How to copy and backup photos from a Lumia phone

Our quick and easy guide to transferring your photos from your Windows Phone device to a PC or Mac.

Windows Phone is, for the most part, a user friendly system that takes you gently by the hand and guides you through all manner of tasks. But when it comes to connecting to a computer and getting your camera shots copied off for safekeeping, you’re basically on your own.

Check out our full how-to guide to quickly backup your Lumia snaps to your home PC or Mac.

How to backup your photos from your Lumia phone to your Mac

First, you’ll need to download the Windows Phone app from Apple’s App Store and install it on your Macbook or Mac computer.

Once this is done, connect your Lumia device to your Mac via the bundled Micro USB cable and open up the Windows Phone app. You should see a window pop up on your Mac that allows you to name your phone, and choose whether your photos and videos should be automatically imported when you connect the handset.

If you choose not to have your media automatically backed up, just shift your eyes to the left of the screen. Under the ‘Devices’ tab you should see your handset listed, with whatever name you just gave it. Click on ‘Browse Device’ and all of your phone files should appear.

Anything marked ‘Camera Roll’ is a photo you’ve taken on the phone. Select whichever ones you wish to copy onto your Mac, and then you can either hit ‘import’ or simply drag them into the folder of your choosing on your Mac’s desktop.

How to backup your photos from your Lumia phone to your PC

Thankfully on Windows, the process is much easier.

If you have a Windows 8 laptop or PC, then all you need to do is connect your phone with your Micro USB cable. Next, open up Windows Explorer by pressing the Windows key and E at the same time.

Scroll down to ‘Devices and Drives’ and you should see your phone listed. Double-click on the icon, then the ‘Phone’ icon which pops up. You should see your phone’s folders listed. Select ‘Pictures’ and then ‘Camera Roll’ and you’ll see all of your photos appear.

Now, simply select which photos you wish to copy (or press Ctrl and A together to select every photo) and drag and drop them into a folder on your PC. They’ll be copied off your phone and onto your computer.

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