Transfer data from old imac to icloud (via iphone 17 pro)

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Level 1

14 points

Transfer data from old imac to icloud (via iphone 17 pro)

I have a 2013 imac which cannot update operating system as no longer supported.

Seeking to transfer a lot of family pictures/movies onto icloud. Unable to connect to icloud on the imac due to similar reason as above.

I have a data cable between the imac and iphone 17 pro.

The imac shows a window with my iphone data/pictures there. I have the option to transfer all my data from iphone to imac.

But I want it the other way around. Cannot see the way to do this.

Finder (on the imac) shows no window for the connected iphone.

Possible to transfer from imac to icloud (via iphone)?

Thanks for any advice.

Posted on Oct 20, 2025 3:33 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 20, 2025 9:53 AM in response to LynnWilton

You didn't say what OS your iMac was running, so it's hard to say. Do you have iTunes? iTunes transfers pictures to phones in a way that can't be transferred to iCloud.

Do you have plenty of free storage space on the iPhone-- like twice the size of your Photos Library?

You could upload pictures directly to iCloud.com using the Photos interface there.

How much editing and commenting have you done with these pictures? Photos keeps the Original picture files, and it can also make pictures by adding any editing and comments and keywords, etc, that you've done. You may have to decide which versions you want to preserve.

If you've done lots of work, then the only way to preserve everything may be to copy your Library to an external drive, and then find a Mac that could be used to connect to iCloud.

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Answer 2

Oct 27, 2025 6:59 AM in response to LynnWilton

OS X 10.9.5 Mavericks is from 2014. Wow! The minimum requirement for iCloud is macOS 10.13 High Sierra from 2017. And, by the way, forecasting what Apple will introduce and when has never worked. The other thing that never works is putting off what you could use today, because you're sure something better is just around the corner. Of course, all this stuff is crazy expensive!

If you've saved pictures on to an external drive then, since you have an iPhone 17 with a USBc port, you can just plug the drive into the 17, select the picture files, and then save them to Photos. You can only save pictures, not folders, so it can be tedious.

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Answer 3

LynnWilton Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 26, 2025 11:18 AM in response to LynnWilton

Thanks for your reply.

When I go to 'About this mac', it says I'm running OS X version 10.9.5. When I try to update software, 'no updates available' is the response on App Store.

I am unable to login to icloud and itunes.

I have almost 1 TB of home pictures and movies on the imac. Mostly it is unedited, just a large volume of items.

I do have it backed onto an EHD, etc, and will seek to use this to upload to the iCloud via another mac.

It is not so easy to gain access to another mac at a reasonable price. I'm waiting for the next macbook pro with oled and touchscreen - forecast end-26/early-27. Then, finally, I should be able to backup to the iCloud.

Appreciate your help, nice day!

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