(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)There are several good reasons to use iCloud Photos. First of all, it’s safe: no need to worry whether all twenty pictures of your new puppy eating his breakfast from ten different angles are stored carefully in a cloud. The second reason is that it’s very convenient: you just need to remember your Apple ID credentials to access all your pictures from any device. What if your phone breaks and PC goes down? What if you decide to never come back home after work and go to Maldives and have fun on a beach for the rest of your life? It’s all set, your pictures will still be with you.
In this article, we will talk about how to upload photos to iCloud from a PC running Windows.
Basically, you have three options:
- Upload photos using CopyTrans Cloudly;
- Upload photos via iCloud for Windows;
- Upload photos using iCloud.com.
In the table below, you can see the strengths and weaknesses of each option.
| CopyTrans Cloudly | iCloud.com | iCloud for Windows | |
| Uploading photos to iCloud | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Uploading .HEIC and .PNG files | Yes | No | No |
| Uploading videos to iCloud | Yes | No | No |
| Uploading .MOV, .MP4 and .M4V files | Yes | No | No |
| Uploading all photos | Uploads everything at once | Uploads only 1000 items at a time | Uploads everything at once |
| Speed (depends on the internet connection speed) | 15-30 minutes for every 5 GB | Eternity | 1,5-3 hours for every 5 GB |
| Incremental upload and download of new photos (without creating duplicates) | Yes | No | No |
| Downloading all photos | Downloads everything at once | Downloads only 1000 items at a time | Downloads everything at once |
| Downloading originals | Yes | Yes | Not always |
| Deleting all photos | Deletes everything at once | Deletes only 1000 items at a time | No |
| Preserving album structure | Yes | No | No (downloads by year) |
| Retrieving permanently deleted photos | Yes | No | No |
Upload photos to iCloud using CopyTrans Cloudly
If you got yourself an iPhone driven by its intuitive interface, you are going to like this: CopyTrans Cloudly is easy to navigate and can upload big amounts of data to iCloud in just a couple of clicks. Besides, Cloudly is the only app to help you out if you need to recover your permanently deleted photos.
Here is what you need to do:
- Download CopyTrans Cloudly here:
- Install and run the app. It will ask you to enter your iCloud credentials. We use SSL connection to exchange data with iCloud and guarantee 100% safety: you can read more about SSL connection on Wikipedia to make sure.
- If two-factor authentication is enabled on your device, unlock it and press “Allow”.
- Enter the verification code from your device.
- Click on the “Upload” button.
- Select files you want to upload to iCloud. CopyTrans Cloudly works with .HEIC, .PNG and .JPEG images and .MOV, .MP4, .M4V video files.
- When everything is selected, click on the “Upload” button.
- Wait while CopyTrans Cloudly is doing the job.
- All done. Your photos joined the iCloud.
Advantages
- CopyTrans Cloudly upload feature supports .HEIC and .PNG extensions in addition to a regular .JPEG;
- Uploading videos to iCloud (.MOV, .MP4, .M4V)
- Intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
Disadvantages
- Limited amount of actions in trial mode.
Upload photos via iCloud for Windows
How long does it take for photos to upload to iCloud? You will never know if you use iCloud for Windows because there is no progress bar and the only way to know if your photos are in iCloud is to check using another device. However, this program allows you to interact with iCloud in a unique way – through Windows File Explorer.
Follow the steps below:
- First of all, you need to install iCloud for Windows.
- If you have Windows 10 – use Microsoft store
- If you have Windows 7 or 8 – download an installer from Apple.com
- After the installation is completed, log in using your Apple ID.
- If you have two-factor authentication enabled, you will be prompted to verify your login with a code from your device.
- Select the “Photos” option and click on “Apply” to start the synchronization process.
- Open File Explorer. On the left side, you will see a new folder, “iCloud Photos”.
- Inside the folder, you will see all the photos currently synced to iCloud.
- Copy and paste .JPEG and .PNG files (or entire directories) inside this folder, and they will appear in iCloud shortly.
Advantages
- iCloud for Windows allows to Select folders with images to upload.
Disadvantages
- The Windows version of iCloud Photos does not upload .HEIC images;
- Can’t upload video files;
- It is unclear how long it takes for photos to upload to iCloud;
- iCloud for Windows has unintuitive and confusing user interface;
- The app is unstable and buggy.
Upload photos using iCloud.com
The last option on our list allows you to interact with iCloud through your browser. But if you are wondering why some of your iCloud photos are not uploading – it is because you can only upload .JPEG files.
If you choose this option:
- Open icloud.com.
- Sign in using your Apple ID.
- Select “Photos”.
- Click on a cloud icon in the upper-right corner.
- Select the PC photos you would like to upload and click on “Open”. In a couple of seconds, selected photos will be uploaded to the server.
Advantages
- There is no need to install anything on your PC: just use any browser.
Disadvantages
- Doesn’t allow to select a folder;
- Can’t upload video files;
- Only works with .JPEG images.
Conclusion
Now you know how to upload your photos to iCloud from PC in three different ways. In the end, it all boils down to what is more convenient for you. If you want to easily upload photos in batches – CopyTrans Cloudly is your choice; if you are not afraid of a confusing interface but aprecciate an opportuniny to operate through File Explorer – choose iCloud for Windows; finally, if you prefer to use your browser, go with icloud.com.
