Looking for How to Transfer Files From iPhone To Mac?

The iOS ecosystem is arguably the most vibrant mobile ecosystem in the world. Anything you might want to achieve on your iPhone or iPad, “there’s an app for that”. With the staggering number of productivity apps on the iPhone and iPad, users are creating more and more on these devices than on their laptops and desktops. These devices are perfect devices to create most social media content and even a surprising amount of office-related content. Even the iPhone allows for so much content creation today that there is a need more than ever for ways how to transfer files from iPhone to Mac or how to transfer files from iPhone to MacBook wirelessly. As of macOS 10.15 Catalina, Apple decided to do away with iTunes, and a lot of users now want to know how to transfer files from iPhone to Mac without iTunes as well.

There are several ways to copy files from your iPhone to your Mac, ranging from Finder, iTunes, Bluetooth/ AirDrop, and even third-party apps that enable a whole lot more than standard-issue free-of-cost Apple solutions.

If you use a laptop, you can find solutions to transfer files from iPhone to laptop.

• Dr.Fone - Phone Manager (iOS): The Best Solution On The Market
• Transfer Files From iPhone To Mac Using iTunes
• Transfer Files From iPhone To Mac Via Bluetooth/Airdrop
• Transfer Files From iPhone To Mac On Catalina Using Finder

Transfer Files From iPhone To Mac Using iTunes

So, you are on an older Mac or you have not upgraded to the latest macOS 10.15 Catalina and, consequently, still have iTunes available to you. While you should seriously consider a third-party phone manager to take some pain away, but if you do not need to transfer frequently, it may just be wiser to stick with the native solution Apple provides, that is, transfer files from iPhone to Mac using iTunes.

Step 1: Ensure you have connected your iPhone to the Mac using a USB to Lightning cable

Step 2: Open iTunes

Step 3: You may now click the small iPhone button below the volume slider in iTunes to see your iPhone Summary screen.

Step 4: In the left sidebar, click File Sharing to see which of your apps support file sharing

Step 5: Select the app you want to transfer files from

Step 6: See which files you want to transfer to your Mac

Step 7: Simply drag the appropriate files out of the iTunes interface onto your desktop or a folder

You may want to delete the files after you transfer files from iPhone to Mac to save space on your iPhone. All you need to do is select the files and press the Delete key on your Mac keyboard and select Delete on the confirmation that pops up.

Transfer Files From iPhone To Mac Via Bluetooth/ Airdrop

Airdrop feature in iPhones enables wireless file transfers from your iPhone to your iMac or MacBook via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. You do not need to have your phone latched on to a Wi-Fi network, you only need to have Wi-Fi turned on for this to work.

Enable Airdrop on iPhone

Open Control Center and long-press anywhere in the first square containing Airplane mode, Bluetooth, WiFi, and Mobile Data toggles. Enable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Airdrop. You do not need to have an active Wi-Fi connection, the phone just needs to have Wi-Fi on for this to work. Long-press Airdrop and select Contacts Only. Airdrop is now enabled. Personal Hotspot needs to be turned off.

Enable AirDrop on Mac

On your Mac, see if you have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on. If you cannot see the appropriate symbols for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in your menu bar, do the following:

• Open System Preferences
• Select Bluetooth
• Below the large Bluetooth symbol, see if it shows Turn Bluetooth Off or Turn Bluetooth On
• You want it to show Turn Bluetooth Off to enable Bluetooth
• At the bottom, check the option to Show Bluetooth in the menu bar
• Click the Show All button in System Preferences and now select Network
• Select the Wi-Fi pane on the left-hand side, and click Turn Wi-Fi On
• At the bottom, check the option to Show Wi-Fi in the menu bar.

Now, you have successfully enabled Airdrop on the Mac.

Next, open a Finder window, and in the sidebar, select Airdrop. At the bottom, there is a setting called, “Allow me to be discovered by:” containing three options - No One, Contacts Only, Everyone. By default, if you have Contacts Only, select Everyone from the dropdown menu.

Transfer Files from iPhone To Mac Using Airdrop

Step 1: Select the files you want to transfer from iPhone to Mac within the app

Step 2: Tap the Share symbol

Step 3: On the next screen, you will be able to see the nearby Airdrop devices if there are more than your own.

Step 4: Tap on your device and your files will be transferred from your iPhone to your Mac wirelessly.

The files will be available in the Download folder on your Mac.

Transfer Files From iPhone To Mac On Catalina Using Finder

If you are on the latest macOS 10.15 Catalina, you’d have quickly realized that the much-hated and much-loved iTunes is now gone and has been replaced by three separate apps that cater to music, TV, and podcasts. But iTunes was also used for apps and to transfer files from iPhone to Mac using iTunes. How does one do that now? Where’s an app for that?

On macOS Catalina 10.15, Apple built iPhone management into Finder itself.

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to the Mac

Step 2: Open a new Finder window

Step 3: Look in the sidebar for your iPhone and click it

Step 4: When you select your iPhone in macOS Finder, you will be greeted with a familiar screen reminiscent of the iPhone Summary screen from iTunes.

Step 5: To transfer files from iPhone to Mac using Finder, select Files from the tabs under your iPhone’s name or click the right indent arrow that you see under Manage Storage, to the right of the menu tab containing the options General, Music, Films, etc and select Files.

Step 6: This brings up all the apps that you can transfer files to and from. Just drag the files onto your desktop or any folder and you are done.

You can right-click and delete the files in the apps on the iPhone from here if you wish.

Conclusion

Transferring your files from iPhone to Mac is easy and you can do it in any number of ways, using the built-in iTunes if you have macOS 10.14 Mojave or earlier, or using Finder if you are on macOS 10.15 Catalina or using a comprehensive third-party iPhone file transfer tool such as Dr.Fone - Phone Manager (iOS) that allows you to seamlessly transfer files from iPhone to Mac.