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When your iPhone is full of photos, you need to connect it to your computer and find the iPhone DCIM Folder Missing Photos (Digital Camera Image) folder to transfer photos from your iPhone to your computer so you can back them up, edit them, look at them, or free up space on your iPhone. The DCIM folder is mostly used to store photos, videos, and screenshots taken by your device’s camera.
If you connect your device to your computer, Windows File Explorer will show you the folder. But you might find that the iPhone DCIM folder is missing photos or doesn’t even show the DCIM folder. What went wrong? How can these problems be fixed? We’ll talk more about this in the next post.
Fixed: iPhone DCIM Folder Missing Photos on Windows 11/10
Restart Your Apple iPhone
- Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. then
- Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. then
- Now Press and hold the Side button until the black screen appears on display.
- After a while phone will start automatically. Next, enter your phone passcode to unlock phone. Now try to connect to Pc computer and check iPhone pictures showing up in the DCIM folder. in case of photos on iPhone but not in dcim folder, kindly refer to the next solution.
Uninstall and Reinstall iTunes
Even though you have installed iTunes on your computer, it doesn’t mean that your iTunes is workable to help you fix the iPhone DCIM folder not showing on your PC. Besides iTunes, Bonjour, Apple Application Support, Apple Mobile Device Support, and Apple Software Update are also needed.
If anyone of them stops working, you may face an iPhone DCIM folder not showing on the computer problem. Luckily, all of these components will be installed when installing iTunes.
Uninstall Apple Mobile Device USB Driver
On Windows 7, right-click Computer > choose Manage > Device Manager > choose Apple Mobile Device USB Driver from the drop down menu of Universal Serial Bus controllers > right-click the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver to choose uninstall.
On Windows 10, type the devmgmt.msc in Run (WinKey+R) or search device manager in the search box and then hit enter. Then, find Apple Mobile USB Driver to uninstall.
Reset Location and Privacy
- Open the Settings app and go to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Location and Privacy.
- Enter the iPhone’s device passcode and tap Reset Settings to complete the reset.
- Reconnect your iPhone to your PC. Since you’ve reset your location and privacy settings, you must unlock your iPhone and tap Allow/Trust to provide Windows the permission to access the DCIM folder on your iOS device again.
Check Apple Mobile Device USB Driver Status
- Press Windows + R to open the Run box.
- Type services.msc and press Enter.
- Double-click Apple Mobile Device Service.
- Make sure that “Startup type” is set to Automatic and “Service status” is Running.
- Select Apply > OK and restart your PC.
Reinstall iPhone Driver
- Unlock your iPhone and connect it to your computer.
- Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
- Expand the Portable Devices section.
- Right-click Apple iPhone and select Update driver.
- Select Search automatically for updated driver software and wait until Windows procures the latest version of the driver.
- Disconnect your iPhone and restart your computer.
Why iPhone DCIM folder is missing photos?
- A bad or broken USB cable or port can make it hard for your devices to stay connected. If you have locked your iPhone, you won’t be able to get to the DCIM folder.
- Unauthorized access to your device, you can’t get to the data on the computer you used before if you don’t trust it. The iPhone’s internal storage won’t show up, and the DCIM folder will be empty.
- The missing photos are stored in iCloud instead of on your device. Since they are not in the Camera Roll, you can’t import them from your iOS device. Some files in the DCIM folder are hidden, so you can’t see them.
- Your device’s previous location and privacy settings could make it hard for you to use your device on a computer.
FAQ
Why won’t my PC see my iPhone photos?
This is most likely because your PC does not recognise the HEIC format. In 2017, Apple began using the High Efficiency Image Container (HEIC) format in iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra. This format allows for smaller file sizes than JPG or PNG.
Why I can’t see all my photos in the DCIM folder?
Photos are stored on cloud storage: Because of cloud storage services, your photos may no longer be stored in the default DCIM folder on your mobile phone. Instead, they may be stored in the cloud, which means you won’t be able to access those pictures on your computer through the DCIM folder.
Why are my iPhone photos not showing up in DCIM?
You can’t see photos in DCIM folder iPhone, probably because your photos are uploaded to iCloud instead of being stored in your iPhone internal storage. To access them on your computer, you must download them from cloud storage and save them on your iPhone.