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Our world is evolving very fast and smartphones are taking an increasingly important role in our lives day by day. We all store our cherished memories in the form of photos and videos in our iPhone. But what do you do if the unthinkable happens and your favorite iPhone gets a breakdown? Whether it’s a dead iPhone screen, water damage, or a completely unresponsive device, the panic of losing precious photos can be overwhelming.

Don’t panic, not everything is lost yet and there is still a chance to save your most memorable moments. In this detailed guide, we will tell you simple yet effective methods to recover photos. So, let’s dive into the work and find out how to get photos off a broken iPhone or even recover photos without the actual device.

Select where to start:


I have no idea what backups are or if I have any

What are backups? They are copies of your iPhone in digital format that contain your photos, contacts, settings, and more. They are waiting to be restored to another iPhone or extracted to a computer.

How are they created? iCloud, if enabled, creates backups every time your iPhone is connected to a power source. iTunes, if enabled, creates backups whenever your iPhone is connected to PC.

It is always better to protect yourself. Do regular backups with CopyTrans Shelbee and you will always be calm and relaxed.

How to search for them? Easy – by using CopyTrans Backup Extractor. It will recover data from broken iPhone like so:

⭐ Automatically search for iTunes backups on your PC (FREE feature);
⭐ Automatically search for iCloud backups in iCloud (FREE feature);
⭐ Show a list of all your backups;
⭐ Extract photos, contacts, messages, and more to PC.

Let’s look for backups to start recovering photos from broken iPhone:

  1. Download and install CopyTrans Backup Extractor.

    Download CopyTrans Backup Extractor

  2. Run CopyTrans Backup Extractor. Log in to iCloud if you want to search for cloud backups, too.

    NOTE: We use a secure SSL connection and do not store your account data unless you want us to save it for faster login. In this case, it will be saved on your PC within the app’s settings.

    When ready, start the backup hunt!

    how to get photos off old iphone

  3. Wait until the backup hunt is over. You will see a list of all available backups.

    💡 iTunes backups are marked with a folder icon. iCloud backups will be marked with a cloud icon.

    List of backups in CopyTrans Backup Extractor interface

So, got any backups?

How to get photos off of a broken iPhone

to PC using a backup

The best way to recover photos from broken iPhone would be to extract them from a backup. Hopefully, you have an old backup that was made automatically by iTunes or iCloud. Or maybe some software you used in the past did a backup for you, who knows?

You can automatically search your computer for backups with CopyTrans Backup Extractor.

iPhone backup location on PC

✔️ find all the backups automatically;

✔️ save all the backup data on your PC

✔️ compatible with different backups: iCloud, iTunes, CopyTrans Shelbee, or other programs;

Download CopyTrans Backup Extractor

  1. Run CopyTrans Backup Extractor. Log in to iCloud if you want to search for cloud backups, too.

    NOTE: We use a secure SSL connection and do not store your account data unless you want us to save it for faster login. In this case, it will be saved on your PC within the app’s settings.

    When ready, start the backup hunt!

    Backup hunt with CopyTrans Backup Extractor

  2. After a few seconds, you will see a list of all the backups available. Select the one you need.

    💡 If you are restoring from an iTunes backup, you may be asked for a backup password. What password?
    💡 iCloud backups will be marked with a cloud icon, and they are never password-protected.

    Enter the iPhone backup password in CopyTrans Backup Extractor

  3. Click Photos > Extract.

    how to get pictures off a broken phone that wont turn on

  4. Finally, select a folder you want to save photos to. Wait until photos are extracted. Click on Go to folder to see all the photos and videos recovered with CopyTrans Backup Extractor.

    Recover photos from broken iPhone: result

    If you have a new device, you can transfer the photos back to iPhone.

Here’s what you recover from iPhone backup to PC with the free trial version of CopyTrans Backup Extractor:

✨ 50 photos and 10 videos;
✨ 10 contacts;
✨ 10 notes;
✨ 1 chat (SMS, iMessages, WhatsApp, Line);
✨ 1 calendar.

Get CopyTrans Backup Extractore

How to recover photos from an old iPhone

to a new device using a backup

If you already have a new iPhone and want to restore only photos from an iTunes backup, let us help you. CopyTrans Shelbee allow you to restore the contents of your old iPhone to a new device. But unlike iTunes the app won’t run a full restore, and you’ll be able to choose what types of data you want to restore. You can choose to recover only photos from an old or broken iPhone to your new device which iTunes won’t let you do.

Here is how to recover photos from old iPhone to another device:

how to transfer apps to new iphone
Unlike iTunes, CopyTrans Shelbee will:

✔️ restore full iPhone backup or just some selected data;

✔️ allow you to restore all your apps or just some of them;

✔️ do full or incremental backup;

✔️ allow to choose the folder to save backup;

✔️ validate backup made;

✔️ compatible with iTunes backup;

✔️ support encrypted iPhone backup;

  1. Download and install the program.

  2. Run the program and connect the iPhone or iPad to your PC. Click on the Custom restore button.

    how to recover photos from broken iphone

  3. Next, click on the pencil icon and navigate to the folder where you store your backups. Select the backup that contains photos you want to recover.

    TIP: Use CopyTrans Backup Extractor to find all backup locations on your PC.

    Click on the pencil and choose the backup you wish to restore

    NOTE: If your backup was encrypted before, you’ll have to enter the encryption password. If you don’t remember the password, use our backup password recovery tips.

  4. Select Photos from the list of data types. Click Next.

    Select Photos to recover photos from a broken iPhone

  5. Wait until the restore is finished and voila! That’s how to get pictures off iPhone! Easy!


How to recover photos from broken iPhone without backup

You may not need a backup if your photos were synced to iCloud. In this case, the original photos are stored on the Apple servers and you only need to access them.

Well, we have the tool you need. CopyTrans Cloudly will download all your iCloud photos to PC in one go. It is also the only way to recover recently deleted photos without backup. Let’s start!

Advantages of CopyTrans Cloudly

CopyTrans Cloudly for your iCloud photos

Download CopyTrans Cloudly

  1. Download and install CopyTrans Cloudly. Then run the programm. You will see a login screen. Enter your Apple ID and password.

    broken iphone photo recovery

  2. To download all the photos and videos from iCloud, click on Download.

    Downloading photos from iCloud with CopyTrans Cloudly

  3. Select the folder where you want to keep your library. And that’s it! All you need to do now is wait until all your photos and videos are downloaded.

    How to recover photos from disabled iPhone without backup

  4. The photos have been downloaded! As soon as you have a new device, you can transfer the photos from PC to iPhone.


How to get photos off broken iPhone

using iTunes

If you have previously made a backup with iTunes, you can easily restore lost photos and videos to a new iPhone. It might come in particularly handy when you want to recover photos from a damaged iPhone.

There is, however, one major drawback: you won’t be able to select photos only. All the data, including other apps and settings from your old iPhone, will be restored to the new one. If you would like to only restore photos to your new iPhone, use CopyTrans Shelbee.

Here’s how to get photos from old iPhone and to restore photos to your new iPhone using iTunes:

  1. Connect your iPhone to PC and run iTunes.
  2. Wait until your iPhone appears on the top panel and click on the iPhone icon.
  3. How to restore iPhone from iTunes to PC

  4. Go to the Summary tab > click the Restore Backup button.
  5. Choose to recover data from broken iPhone

  6. iTunes may ask you to disable the Find my iPhone feature.
    how to disable Find my iPhone feature

  7. Choose the backup you need and click Restore.
  8. Restore photos from a broken iPhone using iTunes
    If necessary, enter the password to your backup (you will be asked to do that if your backup is encrypted).

  9. Now just wait until the process finishes. And that is how you get photos off of iPhone.
  10. iTunes restore in progress


Recover photos from iPhone with broken screen

Conclusion

How to get photos off of broken iPhone? It seems like a difficult question to answer.
But we have tried to answer it. Whether your iPhone screen is broken or unresponsive, or you’ve accidentally deleted important files, there are methods that can help you recover cherished memories.

Don’t forget to back up your photos and other important files regularly to avoid permanent loss. Follow the steps in this action guide, and relax knowing that your memories are safe. With a little patience, persistence, and technical knowledge, your precious photos from your broken iPhone will be on your computer or other device where they can be truly cherished.

Avatar for Marika CopyTrans
By Marika CopyTrans

Marika (pronounce like 'Merica) dreams of saving the world from boredom. Fairly believes that she was the one for the part of Wonder Woman in DC movies, but for now she is eager to make your CopyTrans journey remarkable.