Fix “Something went wrong” when importing iPhone photos to Windows

By Adrián Lengyel, who built SaveMyRoll · Facts about other products checked on 11 November 2026

1. Unlock the iPhone and tap Trust. A locked phone hides its photos from Windows. Keep it unlocked while the import starts.
2. Choose “Keep Originals”. With “Automatic”, the phone converts HEIC photos and HEVC videos to JPG and H.264 while copying, which is slow and a common cause of failures. (On older iOS: Settings → Photos.)
3. Use a direct USB port and a good cable. Avoid hubs and front-panel ports.
4. Import in smaller batches. Users on Microsoft Q&A report that selections with many videos fail most often; try photos first, then videos.
5. Update Apple Devices (or iTunes) and the Photos app from the Microsoft Store, then restart both devices.
6. iCloud “Optimize iPhone Storage”? Apple says to download the full-resolution originals to the phone before importing.
7. Still failing? Use a tool that does not give up: SaveMyRoll retries, continues an interrupted file where it stopped, and at the end reads every copied file back from the drive and compares its SHA-256 checksum with the original, then shows a report.

Questions

Why does Photos say “Something went wrong” when importing from iPhone?

Most often because of a large import with videos, the phone converting HEIC files on the fly, a locked phone, or a loose cable. Try the fixes on this page in order.

How do I import thousands of iPhone photos without errors?

Set the iPhone to “Keep Originals”, keep it unlocked and on a cable, and use a tool that resumes and verifies. SaveMyRoll continues after interruptions and checks every file.

Sources

• Microsoft Q&A: Photos import “Something went wrong”: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/a/12517844
• Microsoft Q&A: iPhone import fails when videos are included: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/a/5746418
• Apple Support: transfer photos and videos from iPhone to your PC: https://support.apple.com/en-us/120267