Phone → PC · Step by step

How to transfer photos from a phone to a PC or laptop without losing quality

Photos from a phone to a PC or laptop arrive smaller, flatter or renamed more often than people notice. Here is why, and a path that moves the exact file and proves it.

Why this usually goes wrong

The path depends on the phone in your hand: an iPhone has no AirDrop for Windows and its cable import may convert HEIC and HEVC; on Android, Quick Share needs a PC with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on, Phone Link’s drag and drop works only on some brands (and File Explorer only on Windows 11), and users report the cable (MTP) skipping files in big folders. Both end up in WhatsApp, which recompresses everything sent as media.

A photo is only “the same” if every byte is: messaging apps re-encode JPEGs and strip metadata, share sheets convert HEIC to JPEG, and cloud galleries keep a “storage saver” copy unless you pay attention. RAW and ProRAW files are the first casualties — 25 to 75 MB each, and most paths either refuse them or quietly hand you a JPEG.

Quick self-test: compare the file size on the phone with the one that arrived. If it shrank, something re-encoded your photo.

How to do it with ZiggSend

  1. Install ZiggSend on the PC or laptop from ziggsend.com/windows. It sits in the tray next to the clock.
  2. Install ZiggSend for Android from Google Play (free).
  3. Install ZiggSend for iPhone from the App Store (free).
  4. On the phone, open ZiggSend and tap Connect to a computer. Tap your PC under Devices nearby (same Wi-Fi), check that the safety code matches on both screens and click Allow on the PC. If the PC does not show up, tap Scan the QR code and point it at the code the PC shows under Connect a phone or computer. On Windows the transfer runs over Wi-Fi.
  5. Choose what to send. Files land in a folder on the PC exactly as they were on the phone, each one verified byte for byte.

It works in both directions: the same pairing sends from the computer back to the phone.

Measured, not promised. 22 GB in 184 files with 0 failures from an Android to a Mac over a USB 2 cable (about 28 MB/s); an 806 MB video over home Wi-Fi in 46 s; up to 49.7 MB/s over Wi-Fi from a Mac to an iPhone. Every file is checked against the original on arrival. How we measure.

Other ways, and what each one costs you

MethodOriginal qualitySize limitThe catch
WhatsApp to yourselfNo — recompressed as media2 GB as a documentGoes through their servers; originals only as “document”
USB cable (MTP on Android, Photos import on iPhone)UsuallyNoneUsers report skipped files in big folders (Android); may convert HEIC/HEVC unless “Keep Originals” is on (iPhone)
BluetoothYesNoneA fraction of a megabyte per second: about an hour for one video; iPhone cannot send files to Windows this way
Google Drive / iCloudYes15 GB / 5 GB freeUpload, then download; slow on home upload speeds

What people ask before they trust a transfer app

“I don’t trust my private photos to a site I don’t know.”

Neither do we. ZiggSend has no site in the middle: the file goes from one device to the other over your home Wi-Fi (or, from Android to a Mac, a cable), and no file is stored anywhere else. The computer app only contacts ZiggSend to check for updates, to register a random install ID when it opens and, if you go Pro, to activate the license and check its status once a day; the privacy policy lists exactly what goes out.

“Mine fails at 64% every time.”

A transfer that breaks resumes where it stopped. Every file is written as a temporary part and only gets its final name after the SHA-256 check passes — you never end up with a half file that looks whole.

“I’m out of space and need to empty the phone.”

Move everything to the computer first: only files that pass the SHA-256 check get their final name, and History shows each fingerprint (today’s on Free, all of them on Pro). Then delete on the phone. Originals, no size limit.

Free forever with 1 phone. Pro when you need it.

The phone apps are free. So is the computer app, with one paired phone. Pro — several phones, full history, automatic folders, up to 3 computers — is $39 a year, or $19 once for the first 1,000 founders.

Get ZiggSend for Windows

Questions people actually ask

Does it matter if my phone is Android or iPhone?

Hardly at all. The computer app is the same, the phone app exists for both, and on Windows both go over your Wi-Fi. On iPhone, keep the app open and the screen on until a big transfer finishes (an iOS rule).

Does it work on a laptop with only Wi-Fi?

Yes. The laptop and the phone need to be on the same Wi-Fi network; no cable, no internet, no account.

Do RAW files and Live Photos survive?

RAW, yes: ZiggSend copies the file as it is on the phone — HEIC, JPEG, RAW/DNG and ProRAW, with the metadata intact. From a Live Photo only the original photo goes; the short video clip is not sent.

Can I send the whole camera roll?

Yes. Select everything and send; there is no file count or size limit. From an Android to a Mac over a USB 2 cable we moved 184 files, 22 GB, with 0 failures; iPhone and Windows go over Wi-Fi with the same verification.

Related guides

Videos from a phone to a PC or laptop without compression4K and HDR video from a phone to a PC or laptop, untouchedLarge files from a phone to a PC or laptop, no size limitTransfer documents and PDFs from a phone to a PC or laptop

Compared with

ZiggSend vs WhatsAppZiggSend vs Phone Link