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Send and receive full-resolution photos between an Android device and an iPhone in minutes
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Whether you’re trying to share photos with a friend or transfer your camera roll to a new phone, you might be wondering about the best way to get photos from an Android device to an iPhone. While you can always email them , that’s not the only option. This wikiHow teaches you how to share photos from an Android phone or tablet to an iPhone.
Easiest Ways to Send Photos from Android to iPhone
- If you’re transferring your entire photo gallery to a new iPhone, use the Move to iOS app.
- You can also set up an iCloud account or use a similar cloud service to sync your photos between devices.
- To send photos from your Android to a contact who uses iPhone, try sharing photos in Google Photos or Dropbox. Or, try a third-party messaging app.
Steps
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Install Move to iOS on your Android device. Move to iOS is an Android app developed by Apple. It’s designed to help you easily transfer data, including photos, from an Android phone or tablet to an iPhone or other iOS device. This is a great option if you want to quickly and easily move your entire photo library to a new iPhone from your Android. [1] X Research source
- If you’re unable to download Move to iOS from the Google Play store, you can download the APK from the Apple website and install it manually .
- Only use this method if you’re setting up a new iPhone. If your iPhone is already set up, you’ll have to erase it and start over in order to do this.
- Before you start, look at the specs for your new iPhone and make sure it has enough space for all the photos and any other files you want to move over.
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Plug in your Android and your iPhone. The devices will both need to be connected to power and placed close to each other for the transfer to work.
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Turn on your new iPhone and select Set Up Without Another Device . Follow the prompts on your screen to begin setting up your new iPhone.
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Select From Android on the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen. Partway through the setup process, you’ll be offered the option to transfer apps and data from a backup or another device. Select From Android .
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Open the Move to iOS app on your Android. Tap Continue .
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Agree to the terms and conditions. Once you’ve read through the terms and conditions on the next screen, tap Agree .
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Select how to share app data with Apple. You’ll be given the option to automatically send app data or not send it. Make your selection to continue.
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Enable location and notification permissions if prompted. Tap Continue after you make each selection.
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Tap Continue on your iPhone. At this point, you should see a Move from Android screen on your iPhone. Tap Continue . A 6-digit code will appear on the screen.
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Enter the code on your Android. When the code appears on your iPhone screen, enter it on your Android device.
- You may get an alert from your Android that you have a weak internet connection, but you can ignore this warning.
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Connect to the temporary Wi-Fi network on your Android when prompted. Your iPhone will create a temporary Wi-Fi network to make the transfer. Tap Connect on your Android to join it.
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Select the content you want to transfer. On your Android, select your photos, videos, and any other content you want to move over to your new iPhone. When you’re done, tap Continue . It may take a while for the transfer to finish, especially if you’re moving a lot of data.
- Wait until both devices show that the transfer is complete before moving or unplugging either one.
- Once the transfer is finished, tap Done on your Android and finish setting up your iPhone .
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Connect your Android to a computer . To move a large number of photos from an Android to an iPhone without having to set up your iPhone from scratch, use a computer to make the transfer. To get started, plug your Android into a computer using a USB cable.
- If you’re using a PC, you won’t need to install any special apps to get the files off your Android.
- Unfortunately, the official Android File Transfer app for moving files from an Android to a Mac is no longer available. However, you can install an alternative like AirDroid , SHAREit , LocalSend , OpenMTP .
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Open your phone’s Camera folder. On a PC, locate your Android in File Explorer, then go to DCIM > Camera . You should see all the photos and videos on your camera roll.
- On a Mac, open your chosen Android file manager app and locate the DCIM > Camera folder.
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Copy the photos you want to transfer onto your computer. Select the photos you want to move and drag them to a folder on your computer. You can also copy and paste them.
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Disconnect your Android from your computer.
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Check that there’s enough storage on your iPhone. If you’re transferring a lot of photos and videos, there will need to be space on your iPhone. You can check by going to Settings > General > iPhone Storage . A graph showing your total amount of storage, along with how much storage is currently used up, is displayed at the top of the screen.
- If you need to, take a moment to free up some space before you continue.
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Plug your iPhone into your computer. If you’re prompted to trust the computer after you unlock your iPhone, select Trust . The app you’ll need to complete the next steps depends on what kind of computer and OS you’re using.
- If you have a Windows PC, download the Apple Devices app .
- If you have a Mac running Catalina or later, you’ll use Finder.
- For a Mac running Mojave or earlier, use iTunes.
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Sync your photos to your iPhone. Take the following steps, depending on your computer:
- Windows PC:
[2]
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- Open the Apple Devices app and select your iPhone in the sidebar.
- Select Photos in the sidebar, then click the Sync Photos to your device from checkbox. Choose the location where you saved your Android photos from the popup menu.
- Choose All folders to sync from all sub-folders in your selected location, or Selected folders to pick and choose sub-folders.
- Select whether you want to include videos.
- Click Apply . Once the transfer is done, click the Eject button in the sidebar, then unplug your iPhone.
- Mac (Catalina or later):
[3]
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Research source
- Locate your iPhone in the Finder sidebar and click on it.
- Click the Photos tab.
- Click the checkbox next to Sync photos to your device from , then select the folder where your Android photos are saved. You can also select whether to sync all the photos in your selected location, or only those in certain albums or sub-folders.
- Click Apply . If the syncing process doesn’t immediately start, click Sync .
- Mac (Mojave or earlier):
[4]
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- Open iTunes and click your iPhone’s icon in the upper left corner.
- Select Photos in the sidebar.
- Click the checkbox next to any albums or folders you want to sync.
- Click Apply in the bottom right corner. If syncing doesn’t start right away, click Sync .
- Windows PC:
[2]
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Make sure iCloud Photos is enabled on your iPhone. Go to Settings > [your name] and tap iCloud . Tap Photos , then toggle on the switch next to Sync this iPhone . [5] X Research source
- This method will make it easy to transfer photos between your Android and iPhone using the cloud.
- If you don’t have an iCloud account, create one now . You might also need to upgrade your iCloud storage if you need to transfer a lot of photos.
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Log into iCloud on your Android device. In your web browser on Android, go to https://www.icloud.com/ and log in. Use the same Apple ID and password that you use on your iPhone.
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Tap the Photos icon in iCloud. It looks like a rosette with multi-colored petals.
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Tap Upload . You’ll see at the bottom of your gallery of iCloud photos.
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Select the photos you want to upload from your Android. Browser your Android’s photo gallery or camera roll and select as many photos as you like. Once the photos are uploaded, they will be automatically synced to your iPhone.
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Open Google Photos on your Android. It’s the multicolored pinwheel icon that’s typically on the home screen. You may also find it in the app drawer.
- This is a good choice if you want to share your photos with someone else who is an iPhone user, rather than transfer photos from your Android to your own iPhone.
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Tap Sharing . It’s at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
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Tap Create shared album . If you already have shared albums, you may have to scroll down to find it.
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Enter a name for your album.
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Tap Select photos . It’s under the Add photos header.
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Select the photos you want to share. Browse your Android’s gallery and tap any photos you want to add to the shared album. You’ll see a blue checkmark on your selected photos.
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Tap Add . It’s at the top-right corner of the screen. This will add the photos you selected to the album.
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Tap Share . This will be in the top right corner of the album you just created.
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Select any contacts you want to share the album with. Choose the contact with an iPhone you want to send your images to.
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Tap Send . If you want, you can add a message for your contact before sending the link.
- Shared albums can be accessed in the Sharing tab of Google Photos.
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Open Google Photos on your Android. It’s the multicolored pinwheel icon that’s typically on the home screen. You may also find it in the app drawer.
- Use this method if both you and the iPhone user use Google Photos and you want them to be able to access all of your photos without having to share them.
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Tap the Sharing tab. It’s at the bottom of the screen.
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Tap Share with partner . This is a large button that also displays the text Choose to share some or all of your photos automatically .
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Tap Select partner . This will allow you to choose a contact to share your photos with.
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Tap the person you want to share with. If you don’t see this person in the list, type their email address into the blank at the top of the screen instead.
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Choose a starting date. If you want the person to be able to see your photos a certain day forward (but not any photos prior to that), tap Choose starting date and select that day. Otherwise, leave this set to All time .
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Select what you want the partner to access. You can select either All photos or Photos of specific people (if you use face tagging).
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Tap Confirm . It’s the blue button at the bottom of the screen.
- Now you should see a screen confirming that your invitation has been sent. Once your friend accepts the invitation, they can access your Google Photos.
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Upload the images to Dropbox on your Android. If you don’t have Dropbox, you’ll have to download it from the Play Store and create an account. Here’s how to upload photos once you’re set up: [6] X Research source
- Open Dropbox .
- Go to the folder where you want to upload the photos.
- Tap + at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Upload photos or videos .
- Select the photos you want to upload.
- Tap the folder icon, then select the folder you want to upload to.
- Tap Set location .
- Tap Upload . The photos are now in your Dropbox, ready to be shared.
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Go to the folder where you uploaded the photos. If you want to share the whole folder, don’t open it—just bring it up on the screen. [7] X Research source
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Tap ⋮ next to the file or folder.
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Tap Share .
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Tap +Invite . Or, if you’re just sharing a single image file, tap Invite to file .
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Enter the email address of the person you’re sharing with. This should be an email address the person with the iPhone can access from their phone.
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Select Can view from the “These people” menu.
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Type a message (optional). You can include some words with the photos if you wish.
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Tap Share . The person you shared with will receive an email message informing them of how to access the photos.
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Download an internet-based messaging app to your Android. If you’re just trying to text a few photos to a friend, you’ve probably experienced the frustrating side effect of losing image quality in the transfer. Unfortunately, MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) technology, which is how Androids send texts, sends your images in a low-resolution format so they don’t look nearly as good as the originals. To get around this, use an internet-based messaging app. Some popular options include:
- Facebook Messenger
- Telegram
- Signal
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Make sure the person you’re sending to has the same app. In order for your contact to get your messages, they’ll need to sign up for the same service. Ask them to download your chosen app, then connect with them so they’re in your contacts.
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Share your photos using the app. While some of these apps automatically send your photos at full quality, others may require some simple workarounds or tweaks to the settings. For example:
- If you’re using WhatsApp, send your photos as documents rather than as images from your gallery, or they will be compressed. You can also increase your image quality by going to ⋮ > Settings > Storage and Data > Photo Upload Quality and selecting Best quality .
- On Telegram, send your photos as files.
- On Signal, go to ⋮ > Settings > Data and storage > Sent media quality > High .
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References
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/118670
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/devices-windows/sync-photos-to-your-device-mchl4af095d3/windows
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102375
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/108347
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/108782
- ↑ https://help.dropbox.com/create-upload/upload-mobile
- ↑ https://help.dropbox.com/share/share-files-mobile
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