iOS 14 ruined Photo Transferring (Windows 10)

I spent FOUR HOURS on the phone with Apple tech support regarding this issue, about two weeks ago. I have an iPhone 11 with the latest iOS update. I did everything he suggested. In the end, he gave up and admitted that there is no actual fix or workaround at this time. The things tried:

All the basics - cables, USB ports, drivers, etc.

Updating my version of Windows on 3 different machines.

Rebooting the phone and PC at the same time while connected.

Changing photo settings, file types, iCloud settings, and so on.

Installing the latest version of iTunes on all 3 machines.

...and several other things.

My issue is the same as listed by others. Windows Photo will occasionally see the phone via usb, and may transfer up to 3 random pictures, but then errors out. This is after several YEARS of successfully transferring photos in this way. The ONLY change was the iOS 14 update. If I take photos on my old iPhone 6Plus, running iOS 11-ish, it still works like a champ - Every. Single. Time.

Of course, iTunes is useless for photos: you can upload them from the PC to the phone, but not from the phone to the PC. I didn’t even know this until the support guy told me.

The tech support guy’s admission was very concerning - Apple knows it’s an issue and has no intention of fixing it. Considering that I use my phone for taking tons of pictures at work that have to be transferred to my work PC, this is a huge deal for me. For the first time ever, I’m considering a switch to Android - which I hate - but if Apple is going so far as to lock down even photos, then I guess I’m done.

This is almost as disappointing to me as all the canned responses on using Windows Photo and downloading photos from iCloud and checking your USB port and cable and so on. Linking/copying this same thing over and over does not fix the issue. It just shows that you’re not paying attention to the problem.

First off, I don’t use iCloud. Don’t want to, likely never will.

Secondly, I can’t add software or use 3rd party online services on my work computer. There is no internet access within the building.

It worked just fine before iOS14, and Apple is still telling everyone that it WILL work with Windows Photo if you follow their published steps. The issue is that it doesn’t, so Apple needs either officially say that they killed off the windows photo compatibility, or fix the software issues.

The tech support guy I dealt with was very knowledgeable and understanding, and even he was totally floored by this issue, since he’s following their in-house troubleshooting stuff which says it SHOULD work - it just doesn’t. He even tried his own iPhone with a windows laptop - same exact issue - and he couldn’t get his to work either.

It honestly sounds like Apple wants everybody to use iCloud services. Apple has been moving into the services category for a while. Hardware is no longer their main focus. I’m having the same problem right now on iOS 14.2.1 with an iPhone 12 pro. I’m using Windows 10. iTunes does not have any function for file sharing and there is no dragon drop feature and I cannot find a single way to transfer anything from the computer to the phone. I am using Windows 10 iCloud drive and photos sync app.

So what I want to do is move several files over to the phone for ease of use but the only way to really do that is to use the windows app to hopefully upload the information and files from the PC to the cloud and then download from the cloud to the phone.

Android got that part of they are operating system correct. Drag and drop the phone is a flash drive. Apple of course is locked down so being an android user for 10 years this is pretty frustrating as a relatively new iPhone user.

That’s how they get you to buy the monthly storage fee, everything is about getting a new charge from the customer. They also ruined iTunes by autoplaying stuff that is not in my downloads, after I play a song by an artist that I only have 1 or a few songs by. I haven’t tried it with whole albums yet, because I just assume it will recommend even more stuff I don’t want just playing.

It’s pretty jarring to have another song immediately play after thinking I’m only gonna hear one song.

-sorry I went off on another issue, just noticed that both are issues now. won’t even get into issues with iPad 8.

I use Apple phones with 4 Iphone. 2 weeks ago I bought 12 pro max and really regretted it! I cannot upload photos and videos using a cable on a PC (Windows 10). Writes - "the device is unreachable." The phone and PC have the latest updates. ITuns latest version. The cable is original. No phone settings fix this problem. I read on the Internet that this is the company's policy: buy Icloude storage and everything will be fine. After all, when you turn on the setting: "icloude photo", the problem of transferring files to a PC disappears. WHAT IT IS???? I need to transfer 500 photos / videos every day to work. It is inconvenient for me to transfer files from the cloud to a PC, since there is no Internet in the conditions where I work. SHOULD I BUY MAC too ?????? If you don't fix it, I will sell my 12 pro max and buy an android! I can not do it another way.

liudmyla88 wrote:

I read on the Internet that this is the company's policy: buy Icloude storage and everything will be fine.

I read on the Internet that the Earth is flat. That doesn’t make it true.

There is no problem transferring photos from an iPhone to Windows if you do it the right way.

To borrow from a previous post on this page that you almost certainly didn’t read:

...follow the steps in these Microsoft knowledge base articles to learn how to import photos to Windows Photos app:

• Windows 10
• Windows 8
• Windows 7

Or this Apple article→Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Use Windows Photo App -- The process is given below

Import Photos and Videos to your PC

You can import photos to your PC by connecting your device to your computer and using Windows Photos app:

1. Make sure that you have the latest version of iTunes on your PC. Importing photos to your PC requires iTunes 12.5.1 or later.
2. Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your PC with a USB cable.
3. You might need to unlock your iOS device using your passcode.
4. You might also see a prompt on the iOS device asking you to Trust This Computer. Tap Trust or Allow to continue.

Then, follow the steps in these Microsoft knowledge base articles to learn how to import photos to Windows Photos app:

• Windows 10
• Windows 8
• Windows 7

When you import videos from your iOS device to your PC, some might be rotated incorrectly in Windows Photos app. You can add these videos to iTunes to play them in the correct orientation.

If you have iCloud Photos turned on, you need to download the original, full resolution versions of your photos to your iPhone before you import to your PC. Find out how.

Photos and videos that you sync from your computer to your iOS device 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.

Workarounds/Options:

• Sync your photos to iCloud: Settings/[your name]/iCloud - Photos ON
• Once it is on and has had time to sync, go to https://icloud.com/photos, where you can view and download them
• OR, get iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store to either view or download them
• Use a 3rd party app to sync them. All of these are available for the iPhone: Google Photos, Shutterfly, Dropbox, Box.com, many others. All of them sync automatically once installed.

See also—>Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

In 10 years I never got a virus on an Android. Even back in the day when I had an iPhone before this one, when I could drag and drop files even using iTunes, I never got a virus.

However if you’d be so kind as to give me your telephone number I will send you a text that will completely shut down and wipe your iPhone for you. You know, because iPhones don’t get viruses and cannot be manipulated or hacked.

Nonetheless I stand by my previous post that states that Apple is in this to lock each user into the ecosystem by not allowing any physical contact with the phone through any other means other than a charging cable.

Everything is to be done online in the cloud. This is so that you are paying for cloud storage and Apple music and Apple TV. They want that extra $$$ a month from each user.

It’s truly brilliant in the way that they are implementing this lockdown to make a huge profit now that hardware has all but run its course. This is also why people change platforms. In an age where everybody wants to be free and have choices, Apple is obviously not the choice for those people.

Still having trouble transferring your photos to PC? Try this:

1. From the iPhones "Settings" App, scroll down and open the "Photos" settings.
2. Scroll down to the very last setting labeled "TRANSFER TO MAC OR PC". (this seems to be where the problem is)
3. Change the setting from "Keep Originals" to "Automatic"
4. After you are sure the check mark is next to the "Automatic" setting you can back out of the page.
5. Just incase you can scroll back up to the "Display & Brightness" settings and temporarily change the screen lock to "NEVER".
6. Now connect the phone to the computer via USB like you normally would.
7. Here you may have to open Windows Explorer and Right Click on the APPLE iPhone icon to select "Import Photos & Video" manually.
8. Now your phone will ask for permission to allow the computer access to the files. Select "Allow".
9. You should see the familiar "Import Photos...." box on your monitor and be free to organize, chose, import and even erase your files with out the phone denying access every few seconds.
10. When you are ready, click "Import" and the process should continue uninterrupted until complete.

Hope this helps. I successfully completed the task several times now using this method. Good Luck.

Hi!

Before you give up on your iPhone with iOS 14, recommend taking a look at the workaround 87 Model6 posted on 3 Feb 2021. I was just as frustrated as you but their recommendation helped me work around in Windows. BTW, Windows photo app changed their method of importing photos, too. They used to place photos in the Pictures folder inside a subfolder with the date photos were taken. Now Windows just imports everything to the root Pictures folder.

Anyway, here's the suggestion from 87 Model6 that helped me immensely. Skip to #6 to solve importing photos into Windows PC. All instructions above #6 help change HEIC (highly compressed Apple format) photos to .jpg when importing.

1. From the iPhones "Settings" App, scroll down and open the "Photos" settings.
2. Scroll down to the very last setting labeled "TRANSFER TO MAC OR PC". (this seems to be where the problem is)
3. Change the setting from "Keep Originals" to "Automatic"
4. After you are sure the check mark is next to the "Automatic" setting you can back out of the page.
5. Just incase you can scroll back up to the "Display & Brightness" settings and temporarily change the screen lock to "NEVER".
6. Now connect the phone to the computer via USB like you normally would.
7. Here you may have to open Windows Explorer and Right Click on the APPLE iPhone icon to select "Import Photos & Video" manually.
8. Now your phone will ask for permission to allow the computer access to the files. Select "Allow".
9. You should see the familiar "Import Photos...." box on your monitor and be free to organize, chose, import and even erase your files with out the phone denying access every few seconds.
10. When you are ready, click "Import" and the process should continue uninterrupted until complete.

Hi,

1. just disable Icloud for photos , go to setting -photos- off the icloud Photos , just slide it to left to make it off
2. if it still not work do a complete restore with latest ios ipsw file but don't forget to backup first
3. remove itune completely and uninstall with like revo uninstaller , reboot install again
4. restore backup and do the step 1 , it will surely work
5. if u need icloud photo or video files you can download from icloud because it will ask to delete from iphone . but later files accessible as usual like earlier

The windows photo app does not work with the latest versions. I have the same issue.

Before updating to the latest iOS 14 as told on your post what was your earlier iOS version. Then you can look into the iOS changes that has happened between the earlier version on your iPhone and this new version that you have updated now. 

This will give you a broader idea of the issue, if it is directly linked to the iOS version or is triggered by something else.

Mostly the same issue. Mine says device not reachable or some version of that. I've also tried all the internet tips like making sure "Keep originals" is selected in the photo settings. None of that helps and I had no problem before iOS 14. Ridiculous that just getting photos off of your phone should be so difficult.