[Solved] iPhone Photos Not Showing Up on PC? Quick Solutions Here! (Windows & Mac)

2020-10-28 18:45:01 / Posted by Brandon Wood to iOS Devices Tips
Follow @Coolmuster

"This just started happening over the past 2 weeks, iPhone is up to date and PC is Windows 7 Pro, all updates on it are fine. But when they connect, the photos are not syncing and only report that a small number of new photos on the phone can be imported. Used Explorer to browse the photo folder, rebooted phone and PC, tried other PC and USB port thing, nothing worked. How to fix this??"

- Excerpted from iPhone & iPad community

iPhone photos not showing up on PC seems to have been reported by many users recently. If you get into this difficulty when trying to export photos to computer, don't panic, we will teach you how to fix this problem in this article.

Part 1. Why Are iPhone Photos Not Showing up on PC?
Part 2. How to Fix the Problem "iPhone Photos Not Showing up on Computer" Quickly?
Part 3. Can't See iPhone Photos on PC? The Ultimate Way to Access iPhone Photos on Computer

Part 1. Why Are iPhone Photos Not Showing up on PC?

Here is a list of factors that have caused iPhone not showing all photos on computer:

1. USB cable is damaged or you are not using a genuine USB cord.
2. The Camera Roll folder on iPhone is empty.
3. You have ever moved Photos folder to somewhere else, and iTunes cannot find it.
4. You have enabled the security lock, since disabling the security lock did solve "iPhone photos not showing up on PC".
5. The USB port on your computer is not working well or malfunctioning.
6. The iOS version on your iPhone needs updating.
7. You do not trust this computer on your iPhone, which has prevented the computer from recognizing your iPhone successfully.
8. Other possible reasons, like software problem, virus, malware and incompatibility.

Part 2. How to Fix the Problem "iPhone Photos Not Showing up on Computer" Quickly?

However, this is not the end of the world when you can't view iPhone photos on PC. The following tips are proved to be useful to show up iPhone photos on PC.

Simply check these fixes out:

On Windows PC:

Option 1. Restart your iPhone and your Windows PC

This is the easiest way to show up photos, and sometimes it does solve the problem of iPhone photos not showing up on PC Windows 10/8/7.

Option 2. Make sure that you have authorized your computer

Connect iPhone to computer with USB cable, then tap Trust on iPhone when Trust This Computer pops up on the screen > click the menu bar in iTunes window > Account > Authorizations > Authorize This Computer > Enter your username and password.

Option 3. Update your iPhone and computer to the latest operating system

If you find not all iPhone photos showing up on PC, you can update your iPhone and computer with the steps shown below:

Update your iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Software Update > Click Install Now if there is a new iOS update after it automatically checks for updates.

Update your Windows PC: Click Start (the Windows icon) from the left side of the Taskbar > Settings > Update & Security > Click Check for Updates. If a new update is there, follow the on-screen instructions to update it.

Option 4. Try a different USB port or cable to reconnect your iPhone and computer

Option 5. Enable Windows AutoPlay to import photos from iPhone Camera Roll to PC directly

Press the Windows + I keys to open Settings > Devices > AutoPlay > Turn on Use AotoPlay for all media devices.

Option 6. Fix iPhone DCIM not showing all photos

To fix this problem, you can try trusting your computer with the steps in Option 2. Besides, if your iPhone is locked when iPhone DCIM folder not showing up on computer, you can unplug your iPhone, unlock it and connect it to the computer again.

Apart from this, here are other tips to fix iPhone DCIM not showing photos on PC:

1. Reset Location and Privacy on iPhone:

• Open Settings > General > Reset > Reset Location & Privacy
• Enter your iPhone passcode in the pop-up window > Tap Reset Settings.
• Then connect your iPhone to computer, authorize it, unplug and re-plug the USB cable to it.

2. Uninstall and reinstall iTunes on your computer Windows 10:

• Open Search box from the Taskbar or press Windows + R keys to run it > Enter devmgmt.msc > Hit Enter key > Find Apple Mobile Device USB Driver to uninstall it.

• After that, go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
• Find Bonjour, Apple Application Support, Apple Mobile Device Support and Apple Software Update > Uninstall all of them > Uninstall iTunes.
• Reinstall iTunes > Connect iPhone to PC.

Option 7. Reinstall Apple Drivers

When you connect your iPhone to computer for the first time, Apple will automatically install the USB drivers. In most cases, Apple Drivers may result in iPhone not showing all photos on PC.

Follow these steps to reinstall Apple Drivers on Windows:

• Right-click My Computer > Select Manage > Device Manager > Universal Series Bus Controllers.
• Then right-click Apple Mobile Device USB Driver and hit Enable if there is a warning mark on it.

• Remove iPhone from PC and reconnect > Open C: > Program Files > Common Files > Apple > Mobile Device Support > Drivers.
• Right-click on the file named usbaapl64.inf or usbaapl.inf.
• Click Insert to reinstall Apple's Windows Drivers.
• Reconnect iPhone to computer with a USB cable.
• Hit Import Photos and Videos form the AutoPlay pop-up window to show up iPhone photos.

Option 8. Check the iCloud Settings

• Tap Settings on your iPhone > Head to Photos & Camera.
• Go to Optimize iPhone Storage > Check if Optimize iPhone Storage is enabled.

Turning on Optimize iPhone Storage will automatically upload photos to iCloud. To bring back the missing photos, you need to download them to your computer:

• On your computer, visit iCloud.com from a browser > Sign in with the same Apple ID and password that you used on your iPhone.
• Click Photos > Select the last backup file and all desired photos > Tap Download.

Tips: If you are using Firefox browser to download photos on your computer, make sure to choose the Save setting for all of this kind of option for the pop-up window, or the download notification will appear for every photo.

Option 9. Restore iPhone with iTunes

• Launch iTunes on your computer > Connect your iPhone to computer with a USB cable.
• Select iPhone icon from the upper left corner > Click Restore backup... from the Backups section.
• Choose the most relevant backup file.
• Tap Restore and wait until the syncing process is complete.

Note that your iPhone must keep connected before the syncing process is over.

On Mac:

Generally, iPhone photos not showing up on Mac seldom happens. But if you can't access photos on iPhone from computer suddenly, you can try the following solutions:

1. Restart your iPhone or Mac computer.
2. Reconnect your iPhone to your Mac.
3. Use another Apple USB cord or another USB port.
4. Contact Apple Support Team.

Part 3. Can't See iPhone Photos on PC? The Ultimate Way to Access iPhone Photos on Computer

Can't access photos on iPhone from PC and want the easiest and safest way to import photos from iPhone to PC? Coolmuster iOS Assistant is the ultimate solution for you. It enables you to sync, view, manage iOS data on computer without using iTunes. You can easily preview and export all files or selected single item from iPhone/iPad/iPod to computer or iTunes default location for backup, or delete photos, import eBooks, contacts and other files from iDevices on computer directly.

Coolmuster iOS Assistant supports various types of files, like contacts, messages, photos, videos, music, notes, bookmarks, eBooks, calendars, apps, etc. and all generations of iPhone/iPad/iPod (iOS 14 included), such as iPhone 12/SE (2nd generation)/11/11 Pro/11 Pro Max/XS Max/XS/XR/X/8/8 Plus/7 Plus/7/SE (1st generation)/6S Plus/6S/6/6 Plus/5S/5C/5/4S/4, etc.

Notes: Adding new notes on iPhone is not supported in iOS 10 or later versions due to the strengthening of iOS security firmware.

Here is how to access iPhone photos on PC with Coolmuster iOS Assistant:

1. Install and launch Coolmuster iOS Assistant on your computer.

2. Connect your iPhone to computer with a USB cable. Click Trust option on your iPhone if Trust This Computer pops up and then tap Continue on this program to move on. Once your device is detected by this program, you will see the main interface as below.

3. Import photos from iPhone to PC. Click Photos from the left panel, preview and select the photos you want to transfer and hit Export button on the top menu.

You may like:

How to transfer music from iPhone 12 to computer effectively

How to back up and restore iPhone with or without iTunes

Wrapping Up

iPhone photos not showing up on PC is a very common issue when connecting iPhone to computer. If you run into this snag, you can adopt the above approaches to fix this problem. You can also utilize Coolmuster iOS Assistant to view and import photos from iPhone to PC directly. This useful software is extremely easy, secure, fast and user-friendly.

If you have better ways regarding this issue, welcome to share your opinions with us. Or, if you get into difficulties when using, feel free to let us know by leaving a comment below.

Related Articles:

[Complete Guide]Photos Disappeared from iPhone? Here Are the Reasons & 9 Solutions

How Can I Delete Photos from iPhone But Not iCloud? [Solved]

[Fixed] How to Transfer Photo Albums from iPhone 12 to PC with Ease?

[Solved] How to Turn iOS Device into AirPlay Receiver

How to Fix iPhone Won't Connect to Mac? (Most Comprehensive)

Fixed: Can't Import Photos from iPhone to PC (Windows 10/8/7)