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I am trying to import photos from my iPhone 5s on to my MacBook. However Photos will only recognize new photos even though I have hundreds that have not been imported onto Photos or iPhoto. Image Capture will also not recognize other photos on my phone. I have no idea how to work AirDrop and am completely at a loss as to how to get my photos off my phone and onto my computer.
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch,Early 2015)
Apple always took great pride in it's device that talk seamlessly to each other. The fact of the matter is it seems like since the passing of Steve Jobs apple doesn't take pride anymore and this stuff doesn't work like it is suppose to. I wish apple would stop making excuses and fix their issues.
One thing is the errors messages is not legit. Check the space on your laptop to see if you have enough. Also delete your trash can. That may help.
That's a great question, Alicia. I've lost precious photos myself and always want to make sure they're safe now.
I'm sure you've seen these instructions before, but it also includes information on how you can share photos over all of your devices using iCloud Photo Library. Import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
If these are photos that you've already imported, with your iPhone connected to your MacBook Pro and the Photos app open, beneath the "Import All New Photos" button on the upper-right, you should see a toggle for "Show All". When you click that, it will display all of the photos that are located on your iPhone. You'll just need to select the ones you want to import then click the "Import # Selected" button where the "#" shows how many photos you've chosen to import.
AirDrop is also an excellent way to transfer those photos from your iPhone to your Mac. How to use AirDrop with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
Let me know if that's helped. Thanks!
I opened the link you provided, and let me explain why these systems do not work and do not answer my question. Firstly, I cannot use iCloud Photo Library because it exceeds the storage I have. And before you suggest just purchasing more iCloud storage, I don't want to. I'm trying to upload these photos to be stored on my computer (and then my external hard drive back up). I take a lot of photos. I really don't feel like paying money to store them, when they can be stored on my laptop. Secondly, when I open Photos it will not recognize my photos on my iPhone. Only "new" photos and I have no idea how the program determines this. Currently with my iPhone plugged in, it looks like this:
I don't even know what these are supposed to be, but Photos tells me that whatever this images are they cannot be imported. I had the exact same response from image capture.
As for AirDrop, I can't figure it out. I don't even slightly understand how to make it compatible with my computer.
These are not photos that I have already imported. They are photos I WANT to import. Photos from last summer even. Photos I took a few days ago. My computer isn't recognizing them. I can no longer get my phone to even share them through photos, which I used at first back when I asked this question when I was trying to determine how to get my graduations off my phone and on my computer.
This answer wasn't helpful. At all. So far my only solution has been texting or emailing photos to myself and then importing them to Photos through the messaging app on my app. iPhoto was not that great of an app, but at least I could import photos. Now they seem to be stuck on my phone with no way to get to my laptop, so that I can save them and delete the photos from my phone to clear up some space.
I know I'm delayed in responding to your answer, and I appreciate the attempt to help me solve my problem. I hadn't really concerned myself with this issue until today when again I am becoming frustrating with my phone and computer not doing the seemingly basic task of importing photos (which I was always able to do SO easily beforehand). I'm getting really frustrated with Apple.
Hi SnickZ, please note that I am a Level 6 helper here. The Apple article you posted about importing photos has a defect. The Windows 7 & 8 links work properly but the Windows 10 link does not, it redirects to a download site for Windows Essentials which is not needed to import pictures. The W10 Photos App or the Import Wizard can handle this without additional downloads. I suggest you pass this to the PTB so they can edit. Thanks.
Hi Alicia, what format are your photos on, JPGs or RAW?
What version of OS X are you using (10.11.6 ?). If you have not, update all including the Camera Raw files.
Can you see the photos properly in Camera Roll?
The best way to import photos in 10.11.6 is with Image Capture. If you are unable to see Import All or it does not allow you, I will try to summon léonie, one of our Mac Photos expert to see if she can help. 🙂
I'm not exactly sure what format they are. I want to say JPEG because that's what they were recognized as in the screenshot I posted earlier, but those photos also weren't being recognized for import. They're just photos I've been taking with the camera on my iPhone, if that helps you figure it out. I'm using OS X version 10.10.5.
I did also attempt to use AirDrop, but it just kept failing between my laptop and iPhone.
I've opened image capture and have previously used it on an iPhone and digital camera before. However, the crux of the issue remains that "old" photos I have taken, ranging from a year ago to a week ago, are not being recognized by image capture or Photos when I plug my iPhone in. They only recognize "new" photos, i.e. a screenshot I had taken a few hours before plugging my phone into my computer. So I have photos from last Fourth of July and last weekend that are too "old" to be recognized for a new import.
If you took the pictures with the iPhone they are JPGs so no problems with that format.
Are you really on OS X 10.10.5 like you said or is it 10.11.5?
If 10.10.5 I would try updating to the latest, 10.11.6.
Image Capture should allow you to see all the pictures, not just the new ones. This post may be of interest:
Re-Importing Photos with Image Capture
Also I have tried to contact léonie but so far to no avail. I'll check if others are willing to help.
It seems like the only solution you are offering is to update my laptop? I know you said image capture should work, but it isn't. It won't recognize old photos on my phone. My photos aren't always "downloaded" due to me wanting to maximize space on my phone. (I am hesitant about the word choice, because I know they're not in my iCloud library due to the limited about amount of storage) But even when they are downloaded, neither Photos nor Image Capture will recognize them.
I don't actually see solutions in the link you sent me.
I'm torn because I know I could due the boring and tedious job of texting or emailing myself photos I want to save, or should I consider going to the Apple Store so that they can try and figure out why my laptop and phone have a disconnect. I just refuse to believe that updating is the only option to fix the problem. There seems to be some fundamental flaw within Photos and Image Capture or some setting in my phone that is preventing from making this an easy transition. I never struggled with iPhoto like this, but even when I attempted to use iPhoto it also would not recognize "old" photos on my phone.
Photos and Image Capture can only import photos that are in the camera roll on you iPhone.
So please check, if the photos are in your camera roll album, or if your older photos have perhaps been synced to your iPhone using iTunes.
And Photos and Image Capture cannot import from iCloud. Just to get this out of the way, check the Settings > iCloud > Photos & Camera. Did you accidentally or intentionally enable iCloud Photo Library with the option "Optimize Storage"? Then you will get random results when you try to import. Only the photos you most recently looked at and downloaded from iCloud will be showing up in the Import panel.
If you are using iCloud, are you connected to a fast Wi-Fi?
Also I have tried to contact léonie but so far to no avail. I'll check if others are willing to help.
Sorry, I've been traveling and attending conference, where had not much opportunity to look at the ASC pages.
Thanks léonie... 🙂
I don't even know what these are supposed to be, but Photos tells me that whatever this images are they cannot be imported. I had the exact same response from image capture.
The grey squares in the Import panel are the icons of empty albums.
I changed around my iCloud settings and downloaded the photos to my camera roll. I thought I had been download some photos, but I was wrong. Thank you!
Okay I thought it was solving my problem, but I've only been able to get certain photos of my phone. For example, all screenshots or photos I download off the internet are not showing up to be imported, and I'm not even totally sure if they're being downloaded to my phone? It won't let me send them as a text message to myself.
I can't even tell if my photos are in a camera roll album because none of the albums on my phone are even called "camera roll." I don't know why because I know that it used to be that way, and I have no idea when this changed.
I turned the Optimize Storage option off, but there are still a lot of photos that I thought I had downloaded (I was literally going through my photo album, viewing each photo so that it would download) that didn't show up in the import option.
I'm just connected to my home wifi when I'm trying to do this.
Okay, I don't really understand why it's showing up like that. I don't make albums on my camera roll. Also when Photos showed only some of my photos from my phone, Image Capture would still show none.
Photos will not import iPhone photos
