Import Photos From Your Phone? Unlock It First

You have plugged your phone into the laptop, Windows has made the connection sound, and the Photos app is showing you nothing at all to import.

Nine times out of ten the reason is on the phone rather than the PC, and Microsoft says so in the second sentence of its own instructions.

I checked which of the two import routes actually exist on this machine before writing, and one of my first checks gave me a wrong answer that I had to go back and correct.

The sentence people skip

First line of Microsoft's own steps. It is the whole problem.

⭐ Microsoft documents it plainly on its import page: "Turn your phone on and unlock it. Your PC can't find the device if the device is locked."

⚡ A locked phone appears as a device with nothing in it. No error, no warning, just an empty list.

⚠️ And phones lock themselves while you look at the laptop. That is why it works for a moment. Then stops.

⛔ Unlock the phone, then look again in Photos. Before you change a single setting, do that.

The prompt on the phone that decides everything

This one appears on the small screen while you watch the big one.

⭐ On an iPhone, Microsoft tells you to watch for this: "You might see a prompt on the iOS device asking you to Trust This Computer. Select Trust or Allow to continue."

⚡ On Android, the equivalent is the USB mode. Microsoft's wording is that "you might need to change the USB setting to transfer media or photos".

⚠️ Most Android phones default to charging only. Pull down your notification shade, tap the USB notification, choose file or photo transfer.

⛔ Miss either prompt and the PC sees a device with no contents. Same empty list, different cause.

The cable, which is not just a cable

Microsoft names this one directly rather than leaving it to folklore.

⚡ Microsoft says it in one line: "USB cables have different transfer speeds and not all of them can transfer files."

⭐ A charge only cable is a real thing, and the one bundled with your battery pack or car charger very often is.

⚠️ The tell is simple. The phone charges and nothing else happens. No prompt, no device in Photos.

⛔ Borrow the cable that came with the phone before blaming Windows. It is the fastest test on this page.

The route itself, once the phone is ready

Four steps. Microsoft's wording is shorter than most guides make it.

⭐ Microsoft's instruction: "On your PC, select the Start button and then select Photos to open the Photos app. Select Import, then select your connected device, then follow the instructions."

⚡ Import sits in the top right of the Photos window. Small button. Easy to look past.

⚠️ File Explorer is the other route and it is often faster. Your phone appears under This PC, and you can drag folders out of it like any drive.

⛔ Explorer also copes better with very large libraries, where Photos can sit thinking for a long time. If the phone does not appear there either, that is a different fault.

What this machine has, and the check I got wrong

A correction I made to my own reading, and printing it is ours.

⭐ The Photos app is installed here, which is the route Microsoft's instructions assume.

⚡ Phone Link is installed too. ⚠️ My first check said it was not, because the command I ran failed rather than returning nothing, and I read a failure as a no.

⚠️ That is the mistake this whole page is about, and it is the one you will make too. A check that errors is not a check that answered.

⛔ No phone was connected while writing, so nothing here is a transfer I performed. The steps are Microsoft's and the software list is this machine's.

⚠️ And if Phone Link itself will not connect, the band is the usual reason. Same network is not the same as same band.

When to stop using a cable

For most people the cable is now the slow way, and saying so is ours.

⚡ Phone Link shows recent photos from an Android phone without any cable. It is already installed on Windows 11.

⭐ Cloud photo backup makes the question disappear. The pictures are on the laptop because they are on the internet.

⚠️ A cable still wins for thousands of files at once, and for anything you want off the phone permanently.

⛔ And if the phone is new rather than just full, do it in the right order. Moving to a new handset is its own job.

Status: the two import routes checked here on 29 August 2026, on Windows 11 Home version 25H2, alongside Microsoft's own import documentation. ⛔ No phone was connected, no photo or file was imported, moved or read, nothing was changed, and no device, account or file name of anybody's is published.

Why can my PC not see photos on my phone?

Usually because the phone is locked. Microsoft's own instructions say your PC cannot find the device if it is locked. Unlock it and look again before changing anything. After that, check for the Trust This Computer prompt on an iPhone, or the USB mode on an Android phone.

What does the Trust This Computer prompt do?

It gives that specific PC permission to see the contents of the phone. Microsoft's instruction is to select Trust or Allow to continue. Until you do, the PC sees a connected device with nothing inside it, which looks identical to an empty phone.

Why does my Android phone only charge when I plug it in?

Because charging is the default USB mode on most Android phones. Microsoft says you might need to change the USB setting to transfer media or photos. Pull down the notification shade, tap the USB notification, and pick file transfer or photo transfer.

Can a USB cable stop photos transferring?

Yes. Microsoft says directly that USB cables have different transfer speeds and that not all of them can transfer files. Cables bundled with battery packs and car chargers are often charge only. Try the cable that came with the phone before assuming the PC is at fault.

Is File Explorer better than the Photos app for this?

Often, yes. The phone appears under This PC and you can drag folders out of it like any drive, which is faster for very large libraries and gives you more control over what lands where. The Photos app is the route Microsoft documents, not the only one.

The Short Version

• Unlock the phone first. Microsoft says a locked phone cannot be found.
• Watch the phone for the Trust This Computer prompt on iPhone.
• On Android, change the USB mode from charging to file transfer.
• Not all USB cables carry data. Microsoft says so directly.
• The route is Photos, then Import, then pick the device.
• File Explorer is often faster for very large libraries.
• Phone Link is already on Windows 11 and needs no cable.
• A check that errors is not a check that said no.

Where to Next

Unlock the phone and leave it unlocked while you work. That alone fixes most of these.

Look at the phone screen, not the laptop, for the trust prompt or the USB notification.

If the phone charges and nothing else happens, change the cable before changing any setting.

Open File Explorer instead of Photos if you have thousands of pictures to move at once.

And if your phone appears but its folders are empty even unlocked and trusted, say which phone and which Windows version in the comments. That combination is worth collecting.