How Do I Download All My Photos from iCloud?

By Jack Smith — Updated March 8, 2026

To download all iCloud photos to your iPhone, go to Settings > Photos and select "Download and Keep Originals." Your iPhone will download full-resolution originals over Wi-Fi — allow several hours for large libraries. To download to a computer, sign in to iCloud.com, select all photos, and click the download button.

Method 1: Download to iPhone (Settings)

The easiest way to get all your iCloud photos onto your iPhone is to change the iCloud Photos storage setting:

Go to Settings > Photos
Under "iCloud Photos," select "Download and Keep Originals" (instead of "Optimize iPhone Storage")
Connect to Wi-Fi and plug in your iPhone to charge
Open the Photos app occasionally to let it continue downloading in the foreground
Progress is visible at the very bottom of the Photos app — it shows how many photos are still downloading

This method is best when you want to keep using your iPhone and iCloud Photos together, but want full-resolution copies stored locally at all times. Note: your iPhone needs enough free storage to hold all originals.

Method 2: Download to Mac or PC via iCloud.com

To download your entire photo library to a computer as a backup:

Open a web browser on your Mac or PC and go to iCloud.com
Sign in with your Apple ID
Click Photos
Click any photo, then press Cmd+A (Mac) or Ctrl+A (PC) to select all photos
Click the Download button (cloud icon with a down arrow) in the top-right
Choose to download as "Unmodified Originals" or "Most Compatible" (JPEG/MP4)

iCloud.com downloads in batches. For very large libraries (thousands of photos), you may need to download in sections by year or album. The downloaded files are ZIP archives that you extract to a folder on your computer.

Method 3: Download to Mac via the Photos App

If you have a Mac with iCloud Photos enabled in System Settings, your entire library is available in the Mac Photos app:

Open Photos on your Mac
In the sidebar, click Library
Select all photos (Cmd+A)
Go to File > Export > Export Unmodified Originals
Choose a destination folder and click Export

This preserves all metadata, Live Photo pairings, and original file formats (HEIC, ProRAW, etc.).

How Long Does It Take?

Download time depends on library size and your internet speed:

1,000 photos (~5 GB): approximately 30-60 minutes on a fast home Wi-Fi connection
5,000 photos (~25 GB): 3-6 hours
20,000 photos (~100 GB+): overnight or longer

Keep your iPhone plugged in and on Wi-Fi throughout. If you lock the screen, background downloading may slow down. Opening the Photos app periodically keeps downloads active.

Before You Download: Clean Up Your Library

If you're downloading photos to archive or switch services, it's worth cleaning up junk first — screenshots, duplicates, and blurry photos will take up unnecessary space on your device or computer. Swype Photo Cleaner lets you quickly swipe through and delete unwanted photos before your big download, saving time and storage. See also: How to Find and Remove Duplicate Photos on iPhone.

Clean up before downloading — remove junk with Swype Photo Cleaner

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