Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

iPhone 4s pictures won't rotate after being transferred to the computer?

The majority of pictures I take right-side-up still transfer to my computer in landscape mode. Sure this was annoying, but in the past I could easily fix it by simply selecting them all and telling the computer to rotate them clockwise. However, now I am unable to rotate any picture I transfer from my device to my computer harddrive. Upon copying and pasting them to my computer, it still brings them in, in landscape mode (rotated 90 degrees to the left to be precise). However, when I try to rotate them I get the error message "you cannot rotate this image. The file might be in use or open in another program, or the file or folder might be read-only." I have double checked for a fact that none of these images are read-only, and I have even tried restarting my computer then rotating the images with no other application open....


Also, when I try opening up Windows photo viewer and doing them one by one...upon pushing the rotate button it appears to work. The picture rotates. But if I click next or try to close the window and have it save I get the message, "Windows Photo Viewer cannot save the changes to this picture because there's a problem with the picture's file properties."


Any idea what might be going on or how I can fix this? Thank you in advance for anyone who can offer me any assistance in this matter. Your time is greatly appreciated.

iPhone 4, iOS 4.3.3

Posted on Dec 7, 2011 11:19 AM

Reply
17 replies

Dec 7, 2011 11:33 AM in response to Krahnin

Camera orientation information is contained in EXIF metadata which some software still ignores.


You have an EXIF problem, as well as a file and folder permissions problem, which is a separate issue.


Apple and Adobe, along with many others, are following the EXIF metadata policy of all the major camera manufacturers.


For more detail of this subject look at

http://www.impulseadventure.com/photo/exif-orientation.html

May 22, 2012 4:54 AM in response to Krahnin

I can rotate pictures of objects or scenery but not people. The 4S has face recognition so I'm guessing it has a slightly different format with some extra information when the photo contains a face. Windows doesn't handle this new format. Photos without a face are in the same format as earlier iPhones.


BTW - rotating and saving in Paint will result in a loss of quality. JPEG is lossy and everytime it gets uncompressed and recompressed you lose something.

May 22, 2012 2:40 PM in response to Krahnin

Solved it! It's the EXIF tag "Region Type" = Face. If you remove that tag the photos will rotate in Windows Photo Viewer.

Here's how I did it.


Download exiftool from http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/

Extract and run from the command line. Here are some examples:

exiftool -RegionType= IMG_0050.JPG

exiftool -RegionType= IMG_0050.JPG

First example is a single file, second one is a whole directory.


You'll need to have exiftool.exe in a directory in the search path or put the full path in front of it. If that is to technical for you, search for another tool.

May 30, 2012 7:24 AM in response to Krahnin

I have found that pictures taken on the iPad 3 have the same problem, in that for some pictures, but not all (and I have yet to decipher what file property is causing the issue) can be rotated but cannot be saved, and gives the message "windows photo viewer can't save the changes to this picture because there is a problem with the pictures file properties". Hopefully Apple will issue a fix soon!

Jul 29, 2012 3:22 PM in response to westedge

That msg is because exiftool is not in a directory that windows looks in. Three options: 1 specify the directory in the command, c:/whatever/exiftool 2. Put exiftool in a directory that windows looks in, eg c:/Windows/. 3 from the DOS prompt, change directory to the one that has exiftool and run from there, eg CD /users/you/pictures (if that is where you put the program).

Sep 9, 2012 7:08 AM in response to Krahnin

I appreciate this is a windows problem but that is very poor from the biggest company in the world. So what does this mean all the photos I have taken are useless???? Even some of my videos are at an angle and have copied onto my pc on a 90 degree angle. Surly there is a fix for this it’s been months. Why don’t apply allow is to take of the face recognition setting. It’s not as if I can’t figure out to point the camera at someone’s face. The solution may be on this thread but I’m an average Joe and need this in plain English.

Oct 8, 2012 4:43 AM in response to Krahnin

Another EXIF tag that causes the same problem in Windows is "Has Crop". If you edit your photo on your iPhone or iPad and crop it then Apple will add this tag. In fact, I think that they don't actually crop any pixels off your photo, just define a smaller desplay size for it. There are a bunch of other tags associated with cropping but after removing only the "Has Crop" tag, I was able to rotate the photo in Windows 7. Same technique as above with exiftool eg, exiftool -HasCrop= img_0656.jpg etc.

iPhone 4s pictures won't rotate after being transferred to the computer?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.