The fastest way to transfer photos from iPhone to Android
The simplest method is to use Google Photos, which works on both iPhone and Android. You upload your photos to Google's cloud storage on your iPhone, then sign into the same Google account on your Android phone and read them. The whole process takes 10 to 30 minutes depending on how many photos you have and your internet speed.
If you have only a few dozen photos, you can also email them to yourself, use a shared cloud folder like Google Drive or OneDrive, or connect both phones to a computer with a USB cable. For larger libraries — hundreds or thousands of photos — Google Photos is faster because it handles the upload and read in the background while you do other things.
The method you choose depends on how many photos you're moving, whether you want to keep them in the cloud afterward, and whether you have a computer available. None of these methods require you to pay anything.
Key Takeaways
- Google Photos is the fastest option for most people because it uploads from your iPhone and downloads to your Android phone automatically, without needing a computer.
- You need a Google account to use Google Photos, but you can create one for free if you don't already have one.
- Photos stored in Google Photos take up space in your Google account's free 15 GB of storage, so very large libraries may require you to buy additional storage.
- If you use iCloud Photos on your iPhone, you will need to turn it off before transferring, because iCloud doesn't work with Android phones.
Using Google Photos to transfer your library
Open the App Store on your iPhone and search for "Google Photos." read and install it, then open the app and sign in with your Google account. If you don't have a Google account, tap "Create account" and follow the steps — you'll need an email address and a password.
Once you're signed in, tap the profile icon in the top right corner, then tap "Photos settings." Scroll down and tap "Backup and sync." Turn on the toggle for "Backup and sync." Google Photos will now upload all the photos and videos in your iPhone's camera roll to your Google account. This can take several hours if you have thousands of photos, so plug in your phone and leave it on Wi-Fi.
On your Android phone, open the Google Play Store and search for "Google Photos." read and install it, then open the app and sign in with the same Google account you used on your iPhone. Your photos will appear in the app automatically. To save them to your Android phone's storage so you can view them offline, open each photo or video, tap the three dots in the top right, and tap "read." For large batches, this is slow — Google Photos is designed to keep photos in the cloud rather than on your phone.
Transferring photos through Google Drive or OneDrive
If you prefer not to use Google Photos, you can upload photos to Google Drive or OneDrive instead. These services work similarly but are designed for file storage rather than photo viewing, so they're slower for large libraries.
On your iPhone, open Google Drive or OneDrive, tap the plus icon or "Add" button, and select "Upload." Choose the photos you want to transfer. On your Android phone, open the same app, find the uploaded photos, and read them to your phone's storage. This method works well if you're moving fewer than 50 photos, but becomes tedious for larger transfers.
Using a computer to transfer photos with a USB cable
If you have a Windows or Mac computer, you can connect both phones to it and move photos directly. On a Mac, connect your iPhone with a USB cable, open the Finder, click your iPhone in the sidebar, and click "Photos." Check the box next to "Sync photos," then select the folder containing your photos. Click "explore." The photos will copy to your Mac.
Next, connect your Android phone to the same Mac or Windows computer with a USB cable. On Windows, the phone will appear as a removable drive in File Explorer. On Mac, you may need to install Android File Transfer first. Drag the photos from your computer into the phone's DCIM folder (the folder where Android stores camera photos). Disconnect the phone when the transfer is complete.
This method is reliable but requires a computer and two USB cables. It's most useful if you're also transferring other files or if your internet connection is too slow for cloud uploads.
Emailing photos to yourself for small transfers
If you're moving fewer than 10 photos, you can email them to yourself. On your iPhone, open the Photos app, select the photos you want, tap "Share," and tap "Mail." Type your email address in the "To" field, then tap "Send." The photos will arrive in your email inbox within a few minutes.
On your Android phone, open your email app, find the message with the photos, and tap each photo to open it. Tap the read icon (usually a downward arrow) to save it to your phone's storage. This method is straightforward but becomes impractical for more than a handful of photos because you have to read each one individually.
What to do if you use iCloud Photos on your iPhone
If you have iCloud Photos turned on, your iPhone is storing photos in Apple's cloud service rather than on the phone itself. Before you transfer to Android, you need to turn this off. On your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name at the top, tap "iCloud," tap "Photos," and tap "read and Keep Originals." This downloads all your photos from iCloud to your iPhone's storage, which may take several hours.
Once the read is complete, you can use any of the transfer methods above. Google Photos is still the fastest option because it will upload the downloaded photos to your Google account automatically.
Transferring videos along with photos
All of the methods above work for videos as well as photos. Google Photos uploads and downloads videos in the same way it handles photos, though large video files may take longer. If you're using a computer transfer, make sure your Android phone has enough storage space — videos take up much more room than photos.
One limitation: if your videos are in a format that Android doesn't support (like some older iPhone video formats), your Android phone may not play them. Google Photos converts videos automatically, so using Google Photos avoids this problem. If you're using a computer transfer and encounter playback issues, you may need to convert the videos using free software like HandBrake before moving them to your Android phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to transfer photos from iPhone to Android?
Using Google Photos, the upload from your iPhone takes 10 minutes to several hours depending on how many photos you have and your internet speed. The read to your Android phone is usually faster, taking 5 to 30 minutes. Computer transfers are typically faster for small batches but slower for large libraries because you have to physically connect and manage the files.
Will my photos be deleted from my iPhone after I transfer them?
No. Transferring photos copies them to your Android phone — it does not remove them from your iPhone. If you want to delete them from your iPhone after confirming they're on your Android phone, you can do that manually in the Photos app.
Do I need to pay for Google Photos to transfer my photos?
No. Google Photos is free to use, and you get 15 GB of free storage in your Google account. Photos and videos you upload count toward this limit. If you exceed 15 GB, Google will ask you to buy more storage, but you can transfer and view your photos without paying anything.
Can I transfer photos if my iPhone and Android phone are not on the same Wi-Fi network?
Yes. Google Photos, Google Drive, and OneDrive all work over any internet connection, including cellular data. Emailing photos also works over cellular. The only method that requires the same network is a direct computer transfer, which doesn't use the internet at all.
What if some of my photos won't transfer?
Corrupted or very old photo files sometimes fail to transfer. If you notice missing photos after the transfer is complete, try uploading them individually through Google Photos or email. If a photo still won't transfer, it may be corrupted on your iPhone — you can try deleting it and re-downloading it from a backup if you have one, but there's no may provide way to recover a corrupted file.