How to Wirelessly Transfer Photos From Your Phone to a PC

You’ve taken a bunch of photos on your mobile phone, and now you want to copy or send them to your computer to edit them, share them, or just store them. You can send photos from your phone to your PC using a variety of tricks, from email to Google Photos to a direct cable connection.

However, you may find it quicker and more convenient to transfer them wirelessly from your phone to your PC. Unfortunately, recent changes have made this a little more difficult.

In the past, iPhone and Android users were able to transfer photos to Windows 10 via a mobile app called Photos Companion. Unfortunately, a Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed that the company will end support for the service.

It seems the Photos Companion app was merely a Microsoft Garage experiment that won’t continue for much longer. As it exists now, the ability to transfer photos over Wi-Fi no longer works with the latest version of the Windows 10 Photos app.

In its place, Android users can take advantage of an option built into Windows 10. Using Microsoft’s Your Phone app, you can view and accessthe last 25 photos and screenshots taken on your Android phone or tablet. These images can then be copied over to your PC.

Your Phone's capabilities are not as robust as Photos Companion, though, and there is no iPhone version. A Microsoft spokesperson would only say that “additional support for iPhone is being considered for future releases of the Your Phone app.”

So does this leave iPhone users up the creek, and Android users with a limited option? No. There are third-party apps that will help you wirelessly transfer photos from your iOS or Android device to your PC.

View As: 

One PageSlides

• 
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • Email

  Your Phone: Link Android Device with Windows 10

  First, let’s check out the Your Phone app on an Android device. To get started in Windows 10, go to Settings > Phone. Click the button to Add a phone. The Your Phone app will open and ask you to confirm your Microsoft Account. Click Continue, then click Link phone and enter your phone number. Your Android device will now be linked to Windows 10.
• 
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • Email

  Your Phone: Download the App

  Check your phone for a text message. Open the message and tap the link. That takes you to the Google Play store to download an app called Your Phone Companion. Tap Install.
• 
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • Email

  Your Phone: Set Up the App

  You will now have to set up the Your Phone Companion app to work on your mobile device and link with Windows 10. Sign in with your Microsoft account, then allow all the requested permissions so the app will work with your phone. You will then have to allow the app to run in the background and connect your phone to Windows 10. Tap Done to finish and a message should pop up telling you that your phone and PC are linked.
• 
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • Email

  Your Phone: Enable Photo Sharing

  On your Windows 10 PC, return to the Your Phone app. Click the Settings icon at the bottom of the window and turn on the switch under "Allow this app to show photos from my phone" if it’s not already enabled.
• 
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • Email

  Your Phone: View and Download Photos

  Your most recent photos and screenshots should automatically appear on the main screen in the app. If not, click the entry for Photos and then select the button to See photos. To open a photo, just click on it. For more options, right-click on a photo. From the pop-up menu, you can copy, share, or save the photo on your computer.
• • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • Email

  Photo Transfer App

  Now, let’s look at a couple of third-party photo transfer apps. With Microsoft retiring its Photos Companion app, these are good options for both iPhone and Android users.
  
  Through the free Photo Transfer App, you can move photos from your iPhone or Android device to your computer via Wi-Fi. With the free version of the app, you can transfer up to 10 photos at a time. For $6.99, the paid version kicks in more features, such as no transfer limits and full-resolution transfers.
• 
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • Email

  How to Use the Photo Transfer Mobile App

  First, download and install the app on your phone. You can transfer your photos on your PC through a dedicated web page. If you plan to use the software on a regular basis, I suggest installing and using the free Windows or Mac version on your computer, as it’s easier to use than the web page.
  
  Open the app on your phone and click the Send button. A variety of options are available for sending photos, but try the one to send photos over Wi-Fi to a Windows device. Tap the Windows icon. The next screen tells you to run the Photo Transfer App on your computer or use your Web browser.
• 
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • Email

  How to Use the Photo Transfer Desktop App

  If you’re using the Windows or Mac app, open the app on your computer and click the button to Discover Devices, then select your phone. You can select either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to run the transfer.
  
  On your phone, authorize the connection. Your phone’s photo albums and libraries should appear in the app on your computer. You can now browse through your photos. Right-click a specific photo and you can download it to your computer, delete it from your phone, or download and delete it. You can also select multiple photos to download or delete them in one fell swoop.
• 
  
• • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • 
    
  • Email
  • 
    
  • 
    
  • 
    
  • 
    
  • 
    
  • 
    
  • 
    
  • 
    
  •  
  PhotoSync
• PhotoSync is another photo-transfer program that uses a mobile app and a desktop app. You can transfer photos to a Windows or Mac computer, a network-attached storage device, or an online storage site such as OneDrive or Dropbox. The app costs $3.99, but it’s worth the price for its ease of use and its array of options.
• 
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • Email

  How to Use the PhotoSync App

  Download and install the app on your phone, then install the free PhotoSync Companion for your Windows PC or Mac. Fire up the app on your phone and it automatically displays your camera roll. Select the photos you want to transfer. Tap the red transfer circle in the upper-right corner. You can now opt to transfer all the photos in your library or just the selected images.
  
  Choose the destination, such as your computer, another phone or tablet, or a storage site. If you opt for your computer, make sure the companion app is running on your Windows PC or Mac. In the mobile app, tap the name of your computer. Your photos are then transferred and PhotoSync creates a subfolder under your Pictures folder. That folder then opens automatically for you to view the transferred photos.