Fix: iPhone Photo Import Failure ‘Something Went Wrong’

Are you troubled as to how to fix iPhone photo import failure ‘Something went wrong’?

Microsoft and Apple had some incompatibilities with each other’s devices for quite some time now. Caveats can arise every now and then as Apple encourages using an Apple device with another Apple device, while the same goes with Microsoft. However, users don’t always own an iPhone and a Mac, or an Android phone and a Windows machine.

Such incompatibilities can trigger different errors and failures, and one of these examples is the ‘Something went wrong’ error when transferring your iPhone photos through Microsoft Photos to a Windows machine. 

Most of the time, this is caused by the incompatible HEIC format of iPhone photos which cannot be directly imported to the Windows system. It can also be caused by the Microsoft Photos app or iPhone Photo settings becoming corrupted.

Whatever the cause might be, this is still devastating news for some users who usually transfer their iPhone photos to their Windows machine. If you are one of those users, you’ve come to the right place as we have compiled a list of methods that you can try to fix this issue.

And without further ado, let’s jump right in!

• 1. Keep iPhone Unlocked.
• 2. Change iPhone Photo Settings.
• 3. Give Full Control Permission For Pictures Folder.
• 4. Disable Antivirus Software.
• 5. Update iPhone And Windows To The Latest OS.
• 6. Check Out Fiverr.
• 7. Transfer Photos In Small Batches.

 

1. Keep iPhone Unlocked.

Most of the time, this issue can be caused by your iPhone automatically switching to ‘Locked mode’ or ‘Sleep mode’. Once this happens, it can cause issues or interruptions while importing photos as Apple devices do not allow any data transfer across different platforms in this state. 

To resolve this issue, you need to make sure that the iPhone is unlocked once you have connected your iPhone to your Windows machine. To do this, you can tap once on the iPhone’s screen to keep it unlocked during the file transfer. 

 

 

In addition to that, check your iPhone from time-to-time to make sure that it doesn’t switch to the ‘locked mode’ to prevent the ‘Something went wrong’ error from appearing.

 

 

2. Change iPhone Photo Settings.

Some users reported that changing your iPhone’s photo settings to ‘Keep Originals’ from ‘Automatic’ have fixed this issue. 

After troubleshooting the issue by themselves, users found that if ‘Automatic’ is selected and your iPhone’s storage is full or nearly full, it converts the images to .jpg files which causes problems when transferring photos.

Fortunately, changing the setting to ‘Keep Originals’ prevents this issue from happening.

Here’s how you can update your iPhone photo settings:

1. Go ahead and go to your iPhone’s Settings app.
2. Now, select Photos.
3. Next, under Transfer to Mac or PC, select Keep Originals.

 

With that out of the way, try to re-import photos from your iPhone to your Windows machine to check if the iPhone photo import failure ‘Something went wrong’ has been fixed. Luckily, this has resolved the issue for you as it did with most users, but if not, we still have some more methods for you to try.

 

 

3. Give Full Control Permission For The Pictures Folder.

One easy thing that you can check is if the ‘Pictures’ folder has the right permission. In some scenarios, this is the culprit to the ‘Something went wrong’ error, so it is of utmost importance to check the allowed permissions on your Windows machine.

Here’s how you can check permissions:

1. Go ahead and click the Windows and E keys simultaneously on your keyboard.
2. Now, right-click on the Pictures folder and select Properties.
3. Next, switch to the Security tab and click Edit.

 

4. Then select your username under Group or user names.

 

5. After that, make sure that Allow is checked under all permissions.
6. If Full control is already checked, toggle it by unchecking and checking it again.

 

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Here’s how you can check special permissions:

1. Go ahead and click the Windows and E keys simultaneously on your keyboard.
2. Now, right-click on the Pictures folder and select Properties.
3. Next, switch to the Security tab and click Advanced.

 

4. Then click the Add button. You should be redirected to a different window. Click Select a principal.

 

5. After that, enter Everyone under Enter the object name to select (examples), select Check Names and click OK.

 

6. Finally, under Basic permissions, select Full Control and click OK.

Once that is all done, check if the issue no longer happens. Hopefully, it is no longer occurring after changing the Pictures folder’s permissions.

 

 

4. Disable Antivirus Software.

Most, if not all the time, the antivirus software blocks and removes suspicious files from entering your machine. In some instances, it also removes necessary files which can trigger the ‘Something went wrong’ error. 

To prevent this from happening, you can temporarily Turn off Windows Defender Firewall and disable other antivirus software that you have installed on your Windows machine. However, if there is no option to disable your antivirus, you can opt to quit the antivirus scanning process before you proceed with the transfer.

 

 

When you have turned off and disabled all your antivirus from running, try to re-import your photos to check if the iPhone photo import failure ‘Something went wrong’ has been fixed. Otherwise, let’s proceed to our next method.

 

 

5. Update iPhone And Windows To The Latest OS.

To ensure that you are not behind on the latest bug fixes and updates, you need to be sure that you are always on the latest OS version, may it be for your iPhone or your Windows machine. An update should fix the issue as most common errors can be resolved by updating to the latest OS version.

Before you begin updating your devices, always validate that you have at least 50% battery life on them. In addition to that, a stable connection to a Wi-Fi network is also required as this will affect the speed of downloading an update.

Here’s how you can update your iPhone:

1. Go ahead and go to your iPhone’s Settings app.
2. Now, choose Software Update and check if an update will appear.

 

3. Once an update is available, choose Install Now to begin the update. This usually takes a few minutes to an hour to finish.
4. Finally, your iPhone will automatically restart after the update has been finished.

 

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Here’s how you can update your Windows:

1. Go ahead and click the Windows Start button.
2. Now, choose Settings and select Update & Security.
3. Next, choose Check for updates and check if an update will appear.

 

4. Once an update is available, choose Download and Install to begin the update. This usually takes a few minutes to an hour to finish.
5. Finally, a prompt will appear to restart your Windows machine. Click it to finish the update.

When you’re done, check if you will still see the ‘Something went wrong’ error. However, if you still see it, head over to our next method.

 

 

6. Check Out Fiverr.

Are you currently looking for freelancers? Or are you probably looking for clients? 

Have you ever tried Fiverr? Fiverr is a marketplace for both clients and freelancers, where both freelancers and clients can be secured, thanks to Fiverr’s protected payment scheme. Freelancers can utilize project-based rates instead of hourly rates, while clients can look for the right freelancer suitable for their needs.

 

 

Some of the available services that clients can look at range from graphics and design, digital marketing, writing and translation, video and animation, programming and tech, and a lot more. 

Furthermore, if you are a freelancer with the said niches, this is a marketplace that you should definitely consider checking out as Fiverr has also provided some guides that you can check out to know how to grow your business.

 

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Try Fiverr Now 

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7. Transfer Photos In Small Batches.

If the previous methods we provided did not fix your issue, you might want to try transferring your iPhone photos in small batches. This can be an enormous hassle if you transfer more than 1000 photos, but this is worth a try.

In some cases, the ‘Something went wrong’ error appears because you might be transferring corrupted photos that you are not aware of, so this is an efficient way to find out which photos have already gotten corrupted.

To avoid this issue, you should select a couple of images first, then transfer them to your Windows machine. If it will be transferred successfully, you can gradually increase the number of photos that you will transfer until you have transferred them all. 

 

 

Now you have reached the end of this article, but we hope that we have been able to help you fix the iPhone photo import failure ‘Something went wrong’. If you have any questions or comments, comment them down below. We would love to hear your feedback!

 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂