Need to get 5000 photos from my husbands iphone
July 19, 2015 5:07 PM Subscribe
My husband recently passed away. He has over 5000 photos on his iphone that I need to get onto my computer.
I can access his icloud but he does not have iphoto library set up and I get a message saying if I set it up, it will remove 5000+ photos. Does this mean permanently or just moving them from the phone to the cloud? Will I then be able to drag them over to my computer?
I tried doing a share folder with my phone but I only got about 20 photos that way.
Is there something else I should do? I can't lose these pictures!
Help please
I can access his icloud but he does not have iphoto library set up and I get a message saying if I set it up, it will remove 5000+ photos. Does this mean permanently or just moving them from the phone to the cloud? Will I then be able to drag them over to my computer?
I tried doing a share folder with my phone but I only got about 20 photos that way.
Is there something else I should do? I can't lose these pictures!
Help please
If the computer is a Mac, you can do this very easily by running the "image capture" program that is already on the computer. Connect the phone, run image capture, and you'll see everything. Just choose where you want to save them, and click import.
If it's a PC, I don't have personal experience doing this, but there are instructions linked here.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:20 PM on July 19, 2015 [7 favorites]
If it's a PC, I don't have personal experience doing this, but there are instructions linked here.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:20 PM on July 19, 2015 [7 favorites]
I'm sorry to hear of your loss.
And yes, there is an easy way for you to transfer the images.
Typically, you can plug an iPhone into a computer and have it show up as a camera. This will give you a much faster way to transfer over the photos than to try and use the cloud.
If you are using a Mac, you can plug the phone into the computer and then open the application "Image Capture" which is a pre-insalled Apple application for transferring photos from devices. When you open the application, you should see the phone on the left side pane. At the bottom, you should uncheck "delete after import" just to be safe.
On the bottom, you can choose the location on your computer where you want to import the photos (for example, make a folder on your desktop for all of these images). And then once that is all set, you can select "import all" on the bottom right.
A couple things:
- If some of the most recent options like "icloud photo library" have been used, you may not see some of these options at the bottom (for example, I think the delete option disappears).
- Occasionally, I have found that the import process will stall on certain images when importing large numbers. I'm not quite sure what causes this, so I have had to unplug and start this over before. So, if you check and see that it seems to be stuck on one image for a long time, just unplug the device and start again. That usually solves it.
- If you are using a Windows machine, there should be a similar import process, but I don't know the steps there as well.
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 5:20 PM on July 19, 2015
And yes, there is an easy way for you to transfer the images.
Typically, you can plug an iPhone into a computer and have it show up as a camera. This will give you a much faster way to transfer over the photos than to try and use the cloud.
If you are using a Mac, you can plug the phone into the computer and then open the application "Image Capture" which is a pre-insalled Apple application for transferring photos from devices. When you open the application, you should see the phone on the left side pane. At the bottom, you should uncheck "delete after import" just to be safe.
On the bottom, you can choose the location on your computer where you want to import the photos (for example, make a folder on your desktop for all of these images). And then once that is all set, you can select "import all" on the bottom right.
A couple things:
- If some of the most recent options like "icloud photo library" have been used, you may not see some of these options at the bottom (for example, I think the delete option disappears).
- Occasionally, I have found that the import process will stall on certain images when importing large numbers. I'm not quite sure what causes this, so I have had to unplug and start this over before. So, if you check and see that it seems to be stuck on one image for a long time, just unplug the device and start again. That usually solves it.
- If you are using a Windows machine, there should be a similar import process, but I don't know the steps there as well.
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 5:20 PM on July 19, 2015
I'm sorry for your loss.
In case Image Capture does not let you access the images for some reason (perhaps because he used a non-standard photo app on his phone that does not put the images where Image Capture looks for them), I have experience using the improbably-named iFunbox to copy images from iPhones. The program's interface is ugly but it's not too hard to figure out and it does work.
posted by StrawberryPie at 5:25 PM on July 19, 2015
In case Image Capture does not let you access the images for some reason (perhaps because he used a non-standard photo app on his phone that does not put the images where Image Capture looks for them), I have experience using the improbably-named iFunbox to copy images from iPhones. The program's interface is ugly but it's not too hard to figure out and it does work.
posted by StrawberryPie at 5:25 PM on July 19, 2015
Go to an Apple store. Tell them your situation. This is the sort of thing that they love being able to help with.
posted by Sophont at 5:29 PM on July 19, 2015 [18 favorites]
posted by Sophont at 5:29 PM on July 19, 2015 [18 favorites]
Can you clarify wherher he had a mac or PC and what of computer you have?
If you have a PC, you should be able to plug it into that and the phone will show up as harddrive you can copy the photos off of.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:36 PM on July 19, 2015
If you have a PC, you should be able to plug it into that and the phone will show up as harddrive you can copy the photos off of.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:36 PM on July 19, 2015
Response by poster: I have a PC so did he. When I plugged his phone into my pc it did not just show up as a usb device. It wants me to open itunes. But won't it then sync over, causing me to lose everything?
posted by mismatchedsock at 5:58 PM on July 19, 2015
posted by mismatchedsock at 5:58 PM on July 19, 2015
Are you anywhere near an Apple store? I am fairly well conversant with technology but am myself sort of baffled by the weird conflicting things my photo library tells me, and under your circumstances, that is where I'd go.
Otherwise I'd call - pay if you have to - Apple support.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:03 PM on July 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Otherwise I'd call - pay if you have to - Apple support.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:03 PM on July 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Oh and time is of the essence here. Long story short, I wasn't working, he lost his job and was applying for disability. I was taking care of him so couldn't work. Now he's gone and no disability and no unemployment and no life insurance since that was through his job.
I am selling the phone to get a little cash. My daughter will get something from SSA I think, she's 16, but it could be a while.
So I can't buy a program to do this. Thanks for your help!
posted by mismatchedsock at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2015
I am selling the phone to get a little cash. My daughter will get something from SSA I think, she's 16, but it could be a while.
So I can't buy a program to do this. Thanks for your help!
posted by mismatchedsock at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2015
Follow the instructions for importing images from an iphone to a PC from here. I just did it recently, and it worked fine. Use the instructions for whatever OS you have.
posted by clone boulevard at 6:09 PM on July 19, 2015
posted by clone boulevard at 6:09 PM on July 19, 2015
Also, so sorry for your loss!
posted by clone boulevard at 6:13 PM on July 19, 2015
posted by clone boulevard at 6:13 PM on July 19, 2015
When you first connect your iphone to your PC, the phone will ask you "do you trust this computer?" You need to say yes to that before you can view the device or move any photos.
When I connect my device to my PC and look at it with file manager application the phone shows up as Apple iphone under the "This PC" section (I'm running Windows 8.1). From there, just keep clicking through: Internal Storage to DCIM to the file folder (alpha numeric name).
If you're still really, really stuck and are willing to trust unknown people from the Internet, I'm sure somebody would be willing to do it for you remotely if you allow them access to your system via a log-me-in type of application. Or conversely, let us know what city you're in and I'm sure somebody will offer to come by and offer in-home, one-time tech support.
posted by sardonyx at 6:54 PM on July 19, 2015
When I connect my device to my PC and look at it with file manager application the phone shows up as Apple iphone under the "This PC" section (I'm running Windows 8.1). From there, just keep clicking through: Internal Storage to DCIM to the file folder (alpha numeric name).
If you're still really, really stuck and are willing to trust unknown people from the Internet, I'm sure somebody would be willing to do it for you remotely if you allow them access to your system via a log-me-in type of application. Or conversely, let us know what city you're in and I'm sure somebody will offer to come by and offer in-home, one-time tech support.
posted by sardonyx at 6:54 PM on July 19, 2015
If you're comfortable disclosing your location, I imagine a MeFite could come over and do this. And maybe bring a casserole too.
posted by k8t at 7:06 PM on July 19, 2015 [19 favorites]
posted by k8t at 7:06 PM on July 19, 2015 [19 favorites]
Sometimes iPhones don't show up as accessible drives on PCs due to USB driver issues. Deleting and reinstalling them from the control panel may fix the issue. Google can give you more info.
posted by prize bull octorok at 8:19 PM on July 19, 2015
posted by prize bull octorok at 8:19 PM on July 19, 2015
I'm so sorry for your loss.
If none of the suggestions above work: did he by any chance have his iPhone set up to sync photos to Google Drive, Dropbox, or another cloud service that you have access to? If not, and you don't have any objections to using cloud storage, try installing one of those apps on his phone (if you have access to his iCloud, I think you should be able to sign in to his app store account too). Sign into the app under your own Google or Dropbox account and set it up to sync over wifi. Google Drive gives you 15gb free, so that's probably your best option.
Install the Windows app on your computer too. If 15gb isn't enough space, you can sync whatever will fit, move them out of the Google Drive folder and onto your hard drive, then sync the rest.
Instructions for syncing photos to Google here.
posted by kiripin at 11:56 PM on July 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
If none of the suggestions above work: did he by any chance have his iPhone set up to sync photos to Google Drive, Dropbox, or another cloud service that you have access to? If not, and you don't have any objections to using cloud storage, try installing one of those apps on his phone (if you have access to his iCloud, I think you should be able to sign in to his app store account too). Sign into the app under your own Google or Dropbox account and set it up to sync over wifi. Google Drive gives you 15gb free, so that's probably your best option.
Install the Windows app on your computer too. If 15gb isn't enough space, you can sync whatever will fit, move them out of the Google Drive folder and onto your hard drive, then sync the rest.
Instructions for syncing photos to Google here.
posted by kiripin at 11:56 PM on July 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm also very sorry for your loss. I imagine that with the stress you're under, the thing to do is as suggested above - go to the Apple Store. It shouldn't cost anything and it will be one less thing for you to deal with.
posted by MexicanYenta at 10:53 AM on July 20, 2015
posted by MexicanYenta at 10:53 AM on July 20, 2015
I'm terribly sorry for your loss.
I had forgotten my passcode for my iPhone, and I worried about losing my photos. I did two things: first I found a program that allowed me to extract the photos from my backed up data, and then I plugged in my phone in to my PC and it was recognized as a camera, with full access to even more photos, even without unlocking my phone or marking that I trusted the computer from my iPhone. I honestly don't know what changed from the previous times I plugged my phone into a couple different PCs, but I'll try to recreate that and update you on what I did exactly.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:23 AM on July 20, 2015
I had forgotten my passcode for my iPhone, and I worried about losing my photos. I did two things: first I found a program that allowed me to extract the photos from my backed up data, and then I plugged in my phone in to my PC and it was recognized as a camera, with full access to even more photos, even without unlocking my phone or marking that I trusted the computer from my iPhone. I honestly don't know what changed from the previous times I plugged my phone into a couple different PCs, but I'll try to recreate that and update you on what I did exactly.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:23 AM on July 20, 2015
Picasa will let you import pics to a PC quickly. You should be able to plug the phone in and stop iTunes from syncing. Then open Picasa and find Import on the menu. When I just plug my phone in, there are lots of folders and I can't just copy all the folders over including the pics. I can copy groups of files but not folders.
posted by soelo at 9:57 PM on July 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by soelo at 9:57 PM on July 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
Also, iTunes won't start syncing if this phone hasn't been plugged in to this PC before. It will ask you if you want erase the phone settings and you will say no. Even if it did start, you will have time to stop it from syncing. If it doesn't work to use Picasa and you have home wifi, both Flickr and Google Photos will sync all phone pics to an account if you install the app on the phone.
posted by soelo at 9:59 PM on July 20, 2015
posted by soelo at 9:59 PM on July 20, 2015
OK, back at home. I plugged my iPhone 5c into my (ancient) Windows Vista laptop. I opened Windows Explorer to browse files right when I plugged my phone in, and I saw "filthy light thief's iPhone" appear as a camera, as well as getting the usual USB device prompt ("do you want to open the drive, sync files, etc"), and then iTunes opened, too. I can still browse through the 4 folders with 100s of photos in each. While I can't get information on the four folders together, I can open an individual folder and get information on all the photos stored inside, as well as copy them elsewhere.
And because you want to sell this, here's the Apple page for What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
Best of luck in all you're going through right now, and if you happen to be in my neck of the woods, give a shout and I'll help as best I can, like many other MeFites would, I expect.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:11 AM on July 21, 2015
And because you want to sell this, here's the Apple page for What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
Best of luck in all you're going through right now, and if you happen to be in my neck of the woods, give a shout and I'll help as best I can, like many other MeFites would, I expect.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:11 AM on July 21, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you plug his phone into your computer, does it show up as a drive? You can copy the entire folder to your computer, though it will take some time for 5000 photos.
posted by desjardins at 5:13 PM on July 19, 2015 [1 favorite]