Photos will not import from iPhone. Big Sur 11.3. iOS 14.4

Just a quick update

I think I found my problem after doing some online reading and doing all of the steps mentioned above with no success

I tried some things on my own

I hooked up my phone to my MacBook Air and then restarted the MacBook Air and the photos imported from my phone

But one article I read to check to see if your photos set to "sync" on your devices, like when you hook up your phone to the laptop to back it up, I connected my phone and under finder I saw it was set to sync I unchecked that box, I disconnected the phone and took some pictures and surprise once I connected the phone to the laptop the Photos app popped up and my photos were ready to be imported.

while I found the the iCloud photos backup nice it's not a necessity since I have my own external backup hard drives.

I found that the Macbook settings (Settings > AppleID > Photos) was set. I unchecked it, and now it's working just fine. Mac OS V11.5.1 On the iPhone, the settings (Settings > Phontos > iCloud Photos) was already turned off. iOS V14.7.1

Just to make sure, I disconnected the iPhone, powered it down and powered it up.

Closed Photos on the Mac, and reopened it to let it reset the library. Shut down the Mac, and started it again.

Plugged in the iPhone. Let it back up to the hard drive. THEN, I started Photos on the back to do the usual photo/video transfer. Worked great, as usual. No hangs, no issues.

I had the exact same problem while using Image Capture, but only when connecting the phone through a USB hub. When I connected direct, the Image Capture prompted me to unlock the phone, and the phone asked me to trust the computer.

The problem reappears, but that was my work around.

Part of this solution worked for me! I connected my iphone through a usc c to lightning cable from my Apple charger to my MBP M1. Then rebooted my MBP and when back in the finder, I opened Image Capture. It then nicely asked permission to access my iphone 12.

I had the same problem too, none of the suggested solutions worked.

In the end, I got the Photos app to import the photos from my iPhone after I had disabled iCloud photos on both the phone (Settings>Photos>ICloud Photos) AND on the Macbook (Settings> Apple ID > Photos).

After doing this, the Photos app shows and imports all photos without any problems.

RESOLVED: I was having the same issue.

This is what resolved it for me:

1.) Connect your iPhone

2.) Open Image Capture

3.) Click on the 3 dots on the top right of the screen.

4.) Where it says, 'Connecting this iPhone opens:' use the drop-down to select Image Capture. (see image)

5.) Close Image Capture

6.) Unplug your phone from your computer

7.) Make sure your phone is unlocked and then connect your phone again to your computer

Image Capture should open automatically and all your photos should now appear

I have the same problem with an iPhone 12 connecting to my MacBook Air M1.

I tried Image Capture and its shows my iPhone is locked but its actually open I was using the Apple USBC to lightning cable directly to the MacBook Air and I really didn't want to reset my phone.

I found that my iPad, will import photos from my phone and my MacBook Air will import from my iPad so that is what I did to get my phone photos to my MacBook Air.

Hopefully they will come out with an update for the Air and /or the iPhone 12.

I tried using both a USBC to Lightning cable and a USBA to Lightning cable through a Dongle and the MacBook Air still shows my iPhone locked and if I get to unlock its just shows the "Preparing to Import" but it never does.

I got the newest MacBook Air and iPhone and they don't talk each other which is sad because I like my apple products because to do talk each other.

As I said I hope they get this fixed.

That does not work for me, no matter what settings I change it just go to the preparing iPhone and sits

I tried updates, settings et al, nada.

What does work for me on my Mac is to plug in the phone and restart kind of a pain but it works.

Hello John Froeb,

We'd love to assist you with getting the photos imported to your Mac. Let's make sure we are completing the steps listed here: Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to get them imported successfully.

Best regards

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

This seems to be a common problem for Big Sur. I've yet to see a convincing solution.

One workaround that works for some is to use the image capture app (already on your mac) to transfer photos to a folder, and then you can import them to photos from there.

Why not just use iCloud? No more cables.

John, thanks. Like many I have this problem, and your solution sounds feasible. I tried fiddling with the iPhone settings without success. Do you have more details about which settings you changed? As you said, Image Capture and the iPhone see each other but wont communicate. Rod.