How to Download Photos from iCloud to Windows PC

The most amazing thing about iCloud is its tight integration with all iOS devices and Mac computers. It could automatically upload content to the Apple server and sync them to all iOS devices and Mac computers, but not to PC. So, when you find that there is not enough iCloud storage available you may want to download photos from iCloud to your PC computer in order to release more iCloud storage.

Recently, a lot of PC users emailed us, asking how do I transfer photos from iCloud to PC. Here in this post, we summarized several ways that could help you transfer photos to PC both from My Photo Stream and iCloud Photo Library.

The Differences Between iCloud Photo Library and My Photo Stream

The first thing we may want to clarify is the differences between the iCloud Photo Library and my photo stream. However, when speaking of these two items. a lot of users get confused. Photos from My Photo Stream and iCloud Photo Library are all can be called iCloud photos.

• My Photo Stream only syncs 1000 maximum photos of the recent 30 days to all your iOS devices and Mac computers.
• iCloud Photo Library, however, uploads all photos to iCloud and keeps them up to date across devices.

To decide which way to go, you can go to Settings on your iDevice, click on the iCloud, select Photos and scroll down to check if iCloud Photo Library or My Photo Stream is enabled. If iCloud Photo Library is enabled, then you can transfer photos from the iCloud Photo Library to the PC. If My Photo Stream is enabled, you can transfer photos from My Photo Stream to PC.

Since now you have known which kind of photo you can transfer to PC, please choose one way below to make it.

Transfer Photos From iCloud Photo Library to PC via iCloud Control Panel

1. Download iCloud Control Panel to your PC > Log in to your iCloud account >Then click on Options next to Photos.

2. Select iCloud Photo Library and click Done >Then the iCloud Photo Library is enabled on your PC, which means you can access your iCloud photos on your PC.

3. Once the iCloud Photo Library is enabled, a folder named iCloud Photos will be created > Click on Download, then you can select photos to download to your PC.

Transfer Photos From iCloud Photo Library to PC via iCloud.com

You can also directly download iCloud photos from the website, here are the detailed steps of transferring photos from iCloud to PC with iCloud.com:

1. Go to iCloud.com, log in to your iCloud account.
2. Click on the Photos.
3. Select the photos you want to download, click the Download tab on the upper right.

After finish downloading, you can check the downloaded photos on your PC.

How to Download all Photos from iCloud via AnyTrans

How to download more than 1000 photos from iCloud? Here, we’d like to introduce an easier way for you to transfer iCloud photos. AnyTrans is specialized in managing iCloud content. It allows you to selectively transfer iCloud content to the computer without data loss and it is easy to transfer iCloud photos to a PC. It also allows you to get photos from iCloud to iPhone directly. 

Besides, it could help you view, edit, and delete iCloud content in an easy way. What’s more, it supports transferring iCloud content to another iCloud account directly.

Now, let’s see how to download photos from iCloud to PC with original date and quality via AnyTrans.

Step 1. Download AnyTrans and launch it on PC > Click on iCloud Manager tab > Sign in to your iCloud account (Apple ID).

Step 3. Select photos you want to transfer and then click the Download tab to download photos from iCloud to your computer.

Transfer Photos From My Photo Stream to PC via iCloud Control Panel

This method is actually quite similar to the method of transferring photos from iCloud Photo Library to PC. The main difference is, enabling My Photo Stream instead of iCloud Photo Library.

1. Download the iCloud Control Panel and log in to your iCloud account.
2. Click the Options next to Photos, then check the box of Upload to My Photo Stream.
3. After My Photo Stream is enabled, a folder named iCloud Photos will be created. My Photo Stream will automatically download any new photos that you take on iOS devices to the Downloads folder just like the first method.

Transfer Photos From My Photo Stream to PC via AnyTrans

Besides photos in the iCloud Photo Library, AnyTrans also enables users to transfer photos in My Photo Stream. Follow the steps below to see how to download photos from My Photo Stream via AnyTrans.

Step 1. Download AnyTrans and start it on your computer > Connect your iDevice to computer with USB cable > Choose Device Manager mode > Click on Photos option as the screenshot shows.

Step 2. Click on Photos and then select My Photo Stream at the left panel.

Step 3.  Select the photos you prefer > Click on the To PC button at the top side to transfer multiple photos to your PC.

The Bottom Line

Here are five ways of transferring iCloud photos to PC, hope these five ways could solve your problem. If you have any problems with this article, please don’t hesitate to let us know by email or leaving comments below. Last but not least, AnyTrans can also do well in managing data on your iDevices and iTunes.