How to Transfer Photos from iCloud to PC

With iCloud, you can wirelessly sync photos, videos, contacts, and more across your devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, and PC. But what if you want to move iCloud photos to your PC, how can you download photos from iCloud to PC? Here I'd like to show you how to download photos from iCloud to PC, which allows you to view iCloud photos easily on PC and free up your iCloud space.

Note: All the tips below are also applicable to accessing and viewing iCloud photos on PC.

Method 1. How to Download Photos from iCloud to PC Selectively

If you have enabled Photos apps in the "Settings" > "[Apple ID]" > "iCloud" > "APPS USING ICLOUD" on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod, all the photos and video on your iPhone/iPad/iPod will be synced to iCloud, as long as you have enough available iCloud storage. If you want to download some photos from iCloud to your PC, you can get this done on iCloud.com.

On iCloud.com, you can access and view all your iCloud photos. Besides, you are also able to download iCloud photos to PC, upload photos to iCloud from PC or share iCloud photos.

To move photos from iCloud to PC:

Step 1. On your PC, open a browser and visit iCloud.com.

Step 2. Sign in with the Apple ID that you use on the device from which you sync photos to iCloud. If you have enabled two-factor authentication, allow the sign-in and enter the code you get on your iPhone.

Step 3. After the login, you will see a list of options. Click "Photos" to load photos you've synced from your iDevices to iCloud, even photos in the "Recently Deleted" folder.

Step 4. Select the photos you want to download or move from iCloud to PC and click the "Download selected items" icon to download photos from iCloud to your PC. You can use the shortcut keys "Ctrl+A" to select all photos in one folder.

If you have limited and small iCloud storage available, you can delete these photos after you've downloaded them from iCloud to PC, so as to sync new photos and videos on your iPhone.

Method 2. How to Download iCloud Photos to PC All at Once

If you have a large number of photos in different albums or folders, though you can select all photos in one folder, it will take you a long time and multiple operations to download all photos from iCloud to your computer. Under such a condition, you can use the iCloud control panel (iCloud application on Windows) to move all photos from iCloud to PC at one time.

To download all photos from iCloud to PC automatically:

Step 1. Download and install iCloud for Windows on your computer.

Step 2. Open the iCloud control panel and sign in.

Step 3. Click "Options" next to Photos and check "iCloud Photo Library" and "Download new photos and videos to my PC." You can customize the location where the iCloud photos are downloaded to. Then click "Done"  and "Apply."

Step 4.. Afterward, right click on the iCloud icon in the status bar and choose "Download Photos," then click to choose all photos and start downloading. All the new photos and videos will be downloaded to your PC automatically, in a location like \Pictures\iCloud Photos\Downloads.

If you encounter the issue "iCloud photos not syncing," go to the related guide for workable fixes or follow the method below to transfer photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod directly without iCloud. By enabling iCloud Photos on your iOS device, you can also transfer photos from iCloud to iPhone easily.

Bonus Tip: How to Transfer Photos from iPhone/iPad to PC Directly

A stable and fast network connection on your device and enough iCloud storage are required to sync and download photos from iCloud to PC successfully. Maybe it would be easier for you to transfer photos to PC from iPhone/iPad/iPod directly. 

With the iPhone transfer software tool - EaseUS MobiMover, you can download photos and videos from your iDevice to your computer or vice versa. No matter if you want to transfer certain photos or all photos on iPhone to PC, EaseUS MobiMover gets the work done fast and stable. Once you install it on your PC, all operations can be taken without a network.

To transfer photos from iPhone, iPad, or iPod to PC directly:

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to your computer running Windows 7 and later or Mac OS X 10.7 and later. Launch EaseUS MobiMover, choose "Phone to PC" on the main screen and click the "Next" button to move on. 

Step 2. Select the "Pictures" category as you want to copy from your iPhone to your computer. It's the right choice for you to transfer other supported file types together with photos from your iPhone to the computer to make a backup. 

Step 3. Click the "Transfer" button to start transferring photos from your iPhone to the computer. Depending on the size of the files, it may take seconds or a while to import pictures from your iPhone to your computer. Wait patiently for the process to finish and check the items in the selected folder after that.

As EaseUS MobiMover transfers photos from iOS devices to PC via a USB cable, the transfer speed is much faster than wireless sync and more stable. Furthermore, you don't need to worry about the insuffficient iCloud storage issue when sending photos to a PC from iPhone. If how to transfer photos to PC has been a headache for you for a long time, why not try EaseUS MobiMover. 

The Bottom Line

It is convenient for us to automatically sync photos on iPhone to iCloud. However, it is hard for us to check and view them on iCloud. So downloading iCloud photos to PC is good method for us. With the two ways introduced above, you can easily download photos from iCloud to PC. But if you prefer a direct and efficient way to transfer photos from iPhone to PC, you can try the iPhone data transfer tool EaseUS MObiMover.