Connecting an iPhone6 to a PC for the 1st time (to offload photos)

vk3diw · Oct 3, 2015

Hello,
I tried to be as on-point as I could in the title...but it's an odd one.

- My brother and his wife are traveling overseas. She has an iPhone 6.
- Important point: They are in their seventies, and not very computer savvy...
- They called, worried about the photos building up on her phone, wanted to know how best to get them off onto his laptop (which they took along, a Windows 7 IBM PC)
- I did not want to go the photo stream route of iCloud drive, Google drive etc because they will probably get tangled up in setting it up and using it (they are in the US at the moment, I'm in Australia)
- I thought the easiest would be to just connect the phone via USB and open the iphone folder (as I have done in the past) and copy the photos
But...
The iPhone did not come up in the PC's file explorer list, and iTunes opened asking if we wanted to set up a new phone.
a. Do we need to do this iTunes step for the PC to "see" the phone at all (outside of iTunes) ?
b. if we do go ahead, will it wipe any existing data off the iphone (apps, emails, photos - and especially, settings)? What worried me was that it said "Do you want me to set this up as a new phone?" etc
i don't want to mess them around while they are traveling!...
cheers
PS: To answer a question that may arise: I don't know if she has ever connected it to a PC - and certainly not to this PC before.
PPS; Windows 7 seemed to load the iPhone drivers okay - and recognized the USB device - but it never appeared in "Computer" or File Explorer. The fact that iTunes started up meant that the PC knew an iPhone had been connected - so I'm a bit confused here - but don't have any experience of iP6 or the current IOS - which may account for the behavior that was unexpected (to me!)

bear7962 · Oct 3, 2015

It is easy. Here's what they need to do:
To Import photos: Plug phone to pc, open My Computer,look for the iPhone icon, right click on it, click import.
Do not open iTunes when you do this.

vk3diw · Oct 3, 2015

@bear7962:
Thanks friend, but the point I was making is that the iPhone does not appear in My Computer (or File Explorer) like you'd expect.
I have an old 4 that I use as an iPod/quick camera and that's what I do. It's not happening here.
So I was wondering if there's something that needs to be enabled on an iPhone 6 to make it appear like that? What could stop it from appearing in My Computer?

bear7962 · Oct 3, 2015

I am copying a link from Apple that might be helpful. The article first mentions iTunes not being found and that is not your concern but it also talks about the Apple Mobile Device driver and that may be the problem.

iPhone, iPad, or iPod not recognized in iTunes for Windows - Apple Support

1badsup · Oct 3, 2015

You'll need to install iTunes on your computer first. It loads the necessary drivers needed for the iPhone.

vk3diw · Oct 6, 2015

Thanks.
As I mentioned in my original post: when the phone is connected, iTunes opens and asks if we want to set it up as a new phone.

That was actually my main question: If we say 'yes' will it reset any data or settings on the phone?
So the basic issue is that iTunes knows it's connected - but we cannot see it in My Computer.
That's what's weird. And I don't particularly care about iTunes - but want to see it in My Computer so we can get the photos off.

Cheers

scifan57 · Oct 6, 2015

If you set it up as a new phone, everything on the phone will be erased and you'll get an activated iPhone with nothing but the stock apps and no user content.

J. A. · Oct 6, 2015

Make sure computer and iPhone are up to date (the latest software for iPhone 4s and later is 9.0.2).

Also make sure your iPhone trusts your computer. This popup should have appeared on your iPhone when you connected your device to the PC for the first time. Your iPhone has to be unlocked to get the popup.

For more help with your issue, look at this site:
If you can't import photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer - Apple Support