iPhone Copying photos when “Optimize iPhone Storage” is ON

[Megapickle]

I’m transferring 30,000 photos from my iPhone to a PC. I connect the phone to my PC via lighting cable, and drag-n-drop the photos from the iPhone folder, to a folder on my PC.

Question... if I have “Optimize iPhone Storage“ turned ON, am I copying the full resolution photos to my PC? Or am I only copying a Lo-res version of the photos?

 

[Avarize]

I believe it will download them prior to the transfer similar to if you try to interact with one for any other reason like setting a wallpaper.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I believe there's a possibility it won't be the full resolution as what you're doing isn't an iOS process(?).

You should be able to try a few to see…and let us know.

 

[zorinlynx]

I’m transferring 30,000 photos from my iPhone to a PC. I connect the phone to my PC via lighting cable, and drag-n-drop the photos from the iPhone folder, to a folder on my PC.

Question... if I have “Optimize iPhone Storage“ turned ON, am I copying the full resolution photos to my PC? Or am I only copying a Lo-res version of the photos?

Photos will only show over USB if the full quality original version is downloaded to the device.

As an example, my library has nearly 30,000 photos in it, but when I plug my iPhone into the computer via USB, only about 1,500 photos show up; these are the ones that have the full version downloaded because I've either viewed them zoomed in recently or took them since the last time I restored the phone.

If you use iCloud photo library the most reliable way to download all your photos is to install the iCloud app on your computer and download them through that. Slower than USB but you will get ALL your photos, guaranteed.

 

[Megapickle]

Photos will only show over USB if the full quality original version is downloaded to the device.

As an example, my library has nearly 30,000 photos in it, but when I plug my iPhone into the computer via USB, only about 1,500 photos show up; these are the ones that have the full version downloaded because I've either viewed them zoomed in recently or took them since the last time I restored the phone.

If you use iCloud photo library the most reliable way to download all your photos is to install the iCloud app on your computer and download them through that. Slower than USB but you will get ALL your photos, guaranteed.

Thank you for the tip! Yes, the iCloud app was pretty slow for me. That’s why I was exploring the USB method. But I see your point about ensuring all photos are downloaded. Thanks!