[Solved] Can't View iPhone Photos on Windows 11/10/8/7 PC

The problem - can't view iPhone photos on PC

When you plug your iPhone to PC to view and manage your photos, the photo folder was not coming up or no photos in the photo folder. Why would that happen? Don't worry, you aren’t the only one experiencing the problem. There are a few different causes and solutions for this problem. Please keep reading!

Why you can't view iPhone photos on PC?

Generally, there are 5 causes your pictures on your iPhone can't be viewed on PC.

• It might be caused due to a damaged USB cable.

• Your iPhone camera roll folder may be empty. iPhone photos do not show up on PC if it doesn’t have photos or videos in the Camera roll.
  ※For example, you've synced your photos to iCloud using iCloud Photo Library, so the photos are not on the phone.

• Your PC USB port may not work well or just malfunction.

• Missing or corrupted iPhone driver may cause the device not to be recognized by PC successfully. When you plug your iPhone to computer, you don’t see it under “Portable Devices” on computer, so you cannot view iPhone photos on PC.

• It can be caused due to other reasons such as software problems, viruses, malware, and other compatibility problem.

How to fix the "can't view iPhone photos on Windows PC" issue on Windows 11/10/8/7

If the camera entry does not show on your computer or you can’t view iPhone photos on PC for other reasons, what would you do? Here are 9 common methods to resolve not viewing iPhone photos on PC. And this post introduces a professional iPhone data transfer tool to easily view and transfer iPhone photos on computer as an alternative way.

Solution 1. Reboot computer and restart your iPhone

This is the easiest method to restore iPhone photos and this method will not delete any file on your iPhone.

Solution 2. Check if the problem is caused by iPhone

Connect the iPhone to another PC and see if the problem persists. If the problem also occurs to another computer, something might go wrong with iPhone. You might need to take it to the shop to have it checked.

Solution 3. Change the USB port of your PC

When you can't see pictures on your photos, please make sure the USB port is still working well. And you can try other USB ports on your PC, and check if it works. 

Solution 4. Use certified USB cable

To ensure a successful connection, it is recommended that you use the original iPhone cable. If you don't have it, you can also use an MFI certified USB cable. Then see if the problem persists.

Solution 5. Unlock your iPhone.

If you can't view and access and see iPhone photos on computer, it is probably because your iPhone is locked. When your iPhone is locked, the camera roll containing all your photos will be empty. Try to disconnect your iPhone and unlock your iPhone screen, and connect your iPhone back to the computer (make sure the iPhone is showing the home screen when you plug it in). After few minutes, the iPhone photos not showing up on PC problem will be solved.

Solution 6. Authorize the computer

If your computer doesn't have authorization to your iPhone, you are unable to see iPhone photos another other media files on PC. You can authorize your computer on iTunes software.

1. Connect your iPhone with a USB cable

2. Run iTunes > Go to Menu > Account >Authorizations > Authorize this computer > Provide username and password.

After that, you can now see the DCIM folder and the photos shown on your computer.

Solution 7. Reinstall and update USB driver

The connection between iPhone and computer relies on the Apple USB driver. When you can't access and see iPhone photos on PC Windows Explorer, it may be because of the Apple USB driver. You can following the steps below to fix it. 

Step 1. Press the “Windows” key and “R” key to launch the Run box, and type “devmgmt.msc” on it. Press “Enter”.

Step 2. On the Device Manager, expand the “Portable Device”.

Step 3. Click “Uninstall driver” to uninstall the Apple driver. Replug the iPhone, the driver will be installed automatically. If there is "Update driver" you can click it to update the driver.

Solution 8. Download iCloud photos to iPhone

If you enable iCloud photos, iCloud may store the original version of your photos on your iCloud storage while having a smaller version on your iPhone for viewing. So when you connect iPhone to computer, you are unable to see your photos on computer. So to fix this problem, you can follow the steps below to get iCloud photos to iPhone.

To download original photos from iCloud to iPhone: Go to Settings app on your iPhone> Tap Your Name banner > Tap iCloud > Photos >  iCloud Photos > Choose Download and Keep Originals.

Now you can go to the Photos app to check if the photos are downloading. When your photos are all saved on your iPhone, connect your iPhone to computer to check if the problem is solved.

Solution 9. Restore iPhone to factory settings with iTunes

When you can't view iPhone photos on PC or encounter other issues that can't be solved, you can use iTunes to restore iPhone to factory reset. But this way will delete personal data on your iPhone, so please back up your iPhone before getting started. Then connect your iPhone to your computer, and follow the steps below

Step 1.  Run iTunes on your computer.

Step 2.  Click the phone icon on the top corner, and you will enter the Summary tab.

Step 3.  Click the Restore iPhone button.  and wait for few minutes to finish > Make sure your device is connected after it restarts and waits for some minutes to sync with your computer. You can disconnect your device when the sync is complete.

Bonus tip: Turn to FoneTool to view and transfer iPhone photos easily

If all the methods above can't help you, you can turn to the professional and powerful iOS transfer and management tool - FoneTool. When your iPhone photos not showing up on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 computer, you can easily access your iPhone to view and transfer photos from iPhone to computer with FoneTool.

Part 1. Using FoneTool to view the iPhone photos on PC directly

Step 1. Free download FoneTool and launch it. Connect your iPhone to your PC with a USB cable. Once connected, tap “Trust" on your iOS device screen.

Step 2. On the home screen, click Phone Transfer on the left pane. Then move the cursor to iPhone to PC. And click Get Started.

Step 3. Here you can choose the iPhone photo you want to view on PC. Double-click it or right-click it and select OK.

Part 2. Transfer photos from iPhone to PC to view the iPhone photos on PC

In addition to viewing the iPhone photos directly using FoneTool, you can also transfer iPhone photos to PC with FoneTool to access and view the iPhone photos.

Step 1. Select the photos you want to transfer. After the selection, click OK.

Step 2. Specify a path as the destination location on Transfer Settings > At last click Start Transfer to start the transfer process.

In the event that the photos on your iPhone are lost, you can transfer them to iPhone. Besides, FoneTool also plays an important role in data protection, you can choose to backup iPhone photos to computer.

How to view iPhone photos on PC (Windows Explorer)

You have known the solutions to can't see iPhone photos on PC and an alternative way to transfer iPhone to Window 10/11/8/7 computer. Here we show you how to view iPhone photos on Windows Explorer.

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to your computer using the USB cable.

Step 2. Click "Open device to view files" in the AutoPlay window.

Step 3. Double-click "Internal Storage."

Step 4. Double-click the "DCIM" folder followed by the "800AAAAA" folderd then you could see the saved photos on iPhone. The photos saved to your iPhone display on-screen.

Step 5. Double-click a picture to view it on your PC using the Windows Picture Viewer.

※Note: If the AutoPlay window doesn't appear, you must manually access the iPhone on your PC. Open the "Start" menu, click "Computer" and double-click the "Apple iPhone" icon under Portable Devices.

Conclusion

That’s how to fix "can't view iPhone photos on PC" on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 computer. All methods are useful and not very difficult. Choose different methods for different reasons. Hope you have fixed the problem successfully with the above solutions.

If these solutions can't help you, FoneTool - free software to transfer photos from iPhone to PC is also a nice way when your iPhone photos not showing up on PC. It enables you to easily access iPhone and transfer your iPhone photos to computer.

Besides it is an all-in-one iPhone data manager integrating various features. For instance, you may find how to import live photos from iPhone to PC. There are some duplicate photos after transferring, and FoneTool is also a duplicate photos cleaner for PC.