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how to unlock iPhone 6 to upload to iphoto

I plugged my iPhone 6 to my desktop mac and tried to upload the photos to iPhoto.

However the phone keeps buzzing and there is a message on the desktop that the photos cannot be imported as the device is locked with a passcode.

You need to unlock the device to import them.
Device? Is that the phone to the desktop?

How do I do this?

iMac (27-inch, Late 2013), OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Nov 16, 2014 2:10 PM

Reply
27 replies

Aug 15, 2017 11:59 PM in response to Pinar Ustun

Hi Pinar Ustun,

Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities.

I see that your iPhone isn't recognized by Photos or your iMac when you try to import pictures into your Photos library. You've tried several good troubleshooting steps already. Since the same thing happens in a new Photos library, try importing pictures using Image Capture--Image Capture: Transfer images and other items from your device.

If the same thing happens with Image Capture, I recommend trying to import the pictures on a different computer as mentioned in If you can't import photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer:

If the same issue occurs on a different computer, restore the device and set it up as new.

If you need to restore your iPhone, you can back it up using iCloud so you wont lose your latest pictures. Another option would be turning on iCloud Photo Library. For help with these steps, see How to back up your devices using iCloud or iTunes and iCloud Photo Library FAQ.

Sincerely.

Jan 24, 2017 2:08 PM in response to AllenW1

Thanks, AllenW1! Your posts were extremely helpful and I agree; while I've been more than happy with Apple's products (my MacBook is over 8 years old and still kicking), the software updates have all but rendered my laptop a relic. All things considered, I'll still be going to the Apple store for a new computer soon.

Apr 24, 2017 7:22 PM in response to AllenW1

Allen

Your reply was right on target. I just had this happen with the latest update on my iphone as I was no longer able to transfer pictures from my phone to my desktop (presumably because I need to update my desktop system). But having been a Mac user for over 25 years, I now believe that Apple is quite aware of the impact of how various system updates force users to spend more on related software or upgrade hardware for relatively little technological gain. Searching for the fix for this problem alone, one runs into a plethora of frustrated mac users attempting to solve the same issue with Apple shedding no light on the subject. Once upon a time, Apple was known for it's customer support and more importantly emphasizing that their customers could problem solve many of the software conflicts with just a bit of needed direction. There was a relationship based on belief that Apple and their customer base shared a mutual respect for each other. Those days are unfortunately long gone.

Sep 13, 2017 10:19 AM in response to Pinar Ustun

Same problem here; I have the phone plugged into the machine, it's open to the home screen, itunes + iphoto open automatically, the phone asked me if I want to trust the computer or not, I hit "trust", and nothing. Re-opened itunes + iphoto, same prompts, nothing happens.


The two dialogs I see:

"""

Photos in the Camera Roll of "<my iphone>" cannot be

imported because the device is locked with a passcode.

You must unlock the device to import them.


Itunes could not connect to the iPhone "<my iphone>"

because an invalid response was received from the device.

"""


So frustrating, I need to just get a movie I shot off the thing.


Seriously considering turning off the room light, aiming a video camera at the iphone screen and rephotographing the video off the screen using a minijack cable to catch the audio just so I can move forward. Arggh!!

Sep 13, 2017 10:45 AM in response to AllenW1

I might be having the same problem, though the error dialogs are not telling me it's a problem with the OS being too old. My OS is 10.7.5 and I'm not upgrading the machine; it'd break many programs I have installed that won't work on the newer OS's.


I've never had luck with "AirDrop", but if you're lucky enough to make it work, perhaps that's an option; on the computer: Finder -> Go -> AirDrop, and on the iphone: Photos -> pic image -> Hit the little icon at the lower left (what is that thing, a box with an arrow pointing out of it? "Sharing" maybe? When I hit it, the screen doesn't say what it is.. UI problem Apple), then the "AirDrop" option should be below the image/video selected. Supposedly this would let you transfer the item to the computer, but in my case neither side sees the other, even though both computer and iphone successfully connect to the local wifi router. (shrug)

Oct 26, 2016 6:01 AM in response to Pinar Ustun

This happened to me when I installed the latest OS update to my iPhone 6. The phone will now no longer connect to iPhoto or iTunes on my MacBook Pro because its operating system is not compatible with the new iPhone OS. My MacBook Pro has Mad OS X 10.7.5; the computer's OS must be at least 10.9 or higher. So my only option is to have Apple upgrade the computer to that or to the current state-of-the-art OS, Sierra.


The only other solution is to e-mail the photos to yourself, then drop & drag them into iPhoto. Not the end of the world, to be sure, but this should not have happened. Apple should have provided a way to override that aspect of the new iPhone software and permit users to continue transferring photos directly into the computer.


Frankly, I think this reflects very badly on Apple, a company I have come to trust. Apple should not keep pushing owners to upgrade their devices without first explaining what the effects of that will be. Had I known this new iPhone 6 OS would have created this problem, I would not have bothered upgrading it. Now I can no longer store my iPhone photos in my computer and will have to delete them once the iPhone's storage capacity is reached. I can't even email them to myself because the iPhone says they are too large a file and I should put them in a dropbox.

how to unlock iPhone 6 to upload to iphoto

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