Fast local iPhone photo & video backup to Windows over USB.
Plug in your iPhone → iSyncLocal indexes your phone and your backup folder → copies only what’s new. No cloud. No slow Wi‑Fi photo apps. No wiping your existing archive.
2026_07_03_19_36_IMG_0706.HEIC
2026_07_03_19_36_IMG_0705.MOV
2026_07_03_19_36_IMG_0706.AAE
You want a simple habit: plug the phone in every few days and get a folder of originals on disk — HEIC, MOV, Live Photos — named by capture time. You don’t want PhotoSync crawling Wi‑Fi forever, and you don’t want Window Explorer MTP hanging on a huge library.
- Download
iSyncLocal.exefrom Releases - Double-click → USB setup once (accept UAC; then you can close iTunes)
- Choose a destination folder → Save
- Unlock the iPhone, tap Trust This Computer if asked
- Click Sync now (or Start watching for auto-sync on plug-in)
That’s it. Next time, only the diff is copied.
| Approach | Pain | iSyncLocal |
|---|---|---|
| PhotoSync / Wi‑Fi apps | Slow, flaky, always “checking” | USB (optional Apple Wi‑Fi later) |
| File Explorer MTP | Drops, 0-byte files, huge libraries hang | Apple AFC via Mobile Device Support |
| iTunes / Photos library | Opaque DB, hard to relocate files | Plain folder of files you own |
| Full re-copy tools | Waste time re-transferring everything | Indexes both sides; skips matches |
- Diff backup — indexes phone DCIM + destination; skips same name + size
- Never deletes your existing backup folder contents
- Resume — USB unplugged mid-run? Plug back in and continue
- Progress — GUI + CLI progress while indexing and copying
- Watch mode — sync automatically when the phone is connected
- Standalone USB — no iTunes window needed after one-time driver/service setup
- Original quality — keeps HEIC / MOV / AAE (no forced JPEG conversion)
- Optional
--wifi— Apple’s own network usbmux (after enabling Wi‑Fi sync once in iTunes/Finder)
Phone DCIM ──index──┐
├── name + size compare ──► copy only missing / bad files
Backup folder ───────┘
| Situation | Result |
|---|---|
| Already on disk, same size | Skip |
| Missing | Copy |
| Empty / wrong size | Re-copy |
| New empty folder | Full export |
| Cable yanked | Resume later; finished files stay skipped |
Photos and videos from the iPhone camera roll (/DCIM): HEIC, JPG, PNG, MOV, MP4, DNG, Live Photo pairs, and .AAE edit sidecars when present.
Not included: PhotoSync-style baked _edited renders (USB can’t run Photos APIs). iCloud-optimized photos that aren’t downloaded to the phone won’t appear over USB either.
git clone https://github.com/pashza/isynclocal.git
cd isynclocal
python -m pip install -e .
iphonephotosync setup
iphonephotosync guiiphonephotosync sync --dest "D:\Photos\iPhone"
iphonephotosync watch --dest "D:\Photos\iPhone"
iphonephotosync sync --wifi # optional Apple Wi-Fi transport
iphonephotosync doctor # USB / driver health checkConfig: %USERPROFILE%\.iphonephotosync\config.toml
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\build-exe.ps1
# → dist\iSyncLocal.exe| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| App can’t see the iPhone | Unlock phone, Trust PC, run USB setup, try another cable/port |
| Only works while iTunes is open | Run USB setup once (installs Apple Mobile Device Service) |
| Trust dialog every time | Trust once; if stuck: iPhone → Reset Location & Privacy, then Trust again |
| Missing recent photos | Open them on the phone so iCloud downloads originals onto the device |
| Transfer interrupted | Sync again — completed files are skipped automatically |
iphonephotosync doctorpython -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
python -m pytestMIT — free to use, fork, and share. See LICENSE.
Keywords: iPhone photo transfer Windows, USB photo backup, HEIC backup, camera roll export, PhotoSync alternative, iTunes photo import alternative, local iPhone sync