for the whole library: nothing is copied into the app first. It needs room for about two items at a time.
Steps
- Open Files Across and tap Send Photo Library on the start screen. If a computer is already connected, tap Share Photo Library instead.
- Allow access to Photos when iOS asks. With Limited Access, only the photos you allowed are shared, and both screens say so.
- On the computer, type the address shown on the iPhone into the browser and enter the six-digit code.
- The page shows your library by year and month, with photo and video counts. Choose options if you want them:
- Convert HEIC photos to JPG for computers or programs that don't open HEIC. Slower, because the phone converts each photo.
- Include the video part of Live Photos to add their short videos to the ZIPs.
- Pick how to download:
- Download all saves each month as its own ZIP, such as
Photos 2024-07.zip, one after another. Best for big libraries. - Download as one ZIP saves a single
Photo Library.zipwith a folder per month. Simpler to unpack, but an interruption means starting that ZIP again. - Choose on a month shows previews; tick the photos you want and they download as separate files.
- Download all saves each month as its own ZIP, such as
- If the browser asks whether the site may download multiple files, allow it.
If it gets interrupted
A month counts as sent only when every byte of it has left the phone. Files Across remembers completed months, so after a dropped connection, a locked phone or a closed browser, just reconnect and click Download remaining. Months you later add photos to or edit are offered again. To start over, use Settings › Photo Library › Forget Sent Months in the app.
What you get
- Original files, byte for byte (HEIC, JPG, PNG, MOV, MP4…), or JPG copies if you chose conversion. Edited photos come as they look in Photos.
- Original file names, with
IMG_0001 (2).HEICstyle suffixes if a name repeats in a month, and the photo's date as the file date. - ZIPs are stored without recompression, so they're quick to create and open with the tools built into Windows, macOS and most Linux desktops.
- Hidden photos are not included.
This makes a copy of your photos on the computer when you run it. It isn't an automatic or continuous backup; run it again later and use Download remaining for new months.
Questions
Do I need Pro?
Photo library export is part of Files Across Pro, a one-time purchase. Every Pro feature can be tried free for one sharing session, which is often enough for a single export.
Will it delete photos from my iPhone?
No. Files Across only reads your library; it never deletes or changes photos.
How long does it take?
It depends on your Wi-Fi speed, the library size and whether photos must first come from iCloud. Leave the phone on power with the app open; you can stop and continue later by month.