Device & account security

How to transfer photos and files from your phone to a laptop (Android & iPhone)

By Iulian · Published 15 June 2026

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Getting your photos and files off your phone and onto a laptop is the simplest, cheapest backup there is — a second copy of the things you’d be heartbroken to lose. It’s also the first thing to do before you sell, recycle or reset a phone. Here’s how to do it by cable or wirelessly, on both Android and iPhone. Pick whichever matches your kit.

The quickest way: a USB cable

A cable is the most reliable method — no accounts, no internet, and it’s fastest when you’ve got a lot of photos.

Android → Windows laptop

  1. Plug your phone into the laptop with its charging cable.
  2. On the phone, tap the “Charging this device via USB” notification and choose File transfer (sometimes shown as MTP).
  3. On the laptop, open File Explorer → This PC → your phone → Internal storage → DCIM — that’s where photos live. Drag the folders you want onto your laptop.

Android → Mac

Macs can’t read an Android by cable on their own. The easiest route is wireless with Google Photos (below). If you’d rather use a cable, install Google’s free Android File Transfer app on the Mac, plug in, and drag from the DCIM folder.

iPhone → Windows laptop

  1. Plug the iPhone in and unlock it; tap Trust if asked.
  2. Open the Photos app in Windows and choose Import — or browse File Explorer → Apple iPhone → Internal Storage → DCIM and copy them by hand.

iPhone → Mac

  1. Plug in and unlock the iPhone.
  2. The Photos app should open (or open it yourself), select your phone under Devices, and click Import. For just a few photos, AirDrop is even quicker — no cable at all.

No cable? Go wireless

  • Google Photos (any phone). Let it back up your photos, then open photos.google.com on the laptop and download what you want. Free up to 15GB across your Google account.
  • iCloud (iPhone). Turn on iCloud Photos, then use iCloud for Windows or iCloud.com on the laptop. 5GB free, with cheap paid tiers.
  • AirDrop (iPhone → Mac). Instant for a handful of files, nothing to set up.
  • A cloud drive or even email handles the odd file: Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, or just email it to yourself.

One-off or ongoing? For a single batch — a holiday's worth of photos — a cable is fastest. For an automatic copy you never have to think about, switch on Google Photos or iCloud and forget about it.

Make it a real backup, not just a move

Copying photos to one laptop is a great start, but a laptop can die or be stolen too. Treat the laptop copy as one of several, and keep a cloud copy as well. That’s the whole idea behind the simple 3-2-1 backup rule: more than one copy, in more than one place.

Doing this before selling or recycling a phone? Move everything off first, then follow how to wipe a phone or laptop before you sell it so none of your photos or signed-in accounts go to the next owner.

A couple of safety notes

  • On a shared or work laptop, don’t leave personal photos behind — copy them to a drive you keep, then remove them from the shared machine.
  • Public computers (libraries, hotels) are never the place to plug your phone in or sign into your cloud account.

Once your photos are safely on your laptop and in the cloud, a lost or broken phone can’t take your memories with it. If the worst does happen, here’s what to do if your phone is lost or stolen. More in our devices and accounts section.