In this guide, we will show you all the methods for connecting iPhone to PC with Windows so that you can upload a playlist of music, download the photos and videos shot so far from the device’s internal memory to the hard disk and even use it as a modem to connect a notebook to the Internet.
How to connect iPhone to PC
In the following chapters, we have collected all the proven and reliable methods to connect an iPhone to the PC and make the necessary transfers or take advantage of some of the functions available with the connected phone.
How to connect iPhone to PC with cable
Without a shadow of a doubt, the simplest method involves the use of the USB cable included in the iPhone package, but before connecting the phone we will have to download the iTunes program to our computer, necessary to be able to manage it correctly. We install this program and in the end, we start it, then connect the iPhone via cable, using one of the free ports on our computer, and unlock the iPhone (necessary to provide the necessary permissions). After a few minutes, the Apple phone will be recognized by the program and we will be able to manage the internal memory and its more advanced functions by pressing on the top left on the small iPhone-shaped icon (just below the menu Controls).
We will have access to all the memory sectors of the phone and we will also be able to check the backup settings and any updates to be installed.
How to connect iPhone to PC without cable
Using iTunes for the iPhone we can activate the Wi-Fi mode, so as to avoid the use of the USB cable and connect the iPhone to the PC wirelessly, obtaining the same practicality of the cable (but without recharging the device).
In order to take advantage of this possibility, we connect our iPhone at least once via USB cable to the PC, open iTunes, press the iPhone icon at the top left and scroll to the new screen until we find the item Synchronize with iPhone via Wi-Fi, to be ticked for the occasion.
Once the checkmark has been applied, we press down on apply come on end to make the changes effective.
By removing the USB cable we can continue to set the iPhone without problems even on subsequent computer restarts, just open iTunes if necessary.
How to connect iPhone to PC without iTunes
Do we want to avoid using the iTunes program or are we on a company PC with limits on the account used? In this case, we can connect iPhone to PC without iTunes by installing the AirMore app on our Apple mobile phone.
Once the app is installed, let’s go to the PC to be used for the connection, open any web browser (Chrome or Edge is fine), go to the AirMore website and, from the app on the phone, press the button Scan to connect so that the QR code shown on the computer can be captured with the rear camera.
If we are looking for another app to be able to connect the iPhone wirelessly and without using iTunes, we can read our guide on how Transfer music, photos, files, and videos to the iPhone from PC without iTunes.
Connect iPhone to PC as a modem
If we are away from home and want to connect our notebook to the Internet without using public hotspot networks, we can rely on the mobile offer of our SIM (inserted in the phone) by activating the iPhone personal hotspot.
To activate this feature and thus use the iPhone as a modem, we open the app Settings, make sure you have activated the mobile data network (in the menu Cell phone), we open the menu Personal hotspot and turn on the switch next to the entry Allow others to log in.
A Wi-Fi network will immediately be created with the name of our iPhone and we can connect to it with any Wi-Fi compatible PC, using the network password shown on the screen. If we want to change the password, just press on the Wi-Fi password and choose another one as you like.
How to connect iPhone to Mac
On Mac and MacBook it is much easier to connect an iPhone; being always Apple technology we will only have to make sure that we have the latest version of the macOS operating system so that we can also manage the new iPhones that have come out on the market (or that will come out). We turn on our Mac and make sure that the operating system and the iPhone itself is updated, as also seen in our guide How to update an iPhone.
After updating all the systems, connect the iPhone with the USB cable to one of the free ports, wait a few minutes then open the app Finder in the bottom bar, so you can manage the iPhone by pressing the phone icon in the section Positions (left side).
The options are the same as iTunes on Windows, with the only difference that in this case we have opened the file manager integrated in Mac to be able to correctly manage the iPhone.
If we do not want to use the USB cable for the connection, make sure to open the management screen as seen previously, check the item Show iPhone if Wi-Fi connection is active and press the lower right corner on Synchronize.
READ ALSO: How to connect the smartphone to the Mac.
Conclusions
Compared to any other Android device we will have to tinker just a few more minutes in order to connect an iPhone to the PC, but the result is assured: following one of the procedures described above we will be able to manage the internal memory of the phone, transfer the files to be saved, create backups and update the system.
If we want to automatically synchronize the photos taken with iPhone on PC, we invite you to read our guide on how How to transfer photos from iPhone to PC. If, on the other hand, our goal is to transfer the contact directory to your computer, just follow the suggestions in the guide Synchronize the address book from iPhone to PC with iCloud.