Photos app freezes upon import / photo importing problems

SOLUTION!

Hey everyone. I have this problem since September. I tried everything and every time my Photos App freezes while it scans for import from my iPhone. 

First of all I tried the process to a new PC with the exact same windows (and photos)  version only to find out it works normally and it is not an iOS issue.

What I did is this:

Press import as normal while you remember the number that your scan freezes and press "Cancel" once, before it reaches this number. Basically, dont let it freeze and press cancel in time. If it freezes, kill the task and launch again. Just a random number before the one it freezes works. After that, press import again and you will notice that the scan number continues from the one you pressed "cancel". But this time it will reach the max number and you will get to the "choose what to import" screen. 

I tried the process  10 times exactly and it worked all times. This looks like a good workaround until the App gets fixed (maybe in November update?). Please try this and post. 

This works for me but with multiple reboots of the iPhone to get all the photos.  I had over 2500 photos to download.

My systems: Windows 10 Pro Version 1903 OS build 18362.449.  Photo App 2019.19071.17920.0.  iPhone 8 Plus with iOS 13.2.

Below are the things I have tried until I came across your solution!

1.       Updated Windows program and apps (to update apps go to MS Store and update all apps there)

2.       In Windows Apps and Features setting for Microsoft Photo and under Advanced settings, tried repair and reset the app.  It didn’t work.

3.       Updated iTunes to the latest revision

4.       Updated iPhone to the latest revision

5.       Tried different USB ports

6.       Tried to download photos from another phone (iPhone 8), with a lot fewer photos, around 700 photos) and it worked.

7.       Tried using the Windows Administrator account but still didn’t work

8.       Tried download photos using Windows Explorer and using the Import Pictures and Video right-click context menu.  This seems to work ok but had multiple errors about files not available or something like that (but doesn’t tell you which files!).

9.       Switched on iPhone Photo app settings from "Automatic" to "Keep Originals" (this will download .heic files from iPhone).  Still didn’t work.

10.   At this point, tried your solution and it worked!  Btw, using the Esc key is the same as using the Cancel button on the popup.  After the cancel, tried to download again and the Photo app was able to move on to the next step – which is to allow one to choose which photos to download.  

11.   During the download process there were numerous errors with the “Something went wrong” and to try again popup.  I had to shut down and reboot iPhone numerous times to get all the photos out. 

Yes, I have been doing the above, downloading 0 to 50 photos / videos at a time. Switching off the iPhone & iPad to do some more. About to spend a second day trying to download my holiday photos. I have better things to do than this all day and night. It wasn't a problem for me before Windows 10, so what has changed.

I think we all show just buy a Apple computer (MacBook or other) so we don't have this trouble that Windows refuses to admit to and fix so we can use computers they way they should work, that is be a time saver!

Same problem as everyone else with Photos PC app freezing during photo download from Iphone7.  Mine started with the latest Iphone update two months ago,  Beyond frustrating.    Has anyone had any luck with other download apps.  I tried a couple with no luck.

Hey RoronoaZoro3! I tried your idea and, unfortunately, it didn’t work. Regardless, thank you for taking the time to share what you found! I really appreciate it. Hopefully it’ll work for others!

-Gabriela

I‘m bothered by the fact to have a human being at MS who answered (better guessed) once and never again. Besides this the update 1903 did not bring this issue in, but according to most posts I read it must have happened about two or three months ago ...

Btw. in rare cases (some SD cards) I succeeded after having tried 4...5 times, but some always freeze even after >10 approaches.

I stuck with MS since the first Windows, but permanent failures in such a core function is definately a no go and makes me thinking about ...

Hello everyone, thank you for the replies! I’ve been reading each one as they come in. For me, the issue still persists even after trying any solutions given.

I’ve even tried using Dropbox, which worked initially after downloading the HEIF image extension on Microsoft store to be able to open it on my computer. I was able to download the videos on my phone to my computer by uploading them to dropbox, with the quality preserved.

Alas, the problem came when I tried to import those .MOV downloaded video files from Dropbox to Adobe Premiere CC 2018. Adobe Premiere didn’t accept the codec that Dropbox had used in its process. It seems that I have to buy the HEVC video extension (for $0.99) to get the video to work, but even then I don’t know if Adobe Premiere will accept the file EVEN THOUGH it’s an .MOV file which they claim they support. I’ve even tried using Quicktime to convert the video to the H.264 codec that Adobe Premiere supports, but even Quicktime doesn’t recognize the codec that Dropbox uses, which may be fixed IF I buy the HEVC video extension. 

I may buy it soon, and if it works, I’ll let you guys know.

-Gabriela