Can't import my photos from iPhone XR to iMac

Hello bwpratt,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities! I understand that not all of the photos and videos on your iPhone XR will import to your iMac. Preserving your memories is important, and you've come to the right place for help.

I'd like to start by ensuring that you're following the steps under the "Import to your Mac" section in the support article below:

Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

This section in particular provides additional information to be aware of when transferring photos from your iPhone, and troubleshooting steps to try when it's not working as expected:

"In macOS High Sierra or later, imported photos appear in the Photos app's Import album. If you're using an earlier version of macOS, you'll find them in your Last Import album.

Photos and videos that you sync from your computer to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using iTunes can't be imported back to your computer. 

Learn what to do if you can't import photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer."

If you're still experiencing the issue after trying those steps, could you provide further detail? Here are some questions that could be helpful to answer:

1. What macOS and iOS version are you currently running?
2. How were the photos and videos originally added to the iPhone? Captured using the built-in Camera app on the iPhone, downloaded from another source, or synced from a computer?
3. Do the photos and videos fail to import with an error? If so, what does it say?

Cheers!

Hi bwpratt,

Thanks for getting back to us. On the iPhone, I would like to have you go to Settings > Photos. Scroll down to the "Transfer to a Mac or PC" section and ensure that "Keep Originals" is selected. Test if there's any change when you try to transfer photos from the iPhone to Mac again after.

If you're using the Photos app on your Mac when importing the photos, you may also want to consider trying Image Capture instead:

Transfer images in Image Capture on Mac - Apple Support

Keep us posted on the results.

Take care.