Transfer video to Mac without involving iCloud, but still keep current icloud videos

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Transfer video to Mac without involving iCloud, but still keep current icloud videos

I am trying to get 123gb of video from my iphone. I have put it into low power mode to prevent it from syncing such huge video files to icloud.

But when I connect via a cable I get this error on my Mac

"You can access every photo and video you take from any device. To sync photos from this Mac, turn off iCloud Photos."

How can I get the video onto my mac without burning almost 250gb of data to use icloud or deleting my entire iCloud photos/videos currently on the cloud if I disable icloud syncing...?

iPhone 16 Pro Max, iOS 26

Posted on Feb 23, 2026 10:36 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

davefromtheblock Author

Level 1

26 points

Feb 23, 2026 10:45 PM in response to davefromtheblock

I found the answer... Chat GPT for the win!!

"Fastest way to copy 123GB locally (no iCloud upload)

Use Image Capture on your Mac (best option)

This imports directly to a folder or external drive and avoids the Photos/iCloud pipeline.

Connect iPhone to Mac with a cable.
Unlock the iPhone and tap Trust/Allow if prompted.
Open Image Capture (Applications folder).
Select your iPhone in the sidebar.
At the bottom, set Import To → choose: a folder on your Mac, or an external SSD/HDD (recommended for 123GB)
Click Download All (or select only the videos and click Download)."

Hopefully that helps somebody else in this same situation.

I just wish Apple had a 'pause sync' or even a 'dont sync video/photos' options

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Answer 2

Feb 24, 2026 7:42 AM in response to davefromtheblock

davefromtheblock wrote: I found the answer... Use Image Capture on your Mac (best option) Hopefully that helps somebody else in this same situation.

Using Finder to transfer pictures between Photos and a phone is incompatible with iCloud Syncing. Transferring pictures with a cable only transfers the pictures, not all the information associated with the picture.

As you point out, the app Image Capture is a great way to transfer pictures to Finder Folders. Pictures then can be imported to Photos, but they may be rejected as duplicates if you are using iCloud Photos.

I just wish Apple had a 'pause sync' or even a 'dont sync video/photos' options

Turning off wifi certainly pauses syncing.

If you like, on your phone you can use "Share>Save to Files" to move some videos to the Files app. Then you can delete them from Photos so that they don't get copied to iCloud Photos.

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Transfer video to Mac without involving iCloud, but still keep current icloud videos

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