How to download your entire iCloud Photos library at once

In this guide, we’ll cover six simple ways to download all the photos and videos saved in your iCloud Photos library without having to select and save each one individually.

If you’re switching to a non-Apple platform like Android, want to create a secondary backup, or are looking to save them elsewhere so you can free up your iCloud storage, you’ll need to download all your iCloud photos and videos.

Apple, however, doesn’t want to lose you as an iCloud+ customer, and thus, it does irritating things like limiting you to 1000 image downloads on iCloud web at a time and offering no way to select everything at once in the iPhone Photos app.

With that in mind, here are the easiest methods to download all your photos and videos from iCloud using an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Windows PC.

Method 1: Ask Apple for your iCloud Photos archive

This method is the easiest way to download all your iCloud Photos at once with minimal effort. However, if your iCloud Photos library is extensive, you may need to wait up to seven days.

The process involves requesting Apple to provide your Apple Account archive data, specifically your iCloud Photos. After verifying and processing your request, which can take a few days, Apple will send you a download link to retrieve all your pictures and videos in a ZIP file. Once downloaded, you can open the ZIP file to access individual images and videos or save it to a secure location, such as an external drive.

We have explained the entire process in our comprehensive tutorial titled how to get a copy of your personal data from Apple, but here’s a quick summary. Remember to enable “Access iCloud Data on the Web” if you have turned it off.

1. Head to privacy.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID email address and password.
2. Click Request a copy of your data.
3. Select iCloud Photos from the list and hit Continue.
4. Click the “File Size” drop-down menu and select a maximum file size between 1 GB and 25 GB. If you pick 5 GB, Apple will divide your downloads into 5 GB chunks. So, if your iCloud Photos library is 20 GB, you’ll have four 5 GB files. In my opinion, if you’re on a fast Internet connection with a relatively newer computer, you can select a bigger file size; otherwise, the default 1 GB is perfect. After that, click Complete request.
5. Now, wait for an email from Apple informing you that your download is ready. Click “Get your data” in that email, and then hit the download icon on Apple’s “Download your data” page.
6. Once the ZIP file downloads completely, open it on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows PC, or Android phone to see all your images and videos saved to iCloud.

Method 2: Download from the web

I recommend this method if you have around 1,000 photos and videos saved to iCloud or slightly more. Apple limits you to selecting and downloading only 1,000 files at a time from iCloud Photos on the web.

If your library has fewer than 1,000 photos, you can easily select them all and download them in one go. However, if your collection is extensive, like 20,000 photos, downloading them in twenty separate batches of 1,000 each can be a tedious process!

1. Visit iCloud.com/photos and sign in with your Apple Account details.
2. Now, scroll all the way up so your saved images and videos are loaded.
3. Select any one photo or video, then press the Command + A keys on Mac or Control + A on Windows PC to select all of them.
4. Click the download icon to get a ZIP file of all (up to 1000) selected pictures and videos.
5. Once the download completes, open the iCloud Photos.zip file to find all your pictures and videos.

Method 3: Download all iCloud Photos in the Photos app and export them

The Apple Photos app can store all iCloud Photos in their original quality. Afterwards, you can export them to a computer or other apps.

Depending on your iCloud Photos library size, it can take overnight or even a few days for all pictures and videos to download locally to your phone, tablet, or computer. Remember to keep your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook plugged into power and connected to Wi-Fi overnight for the download to complete. Also, don’t turn on Low Power Mode, as it pauses iCloud Photos sync.

On Mac

1. Open the Photos app and click Photos > Settings from the top menu bar. Then, go to the iCloud tab and make sure “Download Originals to this Mac” is checked. Now, wait for all iCloud Photos to download locally. You can see their status at the bottom of the Photos app window.
2. Once everything is downloaded, go to the Library section of the Photos app and select all pictures and videos by pressing together the Command + A keys.
3. From the top menu bar, click File > Export > Export Unmodified Originals for x Items.
4. Hit the Export button.
5. Now, choose a Finder location; I recommend creating a new folder, as all photos and videos will be exported individually.
6. Finally, click Export Originals. You can locate these files by going to the Finder folder you picked or created in Step 5.

Note that you can also select the pictures in Mac’s Photos app and drag them to the Downloads folder, Desktop, or elsewhere.

On iPhone or iPad

1. Open the Settings app and tap iCloud > Photos. Make sure Download and Keep Originals is selected, and wait for all originals to save locally to the device.
2. Once everything is saved to the device, you can connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac and import everything using Apple’s Image Capture app. If you have a Windows PC, you can access all your iPhone or iPad pictures and videos in Windows File Explorer or the Microsoft Photos app.

Method 4: Copy your Mac’s entire photo library to an external drive

This method is great if your main reason to download photos and videos off iCloud is to back them up to a second location, like an external hard drive, for safekeeping.

1. Open the Apple Photos app on your Mac, go to its settings, and check “Download Originals to this Mac.” Follow the next step after all images and videos from iCloud are saved locally to your Mac’s local photo library.
2. Return to Mac’s Photos app settings and click Show in Finder from the General tab. You can also open Finder and click Go > Home > Pictures.
3. You’ll see a “Photos Library.photoslibrary” file that holds all the pictures and videos you see in your Mac’s Photos app. Just copy this file and save it to your external drive or wherever you want.
4. When you need to use the “Photos Library.photoslibrary” file, close the Photos app first. Then, hold the Option key and click the Photos app icon in Mac’s Dock or Launchpad to open it. You’ll see a “Choose Library” window. Click “Other Library…” and select the “Photos Library.photoslibrary” file to use it as your Photos app library.

Method 5: Copy iCloud Photos to Google Photos and download them

You can file a request with Apple to transfer all your iCloud Photos to Google Photos. Then, download your Google Photos on an Apple or non-Apple device. You can even use Google Takeout to download all Google Photos in one swoop. The Google Takeout method is equivalent to requesting Apple for your iCloud Photos archive, which we have already mentioned above.

Method 6: Download all your iCloud Photos on Windows PC

If you have a Windows PC, you can set up iCloud Photos there and then use the “Always keep on this device” option in File Explorer to save them offline. Alternatively, you can download all originals of iCloud Photos to the iOS Photos app and then follow these methods to transfer iPhone pictures and videos to a Windows PC.

Which method will you be using?

Also, check out: 41 tips to make the most of the Photos app on your iPhone

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/03/11/how-to-download-all-icloud-photos/