How to back up phone photos to an external drive (iPhone and Android)
Cloud storage is handy, but it's worth having one copy of your photos that lives in a drawer at home. It's cheap, it works without an account, and it takes an evening the first time.
Which way suits you?
| Route | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Android to USB-C drive (Files app) | No computer; quick top-ups. | Spinning hard drives may need more power than a phone gives; flash drives and SSDs are fine. |
| Android to computer (file transfer mode) | Large libraries. | Pick "file transfer" in the USB notification, or the phone only charges. |
| iPhone to drive (Files app) | Small batches, USB-C iPhones or a Lightning adapter. | Large batches can be slow; the drive must be exFAT, FAT32 or APFS. |
| iPhone to Mac (Photos or Image Capture) | Whole library, choosing the destination. | Point the import at the external drive, not the Mac's own disk. |
| iPhone to Windows (Photos app import or File Explorer DCIM) | Whole library. | Files sit in many numbered folders; unlock the phone and tap Trust when asked. |
Pick the right drive format
| Format | Works with | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| exFAT | Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone, most TVs | No journaling, so always eject before unplugging. |
| FAT32 | Almost everything | No single file over 4 GB, which cuts off long 4K videos. |
| NTFS | Windows | Read-only on a Mac without extra software. |
| APFS | Mac and iPhone | Windows can't read it. |
Reformatting wipes the drive, so do it before you copy anything onto it.
iPhone: get the originals first
If your iPhone uses cloud photos with "optimise storage", the phone only keeps smaller previews and fetches originals when you open them. Copying from the phone then either downloads each one slowly or gives you small versions. Switch to downloading originals for a while (it needs free space), or export from the cloud on a computer. Photos come out as HEIC unless the phone converts them on transfer; HEIC is about half the size and keeps quality, and you can convert HEIC to JPG later if something can't open it.
How big a drive?
Check your photo library size in storage settings and buy at least double, so there's room for the next few years. A 1 TB drive holds roughly 250,000 to 400,000 typical phone photos, but only about 40 to 100 hours of 4K video. See how much storage photos and videos need.
Check the copy before deleting anything
- Compare the number of items and total size on the phone and the drive.
- Open a few photos and play a few videos from the drive, especially long ones.
- Eject the drive properly, plug it back in and check again.
- Only then free up the phone, and keep the drive unplugged in a safe place.
The 3-2-1 habit
Three copies of anything you'd hate to lose, on two kinds of storage, with one somewhere else. For most families that's the phone, the cloud and an external drive at home. Drives fail too, so a second drive kept at a relative's or work is the cheap upgrade.
Tidy names on the way
Camera names like IMG_4821 mean little later. You can rename a folder of copies by date or event with the batch renamer, which works in your browser without uploading the files.
Related
External hard drive clicking or beeping · Why the copy to the drive is slow · Drive won't eject when you're done · Windows Photos import not working · Drive read-only on a Mac · Phone not showing up on the PC · "The device is unreachable" copying iPhone photos · File too large for the destination file system · SD card not showing up · How big phone videos are · Phone storage full but nothing on it · How long uploads take · Megapixels vs file size
Questions
What format should an external drive be for phone photos?
exFAT. Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone can all read and write it, and unlike FAT32 it can hold files bigger than 4 GB, such as long videos.
Why won't my video copy to my USB drive?
The drive is probably FAT32, which can't store a single file over 4 GB. Copy everything else off, reformat it as exFAT and try again.
Can I back up iPhone photos to an external drive without a computer?
Yes, for smaller batches. Connect the drive (USB-C iPhones directly, older ones with an adapter), select photos in the Photos app, share, save to Files and choose the drive. If photos are cloud-optimised, the originals download first.
Is an external drive better than cloud storage for photos?
It's best to have both. A drive is cheap and needs no subscription, but it can fail or be lost, and the cloud protects against fire or theft. Together they cover each other.
Published · updated .