How to transfer photos from iphone to external drive

Now you want to copy over the photos, videos, and songs taking up space on your iPhone/iPad for safe storage. However, iOS is a closed system, which makes data transfer not that easy. When connecting iPhone/iPad to computer, you are not allowed to copy and paste files to external hard drive directly.

But fortunately, the situation has changed since iOS 13 & iPadOS 13: iPhone and iPad now support external hard drives and flash drives. That means you can move files freely between the external hard drive and iPhone or iPad without computer!

Own an old iPad? Don’t worry, you can transfer data from iPhone or iPad to external hard drive with third-party transfer tool. Besides, you can also take advantage of cloud storage services to achieve the transfer. Keep reading to learn more.

Part 1. How to Transfer Files from iPhone/iPad to External Hard Drive without Computer

There are 2 ways that can help you transfer files from iPhone or iPad to external hard drive without computer.

● For an iPhone or iPad with iOS 13 and later, you can rely on Files app to transfer needed files.
● If not, you can try cloud storage services like Google Drive to transfer files in an indirect way.

Transfer Files from iPhone/iPad to External Hard Drive without Computer - Files App

Requirements

• iPhone with iOS 13+, iPad with iPadOS 13

• The external hard drive needs to be formatted to ExFAT, FAT32, HSF+, or APFS.

You can transfer files from third-party apps to external hard drive directly. Here we take transferring photos from iPad to external hard drive as an example.

1. Connect your external hard drive to your iPad.

- If you have a 2018 (or later) iPad Pro with a USB-C port and have a USB-C flash drive, just plug in the flash drive to your iPad.

- If it is another model of iPad or iPhone, you should use a Lightning to USB adapter to connect any USB flash drive.

2. Go to Photos app > Choose the pictures you want to transfer > Click Share button > Tap Save to Files.

3. Choose your external hard drive > Select a folder to save your pictures > Tap Save.

Transfer Files from iPhone/iPad to External Hard Drive without Computer - Google Drive

Files stored in the cloud can be accessed on any device. We can take advantage of this feature to achieve iPhone/iPad to external hard drive transfer. First upload files to Google Drive on iPhone/iPad > Then download files on computer > Finally copy files to external hard drive. Here we take Google Drive as an example.

On iPhone/iPad: Download Google Drive > Open the app and sign in >Tap the “+” icon > Tap Upload > Tap Photos and Videos > Select the pictures or videos you want to upload to Google Drive.

On computer: Open a browser and go to Google Drive website > Download files on computer > Copy and paste files to external hard drive.

Part 2. Transfer Files from iPhone/iPad to External Hard Drive via FoneTool

You can transfer data from iPhone/iPad to external hard drive without computer, but the above two methods have disadvantages.

If you want to use Files app you transfer files, the iPhone/iPad should run on iOS 13 and later and you may need to buy something like Apple’s Lightning to USB-3 Camera Adapter in order to get it to work. As for Google Drive, it offers limited cloud storage space.

So here come’s another way to help you transfer files from iPhone/iPad to external hard drive via USB connection. The professional iOS data transfer tool FoneTool can help you save photos, videos, songs, contacts, messages and more from iPhone/iPad to external hard drive directly.

Steps to Transfer Data from iPhone/iPad to External Hard Drive

Download, install and launch FoneTool. It supports all iPhone/iPad models including the latest iPhone 14/13/12, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2022.

1. Open FoneTool > Connect iPhone/iPad to computer via USB cable > Enter passcode on iPhone/iPad Home screen.

2. Click iPhone to PC option.

3. Click the “+” icon > Choose the photos, songs or videos you want to transfer > Click OK to continue.

4. Choose your external hard drive as the destination from Transfer Settings > Click  Start Transfer to start.

FoneTool also allows you to backup the whole iPhone/iPad to external hard drive. Simply click Phone Backup > Selective Backup and choose the files you want to backup. If you accidentally lost any data on iPhone/iPad, you can restore the backup files to device and it will not erase any existing data.

Conclusion

That’s all about how to transfer files from iPhone/iPad to external hard drive. If you want to transfer files without computer, you can let Files app or Google Drive make it. If you have a computer at hand, you can rely on FoneTool to transfer files to external hard drive via USB connection.

By Gina Barrow, Last updated: October 18, 2022

You accumulate data every day on your mobile phone and this data can’t be stored forever on your iPhone. You must transfer them to another device to free some space and ensure that your phone is still in good condition.

There are many ways on how to backup your data, you can use iCloud, iTunes, and other sources but today, we will show you how to import photos from iPhone to external hard drive.

Why use an external hard drive? Because it has more than enough space to offer than your iPhone or your iCloud and iTunes backup.

Part 1. The Easiest Way to Import Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive (Simple Clicks)Part 2. How to Import Photos from iPhone to the External Hard Drive without A ComputerPart 3. Import Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive via Windows Photos AppPart 4. Use iCloud to Import Photos from the iPhone to the External Hard DrivePart 5. Import Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive via Image Capture on MacPart 6. Summary

Part 1. The Easiest Way to Import Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive (Simple Clicks)

If you browse the internet, you will be amazed by the many programs available that cater to iOS needs, particularly the demand for transfer software.

It has always been a call from iOS users asking for a dedicated program that could help them manage their files easily and more conveniently than the standard features offered by Apple.

So this is where FoneDog Phone Transfer was conceptualized. It was developed to fill in the gap that’s been there for a long time. FoneDog Phone Transfer provides users with the best transfer option among iOS devices, android, and the computer, and vice versa.

It offers a free trial for everyone to try all the features and you get to transfer some files for free during the trial period. Try it for free now:

Phone Transfer Transfer files among iOS, Android and Windows PC. Transfer and backup text messages, contacts, photos, video, music on computer easily. Fully compatible with the latest iOS and Android. Free Download

This software comes with a user-friendly interface that lets you transfer a multitude of files from iOS to iOS or any other device without data loss. To use FoneDog Phone Transfer to implement how to import photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive, check out the easy steps below:

1. Download, install and open FoneDog Phone Transfer on your computer.
2. Connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cable.
3. Click Photos and mark the pictures to import.
4. Click the ‘Export to’ and select your External Hard drive.
5. When the import process is done, disconnect the iPhone.

Part 2. How to Import Photos from iPhone to the External Hard Drive without A Computer

iOS 8 and later devices now fully support portable external hard drives. And with the aid of a lightning cable, you can import photos from the iPhone to your external hard drive easily.

Find out how to do it:

1. Using your lightning cable, connect your iPhone to your external hard drive
2. Confirm that your iPhone is connected by clicking on the Files app and then clicking Browse
3. Navigate to your Photos app and choose the ones you want to transfer. Tap Share. This will transfer the selected picture to the Files app
4. From the files app page, select your external hard drive to save the pictures

Part 3. Import Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive via Windows Photos App

Later versions of Windows (8 and 10) included the Photos app. This app allows you to manage and import photos from a folder or a USB device to a PC.

Check out how to import photos from iPhone to external hard drive using Photos App:

1. Connect the iPhone and the external hard drive to the computer. Make sure that both devices are recognized and your computer must be running on Windows 8 or later.
2. If received on the iPhone, tap Allow when asked to Trust this computer
3. Open the Photos app on your computer and click Import from a USB Device. This will prompt the Photos app to search for pictures on the iPhone
4. Navigate and mark all the photos you wish to import
5. Go to Import Settings and select Change the import destination. Set a specific location on the external hard drive. Click Done
6. Click Import Selected to initiate the transfer of photos from the iPhone to the external hard drive

Part 4. Use iCloud to Import Photos from the iPhone to the External Hard Drive

You might be surprised but your iCloud can let you import the photos from your iPhone to the external hard drive. How? Let’s first set up iCloud Photos on the iPhone. Follow the complete guide below:

1. On your iPhone, enable iCloud Photos. Head to Settings and then iCloud. Select Photos and toggle on iCloud Photos.
2. Get iCloud for Windows on your computer. Sign in using the same Apple ID.
3. After successful download, select the Options button next to Photos and check the box beside iCloud Photo Library. Also, tick the box for ‘Download new photos and videos to my PC’.
4. Then under "Download new photos and videos to my PC" click Change and set the default location as your external hard drive.
5. Click Done and click Apply.

Wait for the sync to be completed. Your iPhone photos will now be imported to the external hard drive.

Part 5. Import Photos from iPhone to External Hard Drive via Image Capture on Mac

If you are using Mac, you can also swiftly learn how to import photos from iPhone to external hard drive using the Image Capture app. The Image Capture app lets you upload media files from other digital sources such as cameras.

Check out how to use Image Capture to import iPhone photos to the external hard drive;

1. Connect your devices, the iPhone, and the external hard drive to your Mac with a USB cable. Again, make sure they are recognized
2. Open Image Capture and select your iPhone from the Devices list
3. Select the Import To dialogue box and choose to save the pictures to your external hard drive
4. Click either Import to select a few or Import All

People Also Read6 Methods: How Do I Transfer Photos from iPhone to PC Windows 103 Easy Ways to Transfer Photos from iPhone 8 to iPhone 11

Part 6. Summary

There are many more ways on how to import photos from iPhone to external hard drive but we gathered the top 5 options. We made sure that you can perform the import on both Windows and Mac computers.

Of course, among the options, FoneDog Phone Transfer is so far the easiest and most convenient way. It has all the required tools that any iOS device could ask for. The software is also designed to provide hassle-free transfer options across various devices including iOS, Android, and computer.