4 Ways to Transfer Videos from PC to iPhone without iTunes

How to Transfer Videos from PC to iPhone without iTunes

Do you have precious home videos, memorable clips from vacations past, or just funny content stored on your PC that you want to enjoy on your iPhone? Transferring videos from your computer to your iPhone lets you carry those video memories in your pocket to rewatch and share anytime.

While using iTunes was once the standard method for syncing content between your computer and iOS devices, Apple officially discontinued the iTunes app in 2019. Don‘t worry though – there are still several easy ways to transfer videos from a PC to an iPhone without needing iTunes at all. In this guide, we‘ll walk through four methods step-by-step.

Method 1: Use iCloud Photos to Sync Videos

iCloud is Apple‘s cloud storage service that comes built into every iOS device. It‘s designed to keep your photos, videos, documents, and app data backed up and synced across all your Apple devices automatically. By enabling iCloud Photos on both your PC and iPhone, you can easily sync videos between them.

Here‘s how to transfer videos from PC to iPhone using iCloud:

1. On your iPhone, open the Settings app and tap on your name at the top.
2. Select "iCloud" and then choose "Photos".
3. Toggle on "iCloud Photos" if it‘s not already enabled. This will automatically upload all photos and videos from your iPhone to iCloud when connected to WiFi.
4. On your PC, download and install iCloud for Windows. Open it and sign in with your Apple ID.
5. In iCloud for Windows, click "Options" next to Photos and enable "iCloud Photos".
6. Check the box for "Upload new photos and videos from my PC" and click "Change" to select a folder of videos on your PC to sync.
7. Any videos you add to that folder on your PC will now automatically sync to your iPhone‘s Photos app via iCloud. You can also view and manage them at iCloud.com.

Pros:

• Uses iCloud storage you likely already have
• Syncing is automatic whenever you add new videos to the selected folder
• Works over WiFi, no cables needed

Cons:

• Requires paying for iCloud storage if you exceed the free 5GB limit
• Can take time to sync if you have a lot of large video files
• Uses your internet data to upload/download

Method 2: Transfer Videos via Cloud Storage Services

Another option for getting videos from your PC to your iPhone is using a third-party cloud storage service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive. These services provide an online locker for your files that you can access from the web or apps on any device.

The basic process works like this:

1. Download the cloud storage service‘s app on both your PC and iPhone. Create an account if you don‘t have one already.
2. On your PC, open the app and upload the video files you want to transfer. You can also drag and drop them to the service‘s folder on your computer.
3. On your iPhone, open the corresponding app and find the videos you uploaded from your PC. You can then save them to your iPhone or share them directly from the app.

For example, here‘s how to use Dropbox to transfer videos:

1. Install the Dropbox app on your PC and iPhone, and create a free account.
2. Drag the videos you want to transfer into the Dropbox folder on your PC. They will automatically start uploading to the cloud.
3. On your iPhone, open the Dropbox app and navigate to the folder containing your uploaded videos. Tap the three dots next to a video.
4. Choose "Export" and then "Save Video" to download a copy to your iPhone‘s local storage in the Photos app. Repeat for additional videos.

Most cloud storage services only offer a few gigabytes for free before requiring a paid subscription for more space. But they provide a quick way to transfer videos wirelessly if you don‘t use iCloud. Downloading videos from the cloud also won‘t take up your iCloud storage space.

Method 3: Sync Videos with Third-Party iPhone Transfer Software

For more advanced file management between your computer and iPhone, you can use third-party transfer programs like AnyTrans, iMazing, or EaseUS MobiMover. These let you transfer videos, music, contacts, messages and more without the limitations of iCloud or iTunes.

We‘ll use the popular iCareFone program from Tenorshare as an example. Here‘s how it works:

1. Download and install iCareFone on your PC. Launch the program.
2. Connect your iPhone to the PC with a USB cable and wait for iCareFone to detect it.
3. Select the "Videos" tab at the top of the window.
4. Hit "Import" and choose either "Add File" to select individual videos or "Add Folder" to transfer an entire directory of videos at once.
5. Choose the destination folder on your iPhone to save the videos to, such as the Photos app.
6. Click "Open" to begin the transfer process. You‘ll see a progress bar and completion message when the videos are done copying to your iPhone.

These iPhone managers are handy if you frequently need to move content between your iPhone and PC. They provide a two-way connection, allowing you to make changes on your computer and sync them to the iPhone. However, they are paid programs, with prices starting around $30.

Method 4: Manually Transfer Videos with Windows File Explorer

If you prefer a more hands-on approach, you can use Windows Explorer to manually move videos from a PC to an iPhone – no extra software needed. This method is best if you only need to occasionally transfer a small batch of videos. It requires a USB-to-Lightning cable and can be a bit clunky.

Here‘s how to manually transfer videos from PC to iPhone:

1. Connect your iPhone to the PC with a USB cable. Tap "Trust This Computer" on the iPhone if prompted.
2. On the PC, open Windows File Explorer and navigate to "This PC". You should see your iPhone show up as a new portable device.
3. Double click the iPhone icon and then open the "Internal Storage" folder. Browse to the "DCIM" directory.
4. Within DCIM, you‘ll see folders like "100APPLE", "101APPLE", etc. These contain your iPhone‘s photos and videos.
5. To transfer videos, just drag and drop (or copy and paste) the video files from a folder on your PC into one of the iPhone‘s "APPLE" folders.
6. Once the transfer is done, you can unplug your iPhone. The videos will now appear in the iPhone‘s Photos app.

One major limitation of this method is that you can only add videos to the iPhone‘s DCIM folder, not delete or modify existing videos on the device. Attempting to do so may corrupt your iPhone‘s photo library. It‘s a straightforward but one-way and limited transfer option.

Wrapping Up

So what‘s the best way to transfer videos from a PC to an iPhone? It depends on your specific needs and preferences:

• If you already use iCloud and have available storage space, syncing videos with iCloud Photos is an easy and automatic option.
• For just occasional video sharing, uploading to a cloud storage service like Dropbox and downloading to your iPhone works well.
• If you frequently manage files between your PC and iPhone for work or personal use, investing in a third-party iPhone manager provides the most file transfer flexibility.
• When you need to quickly transfer a couple videos without installing anything, accessing your iPhone in Windows Explorer is fine.

No matter which method you choose, you can finally retire iTunes and still easily enjoy videos from your PC right on your iPhone. Give these options a try and let us know which works best for you!