Photos app freezes upon import / photo importing problems

Anonymous
2019-09-12T23:08:28+00:00

Hello, I was trying to import photos from my iPhone via charging cable and upon import the photo app freezes. I reset my phone and tried again and it worked for the first import but another problem is that I can only upload 3-4 videos at a time before the photos app says something went wrong and I have to start the whole process all over again. Because of this, when I go to import again it just freezes once it hits my total photo and video count. This problem has been persistent ever since I started uploading photos and videos this past year or two and it really hinders my progress. Thanks for any help.

-Gabriela

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Connect Phone and PC

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-12-30T00:49:18+00:00

    I am having the same issue. Had it for a few months now so now my photo storage is getting smaller and smaller on my phone. When will Microsoft sort this issue out. I use a Samsung phone. It used to work, and now doesn't. Just freezes once it's got to a set number og photos discovered and won't finish the import

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-12-29T13:45:17+00:00

    I think we all now agree the problem seems to be with the windows photo app, not our phones. If you want to keep your sanity you need to import your photos to a folder without using this app, until Microsoft actually bother to fix it. Try this - its the only solution that worked for me, and it seems to have worked for many other people since I originally posted it back in November. Good luck!

    1. Plug your phone into your computer and give it a few minutes (you may have to unplug and plug it back in again if your computer can't read it).
    2. Click on your 'This PC' icon to show your devices and drives
    3. Right click on the phone device icon (mine was iphone)
    4. Select 'import pictures and videos'
    5. Select 'import all new pics'
    6. Click on 'more options'
    7. Choose the folders you want to save your photos and videos into (I did NOT save them in the windows photos or videos albums - I saved them on my D:Drive)
    8. Click on 'OK'
    9. Enter a name tag and then 'Import'

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-12-29T12:32:59+00:00

    Didn't work for me, I'm afraid. I then turned off all the other setting options as well and tried again, but still no joy.

    Thanks anyway.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-12-29T06:07:40+00:00

    Hi all,

    I was seeing similar problems today - Photos app crash or freeze when importing pictures from my iPhone XR. I tried the suggestions on this thread but nothing worked. I was finally able to import after doing the following:

    1. Open Photos app in Windows 10
    2. Click the 3 horizontal dots in the upper right corner then click Settings
    3. Scroll to the video section and disable the "Use hardware-accelerated video encoding when available" switch, it should now say "Off"

    For reference I had previously tried the following:

    • Repairing + Resetting Photos ("Microsoft Photos") app
    • In iPhone Photos settings using the "Keep Originals" setting

    Hope this helps,

    Mark

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-12-29T01:12:47+00:00

    Hello everyone!

    I found another way around this mess... This may not be easy and achievable to everyone, but for those who are experienced around Virtual Machines, this may be a good solution:

    • Create a VM with Windows 7 
    • Install Itunes
    • Connect your iPhone (or Android device, I did it with an iPhone 11 Pro) to the VM
    • Use W7 to transfer your photos

    Done! barely 15k photos/videos fully transfered!

    Hope this helps someone.

    -GL

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