File Transfer - iPhone to Mac

Jail breaking is a hack of the device. If you go that route, your warranty is voided and Apple will no longer support your device. You also face the risk of getting a virus on the phone. Jail breaking is not to be discussed on these forums either.

There are plenty of ways to send files from the phone to a computer. You can use DropBox, you can email files, you can use iCloud and iOS file sharing. There are also apps that allow you to connect the device to the computer to transfer files.

Have you done any research at all?

Jailbraking is not allowed to be discussed here, it violates Apples terms & can compromise security on your device. Seek info elsewhere if you want to go that route.

You probably don't need to jailbrake, depending on what files you want to access & the reason why you want to access them. iOS backs up user data & apps to a Mac/ PC via iTunes. There are many third party apps that can read the backup export files & other data, such as http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/

You can also access some applications files on the device via iTunes, connect the device & view the apps sync tab, then select the apps in the 'File Sharing' section. Apps need this to be setup to support this, so only some apps allow this access.

Another option is to save files into Dropbox or any other online service.

If you are hoping to tweak or view system files then you are out of luck, it would break one of the ways Apple secure iOS. Please explain more about what you want to do to get better help.

The app is iTunes.

About File Sharing on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

You haven't answered the questions about what files you hope to access, so you can only view data within a select apps in the file sharing section of iTunes.

You could try a file manager like these…

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/file-manager-free/id479295290?mt=8

http://www.leawo.com/ios-file-manager/

iOS can be picky with the types of files it can download, you may have trouble with disk images and files iOS doesn't read but those apps should handle some of the common formats. Search around to see if there are file manager apps that add extra supported formats to iOS, there may be one that can handle disk images, I'm not sure if Apple allow developers to define what files can be handled.

adam79 wrote:

I have no access to Internet/wifi where I'm living, so hotspotting my phone is the only way I can get online w/ my MacBook...so I'm limited to the data on my phone plan. There are times when there's an update to certain software on my computer that can be over a GB. I don't have my laptop on me at all times, and it's a hassle to bring it places. I'd like the ability to download these updates to my phone, when I'm in a location with wifi, and then transfer said file to my computer when I get back home.

That's not something you're going to be able to do with an iPhone (and, probably not with an Android, either). You can only download software from the App Store. You can't download software using a browser. Apple has a very good reason for this: it means that it's difficult verging on impossible to download malware to your iPhone. This makes it a fairly secure phone.

You can download PDFs and photos through a browser and transfer them fairly easily.

Adam,

First please do not jailbreak your phone. I strongly advise against it.

I would suggest buying a wireless USB drive like the one below. You can then transfer files to your Mac easily but not software, just ordinary files like documents and PDFs.

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SDWS2-064G-E57-Connect-Wireless-Smartphones/dp/B00 H4BBWGY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=144159050…

Ever heard of AirDrop on both OS X and iOS?

Use AirDrop to send files from your Mac to another nearby Mac or iOS device - Apple Support

AirDrop requires Wi-Fi. It uses Bluetooth for discovery and Wi-Fi to transfer the files.

You need to have WIFI capability but not a WIFI NETWORK. The devices will connect via wifi amongst themselves with no need of a wifi network.

Meg St._Clair wrote:

adam79 wrote:

I have no access to Internet/wifi where I'm living, so hotspotting my phone is the only way I can get online w/ my MacBook...so I'm limited to the data on my phone plan. There are times when there's an update to certain software on my computer that can be over a GB. I don't have my laptop on me at all times, and it's a hassle to bring it places. I'd like the ability to download these updates to my phone, when I'm in a location with wifi, and then transfer said file to my computer when I get back home.

That's not something you're going to be able to do with an iPhone (and, probably not with an Android, either). You can only download software from the App Store. You can't download software using a browser. Apple has a very good reason for this: it means that it's difficult verging on impossible to download malware to your iPhone. This makes it a fairly secure phone.

That's not true Meg, the OP wants to download OS X updates via iOS which can be achieved.

iOS can download zips & some common formats for packaged software updates. Sadly Apple do browser detection on iOS & prevent it downloading Apple updates from support.apple.com/downloads. I did manage to use iOS to download the Quicktime installer for Windows, which ships as an '.exe'. I also grabbed a '.dmg' on iOS via the same method…

You have to spoof a 'desktop' browser to view the download link on Apple.com (Dolphin browser or many others do it). Then paste that into GoodReaders 'Enter URL' download feature. Frankly this is a mess that has been created by Apple, who exactly is this helping? The files do not execute or open on iOS so it is seems inaccurate to say it is because of security.

Android can download whatever you want & organise it in your own folder structure.

GoodReader is intended for reading & handling many document types, adam79 take a look at that too…

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goodreader/id777310222?mt=8

Drew Reece wrote:

Frankly this is a mess that has been created by Apple, who exactly is this helping? The files do not execute or open on iOS so it is seems inaccurate to say it is because of security.

No, it is because of security. Anything you download to the device, in theory, represents a security risk. Keeping them isolated minimizes risks. I agree that an .exe file is a minimal risk. That is, of course, if it really is an .exe file. If you get it from Apple, probably safe enough. And that's probably why your work around works. It's not too big a danger. And, I admit, I was thinking about how most software is updated these days: through the software itself.

GoodReader is a nice piece of software. I've used it extensively for document handling. PDF Expert is another one of my favorites.

Felipe,

Thank you, you are right. The ad-hoc capability is all that would be needed. There are threads on this forum (and others) reporting difficulties with file size. I could not find any limits on the Apple instructions, but I found several references stating that while 1-2 GBs work well, anything above 8 tends to create issues. I have never sent anything that large, most of my transfers are smaller documents or photos. Are you aware of any limitations?

Carlos