Most of us store thousands of pictures and videos on our iPhones. If you want to create a bulletproof backup, you need to know how to transfer photos from iPhone to an external hard drive, SSD or flash drive. It’s easy, assuming you have the right software and (and possibly an adapter).
How to transfer photos from iPhone to an external hard drive
Apple provides multiple ways to back up the pics and vids on your iPhone. They can transfer to your Mac or Windows PC when you sync your handset, and/or go to iCloud if you pay for enough storage space. But you might also be interested in a third option: You can copy all your photos directly from an iPhone to an external drive.
This method lets you easily make interim backups on the fly. Suppose you’re on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation hiking through Yellowstone National Park. With the push of a button, you can copy all the pictures you take each day onto a flash drive so you lose the minimum number of fabulous photos if something disastrous happens to your iPhone.
You might also need to free up storage space on your iPhone while on a trip. If you find yourself in that situation, you can copy your photos and videos directly from your iPhone to an external drive, then delete them from your handset. The app I recommend can do that automatically.
Or you might be like me. I use an iPad as my primary computer. And what I’m about to describe is the easiest way for me to save all my pictures onto an SSD.
Back up iPhone photos to an external drive: Works with Lightning, easier with USB-C
It’s easy to transfer all your photos from an iPhone or iPad to an external drive if your device comes with a USB-C port. (iPhones switched from Lightning to USB-C in 2023 with the iPhone 15 lineup.) If your iPhone comes with a Lightning port, plugging in a standard external drive proves a bit of a challenge. You’ll need Apple’s Lightning to USB 3 Adapter ($39). This lets Apple’s handset access the contents of a flash drive through the Files app.
If you’re lucky enough to have a device with a USB-C port, you can simply connect the iPhone or iPad to an SSD or flash drive using a standard USB-C data cable. Once you connect the hardware, check the Files app to be sure the external drive shows up. If it isn’t there, something went wrong. Disconnect the devices and try again.
The app I use to easily transfer images and videos from an iPhone or iPad to an SSD or flash drive is OWC Copy That Mobile. The basic version is free. You can unlock additional features for $2.99. I recommend you pay that very modest amount.
Specify what types of files to back up
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
After connecting the devices, you can start the easy transfer of photos from your iPhone to the external hard drive. Open the OWC Copy That Mobile app, then tap on Photos Library. This will open a pop-up window where you can specify the types of files you want to copy. (Options include: Photos, Videos, Screenshots and Selfies.) Tap to select or unselect the file types you want to transfer from your iPhone to the external drive.
Below that you will find an option to Include Files in iCloud. (Note: This option only appears in the full, for-pay version of the OWC Copy That Mobile app. If you stick with the free version, you won’t get your complete photo collection — just the ones on your iPhone right now.)
You also will see the option to specify a date range to pull pictures and images from. (Again, this feature is only available in the for-pay version.)
After you do the necessary configuration, tap on Done in the upper right-hand corner of the pop-up window.
Select where to save the photos and other files
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
On the main screen of OWC Copy That Mobile, tap on Select a destination. That will open a pop-up that lets you specify where to send the files. That requires you to click on another link labeled Select a destination.
On the resulting screen, tap on Browse at the lower-right corner to see a list of available drives. Find the drive you connected to your iPhone. Tap on its name, then hit the Open button in the upper-right corner of the display.
On this same pop-up, you will see the option to Group files into folders… if you pay for the app.
Now hit the Done button to close this window.
Make a verified copy if your images are important
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Back on the OWC Copy That Mobile home screen, tap on Fast copy. You’ll get another pop-up with the choice of Fast copy or Verified copy if you paid for OWC’s software. You should really choose the second option if you are moving around precious images.
This is a good opportunity for me to urge you once again to pay $3 to get valuable features. Seriously, we should all support developers who write quality software like this app.
After you decide, hit the Done button to close this window.
Deal with duplicates and finalize your file backup
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Back on the home screen of OWC Copy That Mobile, tap on Skip existing files. That opens yet another pop-up, this one with the choice of copying over, ignoring or making duplicates of files from previous backups you made onto this same drive.
Pick your poison, then hit the Done button to return to the home screen.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
And you’re ready to go. Tap on the big, blue Copy That button at the bottom of the screen.
Now be patient. You probably just began moving hundreds if not thousands of files — gigabytes of data — from your iPhone to the external drive. The process could easily take a long time. Fortunately, OWC’s application keeps you constantly updated on what it’s doing, so you won’t be left wondering if it locked up in the middle of the transfer.
When the app finishes making a backup of photos and videos from your iPhone or iPad, you have an external drive you can stick somewhere secure. Maybe even a safety deposit box or a fireproof safe.
See, I told you it would be easy, mostly thanks to OWC Copy That Mobile.
We originally published this post on how to transfer photos from iPhone to an external hard drive on May 12, 2023. We updated the information.
