Transfer RAW Photos From Phone to Computer

You finish a shoot on your phone, move the images to your computer, and open the first file in Lightroom or Capture One. The file looks fine, but the white-balance controls are limited and the extension says .jpg instead of .dng. The transfer worked. It just moved the wrong version.

That is the awkward part of transferring RAW photos from a phone: the connection is rarely the real problem. The important step is making sure the phone exports the unmodified original rather than a preview, an edited copy, or a compressed share version.

The reliable workflow is simple: identify the original RAW file, export it through a file-based path, transfer that file to the computer, and verify it before deleting anything from the phone.

First, make sure you actually have the RAW file

RAW is not one universal extension. Apple ProRAW photos use the Digital Negative format and normally end in .dng. Many Android camera apps also save RAW captures as DNG. Files imported from a dedicated camera may use formats such as .cr3, .nef, .arw, or .raf instead.

The original is usually much larger than its JPEG preview and retains data a RAW editor needs for adjustments such as white balance and highlight recovery. A JPEG can look excellent, but renaming it to .dng does not turn it back into a RAW file.

Before sending a large batch, test one photo:

Check the filename and extension on the phone.
Note the file size.
If you edited the image, decide whether you want the untouched RAW file, the rendered edit, or both.
Look for any sidecar file your editing app created, commonly an .xmp. Not every mobile editor uses portable sidecars, so edits stored only in an app’s library may not travel with the RAW file.

This one-file test takes less time than discovering that a hundred transferred images are only previews.

Export an unmodified ProRAW original from iPhone

Apple ProRAW uses .dng, but the result you share can depend on how you share it. Apple notes that sharing an edited ProRAW photo may produce a JPEG containing the edits. For a dependable original-file workflow, select the image in Photos, open the Share menu, choose Export Unmodified Original, and save it to a folder in Files. Apple’s ProRAW guidance also explains the difference between sharing an original ProRAW file and a rendered edit.

Once the DNG is visible in Files, treat it like any other document. That avoids relying on a photo-sharing action that may render or convert the image for convenience.

Find the DNG file on Android

Android RAW captures are also commonly stored as .dng, but the folder varies by phone and camera app. Open the system Files app or the file browser inside your camera app, then search for DNG or sort the camera folder by file type and size.

Use the Files route when possible. A gallery’s normal Share button may send exactly the original, but some camera or editing apps offer a processed JPEG by default. The file browser makes the extension visible before you commit to a long transfer.

If one shutter press created both a DNG and a JPEG, keep the pair together until you know which version your desktop workflow needs.

Choose a transfer method that keeps the file unchanged

There are three sensible routes, and the best one depends on where you are working.

A USB cable is the most predictable fallback. It is fast and suits a very large first import, although device folders, trust prompts, drivers, and unreliable cables can get in the way.

A cloud drive is convenient when the RAW files are already synced. The tradeoff is that every file uploads before it downloads, large DNG batches consume storage, and a slow connection can turn a local handoff into an overnight job.

A direct file-transfer app gives you a wireless handoff without staging the shoot in cloud storage. Choose the DNG or other RAW file from the file picker, not a workflow that might create a share-friendly JPEG.

If your main problem is ordinary photos and videos rather than RAW originals, the broader guide to sending photos without losing quality explains where compression usually enters the path. For general documents and mixed folders, see the guide to moving files from a phone to a PC without a cable.

Transfer RAW photos with Likz Drop

Likz Drop sends the selected file rather than re-encoding the image. For a RAW workflow, choose Files, not Photos, so you can see and select the exported .dng or camera RAW file directly.

Put the phone and computer on the same Wi-Fi network and open Likz Drop on both. You can use Guest mode; an account is not required for a nearby transfer.
On iPhone, export the unmodified ProRAW image to Files first. On Android, locate the DNG in Files or the camera app’s storage folder.
In Likz Drop, choose Files and select the RAW images. Include any portable sidecar files you actually use.
Select the computer on the nearby-device screen, then accept the transfer on the computer.
Keep the source files on the phone until the verification step below is complete.

On the same network, the files travel directly over the local connection. Likz Drop encrypts transfers end to end and does not impose an artificial file-size cap. If the devices are on different networks, you can send by nickname; current versions try a private direct internet path first and use the encrypted relay when a direct path is unavailable.

Likz Drop is one option, not a requirement. LocalSend is a strong open-source choice on a shared network, while a cable is hard to beat for hundreds of gigabytes at a desk. Whichever route you choose, verify the result the same way.

Verify the computer received the original

Do not use the thumbnail as proof. A RAW file can have an embedded preview, so a photo viewer may display it even when the editor cannot use the underlying data correctly.

Check these four things on the computer:

The extension is the expected .dng or camera-specific RAW format, not .jpg or .heic.
The file size is the same as the source, allowing only for differences in how the two systems round displayed sizes.
A RAW-compatible editor recognizes the camera and exposes RAW controls.
The capture time and other important metadata are present.

For a valuable shoot, keep at least two verified copies before clearing the phone or card. A successful transfer is not yet a backup if the computer holds the only remaining copy.

Common mistakes that produce the wrong file

The most common failure is sharing an edited image directly from a photo library and assuming the receiver will get the underlying RAW asset. Often the useful result is a JPEG with the edit baked in, but it is not the digital negative.

Email and messaging apps may convert images, reduce attachment size, or reject a large batch. Zipping prevents image-aware conversion but does not solve upload limits.

RAW pixels and editing instructions are separate. Move XMP sidecars when your editor supports them; if it stores edits in its own catalog or cloud, use that app’s export or sync workflow.

Finally, do not delete the phone copy as soon as the progress bar reaches 100%. Open a few files on the computer, compare sizes, and make a second copy first.

A repeatable RAW handoff

For every shoot, use the same order: export the unmodified original, move it through a file picker, verify the extension and size, open it in a RAW editor, then back it up. That routine matters more than whether the bytes traveled by cable, local Wi-Fi, or a cloud drive.

If you want the wireless route, download Likz Drop, select Files, and test one DNG before moving the whole batch. The original stays an original, and you can decide what to do with it once it is safely on the computer.

FAQ

Why did my iPhone ProRAW photo arrive as a JPEG?

An edited ProRAW image can be rendered as a JPEG when it is shared. Export the unmodified original from Photos to Files, confirm that the file ends in .dng, then transfer that file.

Does transferring a DNG reduce its quality?

A normal file copy does not re-encode the image. Verify the extension and file size after transfer; avoid photo-sharing or messaging paths that deliberately create a smaller, easier-to-share version.

Can I send RAW photos from my phone to a computer without internet?

Yes. A USB cable works offline, and a direct local transfer works when the devices can connect locally. Likz Drop can transfer nearby over the local network without uploading the RAW files to cloud storage.