Member-only story
Transfer photos from iPhone to external drive with Mac — The fast & easy way.
Apple really, really wants you to use the Photos app to manage your photos. If you just want to back up your photos to an external drive, there is an easier way.
After floundering in the Apple support site, here is the fast and easy way to backup your iPhone photos to an external drive (without using the Mac native Photos app). No additional software required, just your Mac.
1. Connect your iPhone to a Mac or Macbook
This will require your lightning to USB cable that you use to charge your phone. If you are using a newer Macbook which only offers USB-C as a connection port, you will also require a dongle that can connect between your iPhone’s lighting cable and your Macbook (ie. like this one).
**The older USB port that most of us regular folks refer to as ‘USB’ is USB-A. The newer, thinner port that you see on Macbooks and some Android smartphones is called USB-C. There is also a USB-B, but it is not relevant here.**
2. Trust this computer
Your iPhone will ask if you trust this computer. If you do trust the computer you are using (ie. it is your computer and you think it is safe to connect your iPhone to it), then you can go ahead and confirm.
If you don’t trust this computer, you will need to find a computer you do trust before you can continue…
3. Open Image Capture
There is an application on your Mac called Image Capture. You can open it any way you choose. The fastest way is often to press Command + Space Bar to open the search bar and type ‘Image Capture’, which should provide the Image Capture app as a result.
4. Select your iPhone as the device
In the left side bar of the Image Capture app, select your iPhone.
