Much of our daily life revolves around computers. We use computers to work, communicate with friends, listen to music, play game, store our photos and videos, and more. None of this would be possible without a hard drive. However, your internal hard drive may run out of storage and can’t store any data after a long time of use. For this reason, most people will choose to use external hard drives as the complement to the internal hard drive. With the much-awaited iPhone 13 line released, the storage of iPhone has finally come to 1TB, which means that you can store up to 2 million photos, 250 movies or over 500 hours of high-definition videos. Due to a smaller size and a viewable screen for stored media, many people may want to transfer files from external hard drive to iPhone for backup. Since photos are the most common files people store to hard drive, this tutorial will cover 5 ways to help people transfer photos from external hard drive to iPhone.

Related readings:

How to Transfer Photos from PC to iPhone

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Computer

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to USB Flash Drive

Part 1: How to Transfer Photos from External Hard Drive to iPhone with iTunes?

When it comes to transfer iOS data, iTunes may be the first software iPhone users think of. Admittedly, iTunes, as the exclusive software developed by Apple for iOS data transfer, only allows the users to transfer files between iOS devices and computer via syncing. Anyone who has tried this software knows that iTunes will erase existing data before syncing, which bothers many users. To transfer photos from external hard drive to iPhone, read the following for more detailed steps. If you are using iCloud Photos to share your photos, you don’t need to sync your photos using iTunes. Check other methods in the next parts.

how-to-transfer-photos-from-external-hard-drive-to-iphone-using-itunes

Steps:

  1. Connect your external hard drive and iPhone to computer, and launch iTunes.
  2. Once iTunes recognizes you iPhone, click the device button in the top-left corner of the menu bar.
  3. In the left column, click Photos.
  4. Check the box next to Sync Photos and choose your external hard drive as the source folder to import photos from the pop-up menu. Then, choose whether to move all your folders or only selected folders.
  5. Finally, click Apply > Done to start transferring photos from external hard drive to iPhone.

Part 2: How to Transfer Photos from External Hard Drive to iPhone with iTransfer?

Fortunately, with the development of iOS transfer technology, there are some third-party software emerging. Among all iOS transfer tools on the market, Leawo iTransfer can be regarded as the best one. This software enables users to transfer, back up and manage up to 12 kinds of files including photos, videos, music, contacts, messages, and more between iOS devices, iTunes and computer without efforts. Bypassing the restrictions and limitations of iTunes, there is no risk of losing any data on your iPhone. What’s more, it can make your iPhone, iPad and iPod as flash drives. You can store anything you want into your iOS devices, even if the files are not supported by the devices. Therefore, to transfer photos from external hard drive to iPhone, using iTransfer is the best choice.

Step 1: Free download Leawo iTransfer

Click either buttons below according to your computer system to free download, and install Leawo iTransfer to your computer.

  • itransfer
  • Leawo iTransfer

    - Transfer files among iOS devices, iTunes and PCs with ease.
    - 6x faster than iTunes
    - Transfer up to 14 kinds of data and files without iTunes.
    - Support the latest iOS devices like iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, etc.
    - Play back, view, and delete data and files on iOS devices.
    - Support Windows & Mac OS

Step 2: Connect external hard drive and iPhone to computer

Launch iTransfer after installation, then connect your external hard drive and iPhone to computer. This software will recognize your iPhone immediately.

Plug external hard drive and iPhone to computer

Step 3: Start to transfer photos from external hard drive to iPhone

In the left column, navigate to iPhone > LIBRARY > Photos. Then, at the top middle, click Add > Add File or Add Folder. A window will pop out, and you can choose photos from your external hard drive to import. Click Open and all selected items will be transferred from external hard drive to iPhone in one go.

Add files from external hard drive

Part 3: How to Transfer Photos from External Hard Drive to iPhone Using iCloud?

As mentioned above, if you are using iCloud Photos Library, you can also move photos from external hard drive to iPhone using iCloud. But first you need to upload source files to iCloud before transfer. If you don’t have an iCloud account, or you have subscribed to other cloud services, the rough steps will be similar. Just download the corresponding app from App Store to your iPhone, and download all uploaded files to finish the transfer task.

  • Step 1: Connect your external hard drive to computer.
  • Step 2: On your computer, open the browser and go to iCloud.com, or you can launch iCloud Drive app if you have installed it.
  • Step 3: Sign into with your Apple ID, and click Photos or iCloud Drive from the main interface.
  • how-to-transfer-photos-from-external-hard-drive-to-iphone-using-icloud-1
  • Step 4: Click the Upload button to upload photos from external hard drive to iCloud.
  • how-to-transfer-photos-from-external-hard-drive-to-iphone-using-icloud-2
  • Step 5: On your iPhone, if you have uploaded photos to Photos, tap Settings > [your name] > Photos, and toggle on iCloud Photo Library button. Then, you can view transferred photos in Photos app.
  • how-to-transfer-photos-from-external-hard-drive-to-iphone-using-icloud-3
  • Step 6: If you have uploaded photos to iCloud Drive, tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud Drive, and toggle on iCloud Drive button. Then, you can go to iCloud Drive app > Browse, and find the folder you uploaded photos to view transferred photos.
  • how-to-transfer-photos-from-external-hard-drive-to-iphone-using-icloud-4

Part 4: How to Transfer Photos from External Hard Drive to iPhone via Email?

While using cloud services like iCloud and Dropbox is a good method to move photos from external hard drive to iPhone wirelessly, they generally offer only 5GB free storage. If you only have a few photos need to be transferred, then Email is also a good option. Normally, per email size is limited to 25MB, and per file attachment is limited to 10MB, which means that you can transfer maximum 10 photos at once, if one photo size it 2.5MB. If you need to learn more details about how to transfer photos from external hard drive to iPhone using Email, follow the detailed guidance below.

how-to-transfer-photos-from-external-hard-drive-to-iphone-using-email

Steps:

  1. Connect the external hard drive to computer.
  2. Go to any email you have an account with and log in.
  3. Create a new email and enter your other email account as recipient. Then, attach files from your external hard drive and send it.
  4. On your iPhone, open the email and download photos from attachment to your iPhone.

Part 5: How to Transfer Photos from External Hard Drive to iPhone Using iPhone Adapter?

With the increasing ownership of iPhones, more and more accessory manufacturers are willing to invest in iPhone lightning port. To help people directly connect iPhone and device with USB-A port together, the lightning adapter came into being. To move photos from external hard drive to iPhone with this tool, follow the detailed guidance below.

how-to-transfer-photos-from-external-hard-drive-to-iphone-using-lightning-adapter

Steps:

  1. Connect your iPhone and external hard drive with the lightning adapter.
  2. Open the Files app on your iPhone, and tap Browse > On My iPhone, and create a new folder to store transferred photos.
  3. Go back to Locations interface, and tap [your external hard drive] > [the folder you store photos]. Then, hold and select photos you want to transfer, and tap Move in the button. Set the created folder as the output destination to finish the task of transferring photos from external hard drive to iPhone.