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How do I transfer photos from my PC to my iPhone 5S using iTunes 12.1.2 and iOS 8.3

I have found many youtube videos on this, but they all show the options of selecting my iPhone in iTunes, then selecting the photos tab across the top. It seems in the new iTunes this is not how it is displayed. Instead it displays down the left. I clicked on the photos tab under my iPhone in iTunes, but the only option is a message to say "iCloud photos is on, Sarah's iPhone can access photos in the iCloud. Photos can be downloaded to your device via WiFi or cellular." In the far bottom corner there is a sync button, but no choice as to what and from where it is being synced.

I do have iCloud on my computer, and I tried accessing that and dragging a video from my pictures collection into it, via the shared folder, the photo stream folder and the uploads folder, but to no avail.


I am not familiar with Mac. I have never been as proficient with my iPhone as I was with my Android, but overall I like it. If only things could be simpler!

iPhone 5s, iOS 8.3

Posted on May 6, 2015 1:59 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on May 9, 2015 9:12 PM

Hi Sarah,


Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities.


It sounds like you want to sync pictures from your PC to your iPhone 5S using iTunes, but you see a message that iCloud Photo Library is turned on.


If you turn off iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone, you will be able to sync photos using iTunes. Here's how to turn off iCloud Photo Library:

You can turn off iCloud Photo Library for a single iOS device when you go to Settings > iCloud > Photos and turn off iCloud Photo Library.


See this link for more information about iCloud Photo Library:


Get help with your iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support


This article has more detailed steps on syncing your content using iTunes:


Sync your iPhone, iPad, and iPod with iTunes using USB - Apple Support


If you want to keep iCloud Photo Library turned on, you can upload pictures from your PC to your photo library by visiting iCloud.com. Here's how (from the first article mentioned above):

You can upload JPEG photos using the Photos app on iCloud.com:

  1. Sign in to iCloud with the same Apple ID you use for iCloud Photo Library.
  2. Click iCloud Photo Library.
  3. Click Upload.
  4. Select the photos you want to upload.
  5. Click OK.


Sincerely,


Jeremy

4 replies
Question marked as Best reply

May 9, 2015 9:12 PM in response to Sarah the Novice

Hi Sarah,


Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities.


It sounds like you want to sync pictures from your PC to your iPhone 5S using iTunes, but you see a message that iCloud Photo Library is turned on.


If you turn off iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone, you will be able to sync photos using iTunes. Here's how to turn off iCloud Photo Library:

You can turn off iCloud Photo Library for a single iOS device when you go to Settings > iCloud > Photos and turn off iCloud Photo Library.


See this link for more information about iCloud Photo Library:


Get help with your iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support


This article has more detailed steps on syncing your content using iTunes:


Sync your iPhone, iPad, and iPod with iTunes using USB - Apple Support


If you want to keep iCloud Photo Library turned on, you can upload pictures from your PC to your photo library by visiting iCloud.com. Here's how (from the first article mentioned above):

You can upload JPEG photos using the Photos app on iCloud.com:

  1. Sign in to iCloud with the same Apple ID you use for iCloud Photo Library.
  2. Click iCloud Photo Library.
  3. Click Upload.
  4. Select the photos you want to upload.
  5. Click OK.


Sincerely,


Jeremy

May 9, 2015 9:14 PM in response to jeremy_v

Thanks! I actually fooled around some more right after I posted the question and discovered the iCloud.com route, but it would probably be a lot faster if I just turned off iCloud for a minute, dragged the photos in and then turned it back on. Then I don't have to wait forever for things to upload to the cloud. You'd think they'd make this easier to do!!!

Aug 16, 2015 5:08 AM in response to Sarah the Novice

Before the transfer, you should organize all the photos you want to synced into a folder. In case of data being erased, you'd create a folder specialized in photos transfer. Open iTunes and then plug your iPhone to the computer. Click the photo panel or something like that whatever, tap on "Sync" the entire folder so that you can transfer photos from PC to iPhone 5s.

Aug 16, 2015 5:37 AM in response to Sarah the Novice

Sarah, here is a simpler method that works very well. This is how I do it. Try it, I think you will like it.


1. In your PC’s Windows File Manager create a new folder under My Pictures and name it as you wish, lets say Vacation. That name will be the name that will show up as an Album in your iPad.

2. Delete the iPod Photo Cache folder (if there is one) under My Pictures (iPod is correct, not iPad). A new one gets created with every iTunes sync.

3. Copy, not move, the pictures you want into the Vacation folder one by one in the order you want them displayed on your new iPad Album. (if you don't care about the display order, then copy them all at once)

4) Connect your iPad to your PC. Open iTunes, Click on the iPad icon at the top, Select the Photos tab on the left, Click on Sync Photos, Select the folder/album you want to copy to your iPad and then click Apply/Sync at the bottom.


The pictures you selected will now appear as an Album in your iPad Photos App and they will appear in the order you chose above. This works for iPhones as well.


One more thought... If you later want to delete the pictures, do a new Sync with no folders selected. You can also edit the folder in the PC, add or delete pictures as you wish, and sync it again as per the above. IOS devices have the nasty habit of ordering pictures in their own way and in contrast to PCs or Macs, the order is not easy to change. If you follow the steps above exactly as I described them, the pictures will appear in the order you want.


Hope this helped you, enjoy…. 🙂

How do I transfer photos from my PC to my iPhone 5S using iTunes 12.1.2 and iOS 8.3

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