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User profile for user: astrorager22
astrorager22 Author
User level: Level 1
37 points

How can I move files from "On My iPhone" to my Windows PC via USB Cable?

I have some large 4K videos saved to the local storage of my iPhone, and I can browse these using Files -> On Your iPhone. How can I transfer these files to my Windows PC via USB cable?


I have purposely excluded these video files from iCloud Photos since they would take up too much space, so I just have them in the "On My iPhone" section in files, not in the iCloud Photos gallery.


I just need an easy way to move these files back and forth with my Windows PC and so far I cannot find a solution. When I connect via USB and open iTunes I can open "File Sharing" and only move files back and forth for specific apps, such as MS Word, or VLC.


I want to be able to browse the local file storage of my iPhone on my PC - this is really annoying that I can't do that. When I connect my iPhone to my PC, all I can browse is the DCIM folder which has photos and videos.


I don't want to use cloud services to upload and download files to my PC for these, it should be made easier by simply using a USB cable.

iPhone 11 Pro, iOS 13

Posted on May 30, 2020 9:05 PM

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User profile for user: astrorager22
astrorager22 Author
User level: Level 1
37 points

Posted on May 30, 2020 9:26 PM

I'm going to add a little more context so this is clear:


On your iPhone, go to the Files app. Under Locations, choose "On My iPhone". Now this is a space inside your local storage of the iPhone where you can create folders, and put files in as you please. It is not synced to iCloud Drive or iCloud Photos or anything else, just raw local storage. So when I take large videos with my iPhone camera, I go to the video in the Photos app and I "Save to Files" and save it in the On My iPhone section in the Files app, and then delete it from the Photos app (which is iCloud Photo) therefore it sits in my local storage and doesn't get synced to iCloud taking up lots of space.


So, I need a way of moving files in that particular area back and forth with my Windows PC via USB cable. And I cannot find it. On my PC: iTunes -> File Sharing only allows me to see specific apps that I want to file share with, but not the local storage "On My iPhone" area of folders/files.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: astrorager22
astrorager22 Author
User level: Level 1
37 points

May 30, 2020 9:26 PM in response to astrorager22

I'm going to add a little more context so this is clear:


On your iPhone, go to the Files app. Under Locations, choose "On My iPhone". Now this is a space inside your local storage of the iPhone where you can create folders, and put files in as you please. It is not synced to iCloud Drive or iCloud Photos or anything else, just raw local storage. So when I take large videos with my iPhone camera, I go to the video in the Photos app and I "Save to Files" and save it in the On My iPhone section in the Files app, and then delete it from the Photos app (which is iCloud Photo) therefore it sits in my local storage and doesn't get synced to iCloud taking up lots of space.


So, I need a way of moving files in that particular area back and forth with my Windows PC via USB cable. And I cannot find it. On my PC: iTunes -> File Sharing only allows me to see specific apps that I want to file share with, but not the local storage "On My iPhone" area of folders/files.

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How can I move files from "On My iPhone" to my Windows PC via USB Cable?

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