5 Fixes to Windows Photo Gallery does not Recognize iPhone

There are kinds of ways for you to transfer photos from iPhone to PC. Since Windows 10 was released, Windows has offered you an application called Windows Photos to view and import iPhone photos to computer directly as long as you connect your iPhone to PC.

However, it is reported that sometimes when you connect your iPhone to computer and launch the Photos software, the Windows Photo Gallery does not recognize iPhone. Keep reading this guide, fix the issue, and transfer photos from iPhone to computer again.

Why Windows Photos doesn’t recognize iPhone 15/14/13/12?

There are kinds of causes that can lead to Windows Photos cannot detect iPhone. Before troubleshooting, it is necessary to figure it out, which can also help you to fix the issue quicker to some degree.

• Untrusted computer. Apple pays much attention to the data safety of its users. Therefore, when you connect your iPhone to the computer for the first time, you need to tap Trust on your iPhone. If not, the computer cannot get access to your iPhone.
• Unstable USB cable or port. The unstable connection between iPhone and computer can prevent your iPhone from being detected by computer.
• Software glitches. There may be something wrong with the Windows Photos app that led to iPhone not importing photos via Windows Photos.
• Apple Driver is lost or corrupted. If the Apple driver that helps computer detects iPhone is lost or corrupted, your iPhone cannot be recognized.

5 fixes to Windows Photo Gallery does not recognize iPhone

You can try to restart both your computer and iPhone, and switch to other USB cables and ports to check whether they work. If the issue still exists, try the 5 fixes in this part to solve the issue, Windows 10 Photo Gallery does not recognize iPhone. Try them one after another until your issue gets fixed. Optionally, you are also offered a better way in the next part to get iPhone photos on PC.

Trust this computer on iPhone

When you plug your iPhone 15/14/13/12/11 into Windows 10, you will receive a message on your iPhone to ask whether you trust this computer so that your iPhone settings and data will be accessible from this computer.

If you ignore the message or choose Don’t Trust, The built-in Windows Photos cannot detect it, let alone view or import iPhone photos. Thus, make sure you have agreed to trust your computer on the iPhone.

Install all Windows updates

Just like your iPhone, you need to keep your Windows up to date. Therefore, please check that you have the latest software on your Windows PC to avoid Windows not recognizing iPhone photos or iPhone not appearing in File Explorer.

Go to Settings on your computer > Update & security > Click Windows Update and make sure your computer is up-to-date with all Windows updates installed.

Disable antivirus and firewall software  

If any antivirus and firewall software is running in the background, it may prevent your iPhone from being detected by Windows. Therefore, when you plug in your iPhone to computer, it is suggested to turn off antivirus software. Since the steps vary for every software, you may need to go thoroughly with your software program settings and follow the process accordingly to turn it off.

Check if Apple Mobile Device support is installed

Apple Mobile Device Support is used to automatically detect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod when it is plugged into the computer’s USB drive. Therefore, you can check whether it is installed on your computer to fix Windows 10 Photo Gallery doesn’t recognize iPhone.

Step 1. Type Appwiz.cpl in the taskbar search field and hit the Enter key to open the Programs and Features window.

Step 2. From here, you can locate Apple Mobile Device Support > right-click it and click Repair > Follow the simple on-screen directions to repair it.

Note: Can’t find Apple Mobile Device Support?
If it is not present, you may need to download or update iTunes on your computer to get it.

You can also try to restart it by typing Services.msc in the taskbar search field to enter the Services window > Locate and right-click Apple Mobile Device Support > Click Restart.

Reset and repair Windows Photos app

If none of the troubleshooting methods above works, you can try to reset and repair the Windows Photos app. Here are the detailed steps.

Step 1. Go to Settings on your computer > Tap Apps > Choose Apps & Features.

Step 2. Choose Microsoft Photos to reveal and click the hidden Advanced options link.

Step 3. Click Reset > Click Reset again to confirm your operation > When it is finished, click Repair to repair the Photos app.

A better way to get iPhone photos on PC via FoneTool

Indeed, it is time-consuming to troubleshoot the issue, or if Windows Photos still cannot detect your iPhone, you can turn to a better way to get iPhone photos on your Windows PC.

Additionally, you should be acknowledged that Windows Photos doesn't see all iPhone photos. Instead, you can only access photos in your iPhone camera roll via Windows Photos. Therefore, it may not be the best choice for you to get iPhone photos on PC to some degree.

Here FoneTool, an iOS data transfer software, is recommended, which enables you to transfer photos, videos, music, and contacts from iPhone to computer with no effort.

Its professional transfer functions can meet all your demands:
✔ Preview and select iPhone photos. Before the transfer, you can view all iPhone photos, including photos in Camera Roll and any other albums and folders. You can be free to import selective photos to computer with the tool.
✔ Access all iPhone photos. Different from Windows Photos, FoneTool can access all your iPhone photos, including hidden photos, enabling you to backup or transfer all wanted photos from iPhone to computer.
✔ No data loss. The transfer process doesn’t degrade the quality of your photos. And you will lose anything on your iPhone.
✔ Fast transfer speed. With a stable USB connection, you can transfer 100 photos from iPhone to computer in 3 seconds.

The simple design in FoneTool helps you handle it in a short time. Click the icon below to download it to your computer. Let’s transfer iPhone photos to computer in three simple steps.

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to computer with USB > Open FoneTool and click Phone Transfer and choose iPhone to PC option, click Start Transfer to continue.

Step 2. Check the Photos icon > Preview photos on every album and choose the wanted photos or albums that you want to import to computer > Click OK to confirm.

Step 3. Select a destination from Transfer Settings to save the photos (Local folders on computer, external hard drives, and NAS are all allowed) > Click Start Transfer to start the process.

You may import iPhone photos to computer for a backup. Actually, FoneTool provides you with an incremental backup solution - Selective Backup to selectively backup iPhone to PC.

What’s more, if your iPhone is full of similar and duplicate photos after using it for a long time, you can rely on its Photo Deduplication function to automatically filter and remove duplicate photos on iPhone automatically.

Conclusion

That’s all for the five fixes to Windows Photo Gallery doesn’t recognize iPhone. Hope you can get out of the trouble. If you are seeking a Windows Photos alternative, you can download FoneTool to have a try, which helps you better manage your iPhone photos and other data.