How do I change the Photos destination location in Windows 11 when importing photos from an iPhone 16?

Question

How do I change the Photos destination location in Windows 11 when importing photos from an iPhone 16?

Anonymous

How do I change the Photos destination location in Windows 11 when importing photos from an iPhone 16? The default is onedrive which I do not want to use. I want to import to my Pictures folder on the C:drive. I have not found a way to change it. Thanks. I've also tried Photos Legacy but after it seemingly accessed the photos on the iPhone, the app closes.

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Answer accepted by question author

Manoel Barros 22,050 Independent Advisor

I did some tests on my personal computer and found out how you can do this easily.

First add your Pictures folder. Open File Explorer (WINDOWS + E) > Click on Gallery > Click on "Collection" in the top menu > Manage Collection.
Click on Add > Add your Pictures folder or any other folder you want. Click OK.
Close and Open the Photos app > The folder you added will be there. When you import your pictures, the folder will appear.

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6 additional answers

Answer 1

Manoel Barros 22,050 Independent Advisor

Hello! I'm Manoel Barros!

To change the destination location of any user folder, do this:

Open Explorer Files (WINDOWS + E) > In the Left Tab, right-click on "Pictures" folder > Properties > Location.
Click on Move > Choose the destination localtion

You can also use iCloud to store your photos. You can choose iCloud as the destination location for the Pictures folder.

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Answer 2

Thanks for your reply. I am not trying to change the destination folder of any user folder; I am trying to change the destination folder in the Photos app. It does not let me change it from the C:\user\myxxx\OneDrive\Pictures.

When I followed your directions, it wants to MOVE what's in the OneDrive\Pictures folder to the folder I picked, which is my Pictures folder on my C: drive. I do not want to do this. I simply want to import my iPhone photos directly to a folder of my choice on my C:drive., and NOT to the unchangeable (evidently default) OneDrive\Pictures folder in the Photos app. Nor do I want to import them to iCloud.

I would think this would be a simple matter, but I guess not or I'm missing something simple.

Answer 3

Thanks for your feedback!

While importing photos, you can select a destination folder. You can see this in the link below:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/imp...

As per the link above, If you are having trouble with your iPhone import, make sure your device is unlocked and you’ve accepted the permissions.

If this is not what you are looking for, You can suggest this improvement to Microsoft by posting a comment in the Feedback Hub.

Follow the link below on how to do this:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/sen...

Answer 4

I saw the steps you sent in the link prior to my posting. I cannot do Step 8 Select the location of the destination folder for import. It does not let me change circled destination path when I click on it. Nor can I find anyway to change that.

If I click on Create Folder, it will create a folder on OneDrive, which I do not want to do.

Clicking on This PC in the left column doesn't help either.

Thanks for trying to help.