Leave the app during a transfer
With Photo Transfer App 10.6 or later on iPhone and iPad (with iOS or iPadOS 26 or later), or 10.5 or later on Android, you can leave the app while your photos and videos transfer. Here's what keeps going, what doesn't, and what you see when the transfer ends.
Before you leave the app
- Start the transfer first. If you're using a web browser, start the download before you leave the app.
- Nothing new starts while the app is in the background. A new connection, or a new batch from the computer or browser, is refused until you open the app again.
- Transfers don't retry by themselves. If a transfer stops or fails, start it again.
- Turn on notifications to see the result while you're in another app: More → Settings → Transfer notifications.
iPhone and iPad
On iOS and iPadOS 26 or later:
- A transfer you started keeps going when you go to the Home Screen, lock the screen or switch to another app. This includes sending, receiving, and transfers to and from a network drive or cloud service.
- iOS shows a progress card with a Stop button. To stop the transfer, tap Stop.
- When the transfer ends, a notification tells you the result, if notifications are allowed. When you come back to the app, the transfer screen shows the result.
On earlier versions of iOS and iPadOS, Photo Transfer only gets the short time iOS allows in the background, about 30 seconds. It then stops the transfer cleanly and reports the result. To finish the whole transfer, keep the app open until it's done.
Closing Photo Transfer in the app switcher ends the transfer. Nothing resumes after the app is closed.
Android
Background transfers work on every supported version of Android (Android 10 and later). This includes sending, receiving, and transfers to and from a network drive or cloud service.
- When you leave the app during a transfer, a notice shows "Sending files" or "Receiving files", "Transferring N of M" and a Stop button. It doesn't show file names or device names. Tap the notice to reopen the app.
- While the app is in front, there's no notice.
- To stop the transfer, tap Stop in the notice.
- When the transfer ends and the app isn't in front, a separate notification gives the result: "Transfer complete", "Transfer failed" or "Transfer cancelled", with "N of M sent" or "N of M saved", and "Open Photo Transfer to view the result".
- If the notification also says "Some files may have been saved.", a file may have been saving when the transfer stopped.
If Android doesn't let the transfer run in the background, Photo Transfer shows "Keep Photo Transfer open: Android couldn't start background transfer. Keep this app open until the transfer finishes." Turning notifications off doesn't cause this. With notifications off, the transfer still runs, but you may not see its notice or the result. Open Photo Transfer to check on it.
Windows
Photo Transfer for Windows is a desktop app, so it has no background mode: transfers keep going while you use other windows. In version 5.8 or later:
- When a download or upload finishes while Photo Transfer isn't the window in front, Windows shows a notification: "Download completed", "Download completed with issues", "Download failed" or "Upload completed". For a download, it says how many items were downloaded and how many were skipped. It also has a Show in Explorer button.
- If Photo Transfer on your phone is in the background when you connect or start a download or upload, the Windows app says "Open Photo Transfer on phone". Open the app on your phone, keep it open, then try again.