Issues importing pictures from iPhone to Mac

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Level 1

13 points

Issues importing pictures from iPhone to Mac

I'm trying to import all my pictures (around 8000 images and videos) from my iPhone (13 pro Max) to my MacBook (M3 pro), using the app Photos. I'm doing small batches at a time, for instance 1000 pictures in one importing process, but then it gets stuck at some point (for instance, when importing the picture #810, #510 or whatever), making the process extremely slow. I tried multiple cables (all original apple cables and I got the same result).

I also had similar problems importing photos in the past (with an iPhone 12 and a MacBook air 2015), at that time I thought "perhaps I have this issue because I have old devices, I should upgrade...". How wrong I was.

iCloud is not a solution to me, because I also had problems with it a few years ago (few hundred pictures were corrupted).

I suspect there are issues with some of the pictures I took with the iPhone, but how do I prevent this to happen?

It is frustrating. How come we are in the A.I. era, almost to the point to achieve AGI, but this trillion dollar company is unable to provide a smooth way to transfer photos.

MacBook Pro 14″

Posted on Jul 29, 2025 07:52 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Richard.Taylor

Level 6

15,999 points

Jul 30, 2025 08:40 AM in response to marco_a1

One way to have more control is to use the app Image Capture from your Applications Folder. If you want, you can use that to bring the pictures to folders in Finder before importing them to Photos.

Old movie files are the big problem, usually. Movie formats and codecs seem to change without warning, and everybody (and every app) gets confused. ".mov" doesn't always meant the same thing. I would import the movies all together and last.

iCloud is way simpler, by the way. My guess is that cable transfers will get less and less attention from Apple. The most common problem with iCloud Photos comes from mixing old and new-- cable transfer with Finder is incompatible with iCloud. And older pictures transferred from computer to iPhone with cable sometimes get lost in the mix, so backups are important before engaging iCloud Photos. But really, it's all simple and transparent.

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Answer 2

Jul 30, 2025 12:12 AM in response to marco_a1

Connect your device to your computer using a cable, then turn the device on. You may be asked to unlock your device with a passcode or to trust the device. In the Image Capture app on your Mac, select the device in the Devices or Shared list.

Transfer images in Image Capture on Mac - Apple Support (IN)

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