Using iCloud Photos with Windows Explorer or Microsoft Photos

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Level 1

51 points

Using iCloud Photos with Windows Explorer or Microsoft Photos

In the past I've always managed to pick the right storage size for my iPhones, but getting a Duo pushed me way outside my usual comfort zone. Beggars can't be choosers this time around, but I could really use some advice.

I currently have over 100,000 photos and videos stored in iCloud. I don't own a Mac, and in the past I'd occasionally use Chrome to download photos when needed. Now I've decided I want to start fresh and completely remove everything from iCloud, but only after downloading and safely storing it all on my hard drive.

I've tried downloading by media type, but the process is painfully slow. Sometimes just 200 files can take hours, or even all day, using Windows Explorer. The only advantage I've found with the Windows Photos app is that it can sort everything by month. Would enabling the option to keep originals permanently stored on the device make transferring them any easier?

One issue I've noticed is that downloading through a browser rewrites metadata, while files downloaded directly through iCloud Photos App seem to preserve it correctly. I've also never liked Apple's generic IMG_XXXX naming system. With a library this large, the duplicate filenames become a nightmare to manage, at this point, am I really stuck waiting forever for these downloads to complete manually, or downloading everything to my primary drive first and then moving it to an external drive afterward?

The biggest obstacle has been shared photos and videos. My library is around 1.4 TB, and the built-in search functions on both my iPhone and iPad rarely return the correct file types, names, or even the content I'm looking for. It feels like there has to be a better way to do this. I'm ready to start over with my photo library, but I never expected it to become the biggest tech headache I've ever dealt with. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

iPhone Duo

Posted on Nov 3, 2026 5:01 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

tillu_code

Level 4

2,112 points

Nov 4, 2026 3:39 PM in response to Ropen

With a library that size, the browser route is the slowest option, so I'd use iCloud for Windows instead. Install it from the Microsoft Store, sign in, turn on Photos, and in its Photos options choose to download new photos and videos to your PC. That keeps the originals and their metadata intact, and files land in a folder you pick (you can point it at your big drive). For the existing 1.4 TB, in File Explorer open iCloud Photos and right-click a folder or selection > Always Keep on This Device, and let it work through a few thousand at a time. A wired connection and a PC that doesn't sleep make a big difference. Make sure you have the free space on the destination first. Apple's pages: https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud-windows/download-and-view-photos-and-videos-icw2ed20ffd1/icloud and httpshttps://support.apple.com/guide/icloud-windows/keep-photos-and-videos-downloaded-icw524278130/icloud thing I'd do before deleting anything from iCloud: confirm the file counts match and keep a second backup copy.

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Answer 2

Ropen Author

Level 1

51 points

Nov 5, 2026 8:51 PM in response to tillu_code

I finally figure it out! For some reason icloud photos on windows never updated my shared library status and other pictures that were pending "sync".

Once I checked my photos on icloud.com and seeing how many I have left, my pc had 4,000 left when in reality it was close to 18 pictures/videos left.

There was a glitch with the icloud app pretending to download 293 files which is why I was going on nuts on narrowing down what it needed in order to finish. My icloud photos is finally empty, and I can start over again from scratch!

Thanks!

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