Transfer Photos from Computer to iPhone or iPad

Updated May 9, 2026 4 min read

Simple Transfer works in both directions. You can send photos and videos from a Windows PC or Mac back to your iPhone or iPad over your local WiFi network. No cloud upload and no iTunes required.

The upload feature uses the same interface as the regular transfer method. Open Simple Transfer on your iPhone, connect from your computer, and use the Upload button or drag and drop to push files from the computer to the device.

Before you start

Install Simple Transfer on your iPhone or iPad from the App Store.

Make sure your iPhone and computer are on the same local WiFi network. Guest, hotel, school, and work networks often block device-to-device connections.

Keep Simple Transfer open and active on the iPhone during the entire upload. Do not let the screen lock.

Check that your iPhone has enough free storage for the files you are sending. Open Settings → General → iPhone Storage to check.

How to upload from your computer

Open Simple Transfer on your iPhone or iPad and switch to the Computer tab. You will see a local web address displayed on screen.

On your computer, open any web browser and type in the local address shown in the iOS app.

The Simple Transfer web interface will open in the browser.

To upload files to the iPhone, click the Upload button at the top of the page.

Alternatively, drag and drop files directly from your computer onto the browser page.

Simple Transfer will transfer the selected files directly to your iPhone over WiFi.

Keep the browser tab active and the iPhone screen on until the upload finishes.

Supported video formats

iPhones and iPads can only save certain video formats to the Photos library. When uploading videos from your computer, use one of the supported formats:

Supported video formats: MOV, MP4, MPV, M4V.

Videos in other formats, or videos using unsupported codecs, may not save correctly on the device even if the file uploads without error. If you are unsure, convert the video to MP4 before uploading. Some videos that appear to upload successfully may still fail to play or save if the codec is incompatible with the iPhone's hardware decoder.

If the transfer is slow

Restart Simple Transfer on the iPhone and try again.

Restart your computer and WiFi router, then reconnect both devices.

Check that your iPhone has enough free storage. iCloud Optimized Storage can make the device appear full while originals are in the cloud.

Move the iPhone closer to the router if the WiFi signal is weak.

Upload smaller batches instead of all files at once.

For consistently slow or unreliable WiFi, use USB transfer instead.

WiFi vs. USB speed

WiFi connections are generally slower than USB for large uploads. If you are sending a large amount of data, especially high-resolution photos or long videos, a USB cable connection is usually faster and more reliable.

To use USB, connect the iPhone to your computer with a data cable, unlock the iPhone, and tap Trust This Computer if prompted. Then open the Simple Transfer Desktop app on your computer instead of the browser method.

If files are not saving to Photos

After files upload from the computer, Simple Transfer saves them to the iPhone's Photos library. If items are missing after an upload, check the following:

Make sure Simple Transfer has Photos write access. Go to Settings → Simple Transfer → Photos and choose Full Access or Add Photos Only.

Confirm the video format is one of the supported types: MOV, MP4, MPV, or M4V.

Check available storage on the device. A full device will silently fail to save incoming files.

Try uploading one file at a time to isolate which file is causing the problem.