How-To: Upload your photos into iCloud Photo Library from your iOS device and iCloud.com. Sarah Guarino. If you choose the second option Download and Keep Originals, this will keep the full.
iCloud Photos uploads new photos and videos from your Windows PC so you can view them in the Photos app on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac, and on iCloud.com. New photos that you take automatically download from iCloud Photos and you can choose to download your entire collection by year.
- How to Download Photos from iCloud to Mac or Windows PC the Easy Way. If you want to download photos from iCloud.com you download each photo independently. This is how I downloaded my photos from iCloud to my computer, it is a Windows PC. Based on this experience- first apple decides to turn on iCloud sharing for me when I.
- The iOS Photo Stream feature is a really great way to share photos between friends and family who also have an iPad or iPhone. Each shared Photo Stream and the associated images are kept in iCloud, viewable through the “Shared” tab in the Photos app, where they are cached temporarily as you look at them.
Here's what you need
Before you get started, you need to sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID. Just follow the set up instructions for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch or Mac. Then follow these steps to turn on iCloud Photos on your PC with Windows 7 or later.
Learn more about iCloud system requirements.
Turn on iCloud Photos
- Download iCloud for Windows.
- Open iCloud for Windows.
- Next to Photos, click Options.
- Select iCloud Photo Library.
- Click Done, then click Apply.
- Turn on iCloud Photos on all of your Apple devices.
You can also choose to use My Photo Stream and iCloud Photo Sharing (Shared Albums), and customize the location of your upload and download folders.
When you turn on iCloud Photos on your PC, My Photo Stream is turned off automatically. If you want to send new photos to your devices that don't use iCloud Photos, you can turn My Photo Stream back on.
Upload your photos and videos to iCloud Photos
You can upload your photos and videos from your PC to iCloud Photos when you follow these steps:
- Open a File Explorer window.
- Under Favorites, click iCloud Photos.
- Click Upload photos and videos.
- Choose the photos and videos you want to upload and click Open.
You can also drag and drop photos and videos from your PC into the Uploads folder in iCloud Photos. You can view the photos and videos you uploaded in the Photos app on iCloud.com and on all your Apple devices.
Download Icloud Shared Photos Album
Download your photos and videos from iCloud Photos
New photos and videos you add to iCloud Photos will automatically download to your PC. You can also download your collection by year when you follow these steps:
- Open a File Explorer window.
- Under Favorites, click iCloud Photos.
- Click Download photos and videos.
- Choose the photos and videos you want to download and click Download.
Your photos and videos download to the location you set in iCloud Photos Options.
Learn more
If you need help managing and using iCloud Photos with your Windows PC, you can learn more.
If you want to pull your photos out of Apple's iCloud — say you're tired of spending money on the service, or maybe iOS 11 headaches are pushing you to jump to an Android phone such as the Pixel 2, Note 8 or OnePlus 5T — you've got a few options.
Editor's Note 11/11/2018: The holiday season is here. Make sure to check out our guide to the best iPhone XR Black Friday deals of the season.
Credit: Shutterstock
In terms of replacing iCloud, we'd recommend Google Photos. It offers unlimited storage for photos and videos (though it will downsize them to 16 megapixels and 1080p, respectively) and can be accessed just about anywhere.
Here's the steps you need to take to download your photos and get them into Google Photos, whether you're using a PC, a Mac or if you do everything from your iPhone.
How to Download iCloud Photos On a PC
1. Navigate to the iCloud for Windows page and click Download.
2. Open icloudsetup.exe.
3. Accept the terms of the license agreement.
4. Select Install.
5. Click Yes on this and the following User Account Control prompts.
6. Select Finish.
6. Click Yes to restart.
7. Enter your Apple ID and password and select Sign In. If two-factor authentication is enabled, you'll need to select an Apple device and enter the code send to it.
8. Decide whether to share usage information with Apple.
9. Select Options next to Photos to check your photo settings
10. Make sure the box next to iCloud Photo Library is checked and click Done.
11. Click Apply.
12. Click the Start button.13. Select iCloud Photos under Recently added, as you just installed it.
14. Click Download photos and videos. The first time you do this, you may receive an message telling you to wait for downloads to be available. Come back to try this again in an hour.
15. Check the box next to All, or just the years whose photos you want to download.
16. Click Download.
17. Click Downloads.
Your iCloud Photos will starting downloading onto your PC!
How to Download iCloud Photos on a Mac
If you have a Mac, your best option is to download your library of photos onto it before uploading them to another server. This way you have your own copy of your library. Also, your Mac's hard drive is probably not as space-constrained as your iPhone's.
1. Open Photos
2. Click Photos.
3. Click Preferences.
4. Click iCloud. If you've never used Photos on your Mac, you may need to sign in to your iCloud account here.
5. Select Download Originals to this Mac if it's not already enabled.
6. Close preferences once the update completes.
7. Select Photos.
8. Hit Command + A to select all of your photos. If you don't need all of them, select individual images by clicking while holding Command.
9. Click File.
Download Icloud Photo Album
10. Select Export.
11. Select Export Unmodified Original (to take the original photos you shot) or select Export Items if you edit your iCloud photos and want their current versions.
12. Click Export (below is based on the Unmodified Originals choice)
If you're not exporting the unmodified originals, you'll get lots of options here, but Movie Quality is what you need to pay attention to. Higher is better, of course, but if you're going to use Google Photos and don't intend to pay for storage space, select 1080p.
13. Navigate to a folder and hit Export.
You've gotten your photos out of iCloud!
How to Download iCloud Photos on an iPhone for Google Photos
How To Download Shared Photos From Icloud To Computer
If you're planning to upload to Google Photos, you can make everything simpler and do it all through your iPhone, provided you have enough free space on your phone. When your device uploads to Google Photos, it will be drawing from your iPhone's local storage, not iCloud, so you'll want the highest-quality versions of your photos on your device.
How Do I Download Shared Photos From Icloud To Pc
If you need to clear space on your iPhone to make room for all those photos, check out our 5 Easy Ways to Free Up Storage Space on Your iPhone.
1. In Settings, select Photos & Camera.
2. Enable 'Download and Keep Originals' if it's not already checked enabled. You may need to wait for this process to complete.
3. Download Google Photos on your iPhone.
4. Open Google Photos, and during setup, make sure Back up & sync is set to On.
Now, your photos downloaded from iCloud will start uploading to Google Photos.