To download photos from iCloud to PC, you can use CopyTrans Cloudly app, iСloud.comor iCloud for Windows

CopyTrans Cloudly

Advantages

✔️ downloads all the photos and videos at once
✔️ preservs original format, size, and quality
✔️ saves your iCloud album structure
✔️ operates faster than both iCloud.com and iCloud for Windows

Disadvantages

❌ doesn't let you view or select the photos

iСloud.com

Disadvantages

❌ no way to download or select all photos at once
❌ has a limit of choosing 1000 items

Advantages

✔️ you can view and select photos

iCloud for Windows

Disadvantages

❌ doesn't preserve the album structure
❌ may be unstable in general or difficult to set up

Advantages

✔️ let you download all of the photos without selecting them one by one

Choose how to upload photos from iCloud and jump to the method you prefer:

  • How to download photos from iCloud? – CopyTrans Cloudly
  • Download iCloud photos to PC – CopyTrans Backup Extractor
  • How to get photos from iCloud? – iCloud.com
  • How to get pictures from iCloud? – iCloud for Windows
  • How to select photos in iCloud?

Download photos from iCloud

Or check out our comparison table:

CopyTrans Cloudly iCloud.com iCloud for Windows
Downloading all photos Downloads everything at once Downloads only 1000 items at a time Downloads everything at once
Preserving album structure Yes No No (downloads by year)
Downloading originals Yes Yes Not always
Incremental download of new photos (without creating duplicates) Yes No No
Deleting all photos Deletes everything at once Deletes only 1000 items at a time No
Retrieving permanently deleted photos Yes No No
Speed (depends on the Internet connection speed) 15-30 minutes for every 5 GB Eternity 1,5-3 hours for every 5 GB
Viewing and selecting photos before downloading No Yes No
Using on a Mac No Yes No
Uploading photos to iCloud Yes Yes Yes

❗ Keep in mind that this is a tutorial for Windows users, if you have a Mac, please refer to the guide for macOS users.

How to download photos from iCloud?

with CopyTrans Cloudly

CopyTrans Cloudly is designed as an alternative to iCloud for Windows. This software is intuitive, easy to install and allows you to recover all your photos and videos saved on iCloud. The best part is that it doesn't create duplicates, so you can stop and then resume the download at any time!

So, how to download photos from iCloud to PC? Just follow these steps:

  1. Download and install CopyTrans Cloudly

    Advantages of CopyTrans Cloudly:

    ✔️ Recover deleted iCloud photos
    ✔️ Download all the iCloud photos in one click
    ✔️ Keep quality, format, and structure
    ✔️ Upload photos and videos from PC to iCloud in different formats
    ✔️ Delete all the iCloud photos

    Try CopyTrans Cloudly for free

  2. Run CopyTrans Cloudly. You will see a login screen. Enter your Apple ID and password.

    3. iCloud login in CopyTrans Cloudly

  3. If you have two-factor authentication enabled, make sure to allow the connection on your device. Enter the code you received on your device:

    4. how to retrieve photos from icloud

  4. Wait until your iCloud Photo Library is loaded. You will see the main app screen after. To download iCloud photos to PC, click on Download:

    5. how to download photos from iCloud to PC

  5. Select which folder you want to download your library to:

    TIP: if you have a question: how to backup iCloud photos to an external drive, then CopyTrans Cloudly can help you with it too.

    6. How to download pictures from iCloud

  6. Voila! All you need to do now is wait until all your photos and videos are downloaded.

    7. How to backup iCloud photos and videos

Download iCloud photos to PC

from iCloud backup

If, for some reason, you cannot find your photos in iCloud, there is still a chance they might be waiting for you in some backup on or off your PC. To help you here, we developed a product called CopyTrans Backup Extractor . The program will search for iCloud and iTunes backups automatically and download iCloud photos to PC. Here is how to proceed:

Advantages of CopyTrans Backup Extractor

✔️ compatible with different backups: iCloud, iTunes, CopyTrans Shelbee or other programs;
✔️ find all the backups automatically;
✔️ save notes, messages and chats and all the attachments;
✔️ free version allows you to see what does backup have;

  1. Download and install CopyTrans Backup Extractor:

    Try CopyTrans Backup Extractor for free

  2. On the welcome screen, choose "Log in to iCloud for more backups".

    3. Find iPhone backups with CopyTrans Backup Extractor

  3. Enter your Apple ID and password. If you have 2-factor authentication enabled, you will also need to insert a verification code sent to your device.

    4. Log in to iCloud in CopyTrans Backup Extractor

  4. There you are! after a short search CopyTrans Backup Extractor will display all your backups, both on PC and in iCloud. iCloud backups are marked with a cloud icon, while PC backups have a folder icon next to them.

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  5. Choose the backup that contains your photos. If the backup is encrypted, enter the backup password to proceed. Click on "Photos".

    6. How to get pictures off iPhone with broken screen

  6. Finally, select the folder you want to extract the photos to and wait for the process to complete. Voila! You can now click on "Open containing folder" to see all of the extracted photos.

  7. Your photos are successfully out of the backup! If you want to have these photos on your iPhone, here is a guide on how to transfer photos from your computer to your iPhone.

How to get photos from iCloud?

via iCloud.com

How to see photos in iCloud? In iCloud.com you can quickly see the overwiew of the photos you have in iCloud. You can also use it on your Mac unlike the other two alternatives. However, iCloud.com is of no use to you if you want to download or delete all of your photos and videos and not spend an eternity on it. Anyway, let's start with the instructions:

  1. Go to iCloud browser version and log in using your Apple ID.

    2. How to download photos from iCloud to PC

  2. Once logged in, click on Photos.

    3. Click on Photos icon in iCloud

  3. Now you can view all your photos via the browser.

  4. Select each photo and tap on the cloud icon in the top right corner to download images one by one from your iCloud account to the computer.
    Note: If you have less than 1000 photos in iCloud, you can easily download all the photos by pressing Ctrl + A, then clicking on the "Download" button. If you have more than 1000 photos, however, it becomes a bit more tricky. You will have to track which 1000 photos you have already downloaded, then select another 1000 and so on. CopyTrans Cloudly you can download everything at once 🙂

    5. how do i download photos from icloud

  5. You can also select multiple photos in iCloud by selecting moments. Click on the small plus sign in the top right corner of one of the moments. Voila! All the pictures in your moment are selected. You can download photos from iCloud to PC.

    6. Save multiple photos from iCloud

  6. Once your photos and videos have been downloaded, you will have to extract them from the folder your browser downloads files to (for me it is This PC >> Downloads). The browser version of iCloud doesn't give you the option to download all your photos and videos to a folder of your choice.

How to get pictures from iCloud?

with iCloud for Windows

iCloud for Windows is a nice tool provided by Apple that lets you download iCloud photos to PC in bulk. It also lets you upload photos to iCloud (in case you're interested in that).

The drawbacks are:

❌ it doesn't preserve the album structure of your iCloud Library
❌ cannot boast stability
❌ may not download all the photos in the original quality
❌ iCloud for Windows just doesn't install or returns unknown errors

It will, however, help you download your photos. So, here are the instructions:

  1. Download iCloud for Windows tool and install it onto your computer.

  2. Open iCloud for Windows from the Start menu.

    3. Open icloud for Windows from the Start Menu

  3. Tap on Options and select everything you need. Click on Done to download iCloud photos.

    4. how to download photos from icloud to computer

  4. Then click on Apply and close the main window.

    5. how to select all photos on iphone

  5. Next, open the system tray and click on the cloud icon.

    6. Open iCloud for Windows from the system tray

  6. How to back up iCloud photos? Hit Download Photos to initiate the process.

  7. Your photos are now being downloaded to C:\Users\&USER NAME&\Pictures\iCloud Photos\Downloads

    8. how to download pictures from icloud

  8. You will find your iCloud photos and videos organized by years.

How to select photos in iCloud?

If you have iCloud Photo Library enabled on your iPhone or iPad, you can simply select all photos and send a link to download them from your computer. Here's how:

  1. Go to your iPhone, tap on Photos app. Click on Select in the top right corner.

    2. how to get my photos from icloud

  2. Tap, hold, and swipe to select all pictures.

  3. After you've selected all the photos you need, click on the Share button in the bottom left corner.

    4. how to get your pictures from icloud

  4. Swipe left on the bottom icons to get to the icon you need, then select Copy iCloud link to get photos from iCloud.

    5. How to get photos from icloud to computer

  5. After this, simply paste this link somewhere (send it to your own email, for example) and click on it from your PC. Make sure you aren't signed in to iCloud in your browser. Click on Download and it will transfer iCloud photos to PC

  6. Click on Download again. The photos will be downloaded in a .zip archive. You can extract them to a folder of your choice after the download is completed.

    7. Click Download on the small pop-up window

Conclusion

We hope that you have managed to get your photos out from iCloud and onto your PC. Let us know which way worked for you! Also, you may be in interested in some of our related articles (check them out below).

Avatar for Irina CopyTrans

Irina is a marketing and tech-support specialist in charge of the English-speaking market, who dyes her hair in the color of her cats' fur (future cat lady detected) and enjoys sitting on her balcony on a rainy day reading books, watching TV shows, playing video games and drinking hot chocolate. With marshmallows.