How to transfer data from iPhone to iTunes

The easiest and quickest method to set up your new iPhone is to restore from a recent iCloud backup. As you walk through the initial setup process, tap Restore from iCloud Backup, sign in with your Apple ID and then pick the most recent backup of your old iPhone. 

If the backup is more than a day or two old, I suggest you take an extra few minutes to create a new backup. To do so, open the Settings app on your old phone and search iCloud Backup (click the icon), then select Back Up Now. 

Once that finishes, go back to your new iPhone and select the backup you just created as what you want to use to restore from. 

Your phone will then restore your settings and preferences, and you'll be able to start using it in about 15 minutes while it finishes downloading your installed apps. 

Once everything is restored, you'll need to sign back into any accounts you added to your phone, as well as go through your apps and make sure you're still signed in. 

2. Use Apple's direct transfer method

During the setup process, you'll be asked if you want to directly transfer apps and information from your old iPhone to your new one. This feature was first rolled out with iOS 12.4, so if it's been a few years since you've upgraded phones, it'll be the first time you've seen the option. 

The tool is straightforward to use. Make sure you have both phones, preferably plugged in and charging to ensure they don't run out of battery, a Wi-Fi connection and enough time for the process to finish -- it could take over an hour. 

The more information you have on your phone, like photos in your camera roll, the longer it will take. When the transfer starts, the phones will show you a time estimate. Every time I've used this tool, that estimate has been accurate within a couple of minutes. It's worth taking the time if you don't use Apple's iCloud service to back up your phone.

3. Use a Mac or PC to transfer your data to an iPhone

The method I personally use with every new iPhone is to restore from an encrypted backup using a Mac or PC. Not only does this process transfer all of your apps, settings and preferences, but it also means you don't have to sign into the countless apps you have on your phone. 

Before you can use this method, you'll need to create an encrypted backup of your current iPhone. I know that may sound intimidating or overly complicated, but it only means you have to check an extra box and enter a password. 

On a Mac, you'll use Finder to back up your old iPhone. We outlined the steps when Apple killed iTunes. Just make sure to check the Encrypt backup box and enter a password you'll remember when prompted. Let your Mac go to work, creating a backup file. It will let you know when it's done. 

On a PC, you'll need to use iTunes (it's not completely dead) to create a backup. That process is explained here. Again, you'll need to make sure the Encrypt backup box is checked and enter a password. 

To restore your new phone, open Finder or iTunes, and connect your phone to your computer. Click Trust when prompted, and then follow the prompts, selecting the backup you just created as what you want to use to restore the phone. You will need to enter the backup's password before the process begins -- so make sure you don't forget it! 

Once it's done, your new phone will be an exact copy of your old phone and you won't have to spend any time signing into apps or random accounts. 

4. Android user? This app is your answer

Apple doesn't have many Android apps listed in Google's Play Store, but Move to iOS is one of them. This free app will connect your Android phone to a new iPhone and allow you to transfer the most important information from one phone to the other. 

Here's the entire step-by-step process as well as some caveats, like the fact that it won't transfer any locally stored music or PDF files. 

No matter the process you used to set up your new phone, you're sure to be giddy with excitement as you explore what it can do. 

Do you have some files, images, videos, and music on your PC that you would like to transfer to your iPhone? iTunes is the standard choice for sharing data in this way. Yet, various people find it a bit challenging because it's not ideal and contains specific issues, such as it has crashed several times and running slow as well.

This has left many users confused and wondering about Windows to iPhone file transfer. The excellent news is that you can use numerous applications instead of iTunes. This article will review the solutions as follows!

Part 1: Transfer Files with MobileTrans [Step-by-Step]

MobileTrans is a trending phone-to-phone transfer and phone-to-computer software designed for the systems running on Mac and Windows. The purpose is to ensure smooth data transfer without wasting time and tiring your nerves. Besides data transfer, it also serves as an efficient mobile device manager that you can use either for iPhone or Android. It allows backing up and then restoring the data as you like and when you like.

Step 1: Launch MobileTrans

Go to the official website of the MobileTrans software from Wondershare and hit the Download tab to launch the software within your Windows PC.

Step 2: Connect the iPhone to a Windows PC

Connect your phone to the computer and keep them connected during the whole transfer process.

Note: iPhone needs to trust the computer first 

Step 3: Select files on your computer

Go to FileTransfer > Import to phone. You can hit the Import tab to add a file to your phone. There are five different data types supported.

Step 4: Import data to your phone

When the import is over, you can view this data on your phone.

Part 2: Transfer Files with iTunes

iTunes is the simplest method to enjoy everything you need for entertainment - movies, music, and TV shows - plus it is all organized well. Despite these features, iTunes also offers us file transferring options in two ways, as defined below. 

Method 1: Transfer data from PC to iPhone via iTunes file sharing.

It is compatible with files created by apps that work with File Sharing. 

It contains a "File Sharing" option in iTunes. This feature will assist you in sharing files between your PC system and a supported app on your iPad/iPhone.

Thus, if you are required to transfer files between iPhone and PC by apps such as Pages, Keynote, and Numbers between your computer and your iOS device, it is advisable to use File Sharing.

To copy files between your iOS apps and PC:

Step 1: Firstly, install the latest version of iTunes on your PC.

Step 2: Now, connect or sync your iPhone to the PC system and launch iTunes.

Step 3: Tap the device icon and select "File Sharing." 

Step 4: Choose the app that works with File Sharing and hit the "Add" in iTunes.

Step 5: Choose the files you want to transfer to your PC and then hit the "Add" tab.

Step 6: Open the app you choose on your iPhone to check the transferred files. 

Method 2: Transfer data from PC to iPhone via iTunes Sync.

If you have iOS 5 (or later) installed on your iPhone and are on a Wi-Fi network, you can easily sync your device without connecting it to your PC.

When you sync automatically over Wi-Fi, your device uses the same sync settings you chose for syncing using a cable.

To add items on your PC to your iPhone, you can use iTunes to sync them. You can have iTunes automatically sync items (which is the fastest option) or manually drag items to your device (which gives access to more control) — or you can do both. These items can also be removed from your device automatically or manually.

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to your PC.

You can connect iPhone via a USB or USB-C cable or a Wi-Fi connection.

Step 2: Click the Device button near the top left of the iTunes window in your PC's iTunes app. 

Step 3: Select a type of content you want to sync (for example, Music or TV Shows) in the sidebar on the left.

Step 4: Select the Sync checkbox, then select the items you want to sync automatically each time you connect your device. 

Step 5: Repeat the above step 3 and 4 for each type of content you want to include on your device. 

The bottom of the window bar shows how much free space remains on your device after you sync.

Step 6: By default, iTunes syncs your device whenever you connect it to your computer. If you want iTunes to ask you before syncing, do one of the following:

• Require a prompt before syncing this device: Click Summary, then deselect “Automatically sync when this [device] is connected.”
• Require a prompt before syncing all devices: Choose Edit > Preferences, click Devices, then select “Prevent iPods, iPhones and iPads from syncing automatically.”

Step 7: When you’re ready to sync, click Apply.

Part 3: Transfer Files with Cloud Services

This section will define two ways to transfer files from a Windows PC to an iPhone via Cloud services. Even though the Cloud has some storage limitations, it still offers one of the convenient options worth considering.

Method 1: Transfer Files from PC to iPhone for Free Using iCloud Drive

It is compatible with all kinds of content. 

The iCloud Drive is almost Apple's version of Dropbox. It's pretty different from iCloud Backup since it's a document-oriented file-sharing service. You can easily store your files in iCloud and access these items on iCloud.com after enabling iCloud Drive on your computers, iOS devices, and iPadOS devices. Thus, by activating iCloud Drive, you can transfer files from a Windows PC to iPhone or iPad without iTunes. If you want to share the files like documents, using iCloud Drive is pretty perfect for you. 

Whether you have launched iCloud for Windows or not, the steps to transfer files to your iPhone or iPad are pretty different. 

Step 1: Open the iCloud control panel on your PC and log in with the Apple ID on your iPhone.

Step 2: Hit the checkbox next to "iCloud Drive" to activate the option. 

Step 3: Visit the "This PC" option, and you can check a folder called "iCloud Drive." You can expand "Quick Access" if you don't see it in Windows. 

Step 4: Copy and paste the data or files you wish to transfer files between iPhone and your Windows PC within the iCloud Drive folder. 

Step 5: Click the "Settings" tab on your iDevice and hit the [your name] > "iCloud" > "iCloud Drive" option. 

Step 6: Visit the "Files" app and select the "Browse" > "iCloud Drive" option. Now you can preview the items from your PC existing on your iPad or iPhone. 

Method 2: Transfer Files from Computer to iPhone with Dropbox

It supports images, PowerPoint, Word Excel, PDFs, HTML, Text, etc.

In addition to iCloud aforementioned, various types of cloud services can be helpful, such as Google Drive and Dropbox. Most of these cloud drives offer free space or free trials, and the limitations for the free versions are generally acceptable. So, this could be another good selection for Windows 10 to iPhone file transfer.

To transfer files from PC to iPad/iPhone with Dropbox:

Step 1: Install Dropbox on both your iPhone and computer. Then log in with the same account.

Step 2: Open Dropbox on your PC and upload the files you wish to copy to your iDevice.

Step 3: Open Dropbox to check and download the items to your mobile device on your iPhone.

Part 4: Transfer Files with USB Cable

To transfer files via a cable on a Windows PC, you require an effective USB cable. Given below are the ultimate steps to do so:

Step 1: Connect Your iPhone and Computer

Connect your iPhone and Computer directly with USB cable.

Step 2: Choose File Transfer

Now, choose the File Transfer option. A new window or panel should pop up on your computer, showing your mobile device's name.

Then, choose the Internal Storage option as depicted on the right-hand side of the screenshot given below. Now, navigate to the folder where you had already saved your folder files. 

Step 3: Transfer Files to Computer's Storage and vice-versa

As you've found the file folder now, it's easy to transfer files to your chosen location within your computer.

Hold down your cursor over the file and drag it to the desired folder. Or, you can right-click on the file and select Copy (or CTRL+C). Next, hover to the destination folder (example: Pictures) and click the CTRL+V option to paste it within the new destination.

You can drag the chosen file from the PC storage to your chosen phone's folder to transfer files from Windows to iPhone. As already described, you can also extract these files from your phone's storage to your PC's storage.

Once you finish, you can eject your cable and enjoy the rest of your day! 

Conclusion

So, we’ve almost tested four different ways to find the fastest way to transfer files from Windows to iPhone. But when you’re not at ease with certain methods, you can easily do that using any of the cloud storage options or the most convenient method of software program described above. 

In conclusion, we'd like to mention that you must not ignore the specialties of software. If a program or software explicitly focuses on particular requirements for moving data, it undoubtedly presents more merits than other standard processes. Thus, we've chosen Wondershare MobileTrans as one of the quickest, reliable, and dedicated ways to quickly transfer files between iPhone and PC. 

That said, we hope that this tutorial guide was valuable. Feel free to chip in your suggestions or ask any queries.