How to Transfer iMovie from iPhone to Mac

Transferring an iMovie project from your iPhone to your Mac can be a quick and easy process. Using Airdrop is one of the fastest ways to transfer files wirelessly between Apple devices. Simply select the “Share” button on your iMovie project and choose Airdrop. 

Hi! My name is Nancy and I’ve been using iMovie for many years. With iMovie, there are multiple ways to share your video projects. You can share your movie via email or text message, upload it to cloud storage services such as iCloud or Dropbox, and export it as a file to share on social media platforms. 

In this article, I will be sharing the most effective methods for transferring iMovie files from an iPhone to a Mac.

How to Export iMovie Project from iPhone to Mac

With iMovie, transferring your projects from your iPhone to your macOS computer and editing them is incredibly easy. An iMovie project and its media used are saved as a single file when it gets exported. Follow the steps below to export your projects to a Mac.

Step 1: To share a project from the iMovie app on your iPhone, select a project from the Projects browser and then tap the Share button on the project details screen. Next, click on Options, choose Project, and then click on Done to complete the process.

Important tip: Be sure to select the Project option instead of Video to preserve your editing choices such as effects, filters, titles, and music when opening the project in iMovie for macOS. This allows you to seamlessly continue editing from where you left off.

Step 2: There are two ways to export your project: you can either share it via AirDrop or save it as a file and transfer it to your computer.

Airdrop: To transfer files via AirDrop, simply tap on AirDrop and select the device you wish to send the files to. Once the files are received on your Mac, accept the transfer to complete the process. Your transferred files will be saved to the Downloads folder on your Mac.

Shared Albums: To share your iMovie project, tap on the Share button and select Shared Albums. Next, choose the specific album where you want to share your project and click on iCloud. Select the iCloud Drive folder where you want to save the file and tap Save. Your project is now saved in your iCloud Drive and can be downloaded onto your computer.

How to Open an iMovie Project on a Mac

To access your exported iMovie project on your Mac computer, navigate to the Downloads folder, locate the file, and double-click it. This should automatically launch iMovie on your Mac and open the project.

Another option is to open a transferred iMovie project within the iMovie app itself. To do this, navigate to the File tab and click on “Import iMovie iOS Projects“. A pop-up window will appear where you can choose the specific file folder that contains your downloaded file.

How Do I Sync iMovie Between Devices?

Unfortunately, there is no way to sync iMovie between devices. iMovie is not a web application so it doesn’t have syncing capabilities. This means that you cannot automatically synchronize your iMovie projects across multiple devices, and you must manually transfer the files to each device if you wish to continue editing them. 

However, you can use cloud storage services like iCloud or Dropbox to transfer files between devices, making it easier to share your iMovie projects across different devices.

Why Won’t iMovie Export My Video on iPhone?

If you encounter issues while exporting iMovie files from your iPhone, consider the following troubleshooting tips to resolve the problem:

  • To use the Shared Albums feature in iMovie, it is necessary to have Shared Albums enabled on your iPhone. To do this, go to Settings, select Photos, and enable the Shared Albums tab.
  • When using Airdrop to transfer files, choose the option to receive files from Everyone on your iPhone and Mac computer. This allows you to receive files from anyone nearby who is using Airdrop, regardless of whether they are in your contacts or not.
  • Before exporting any files from your iPhone to your Mac, it is important to check if there is enough available storage space on your Mac device. You can check the storage space by navigating to the About This Mac section in the Apple menu, and then selecting the Storage tab to view the available storage space.
  • To import projects into iMovie on a Mac, it is necessary to have iMovie version 10.1.11 or a later version installed. If your version of iMovie for iOS or iPadOS is newer than your version of iMovie for macOS, you may encounter difficulties importing the project into iMovie on your Mac.

Final Thoughts

Fortunately, iMovie offers a seamless solution for transferring your video projects from your iPhone to your Mac with just a few clicks. This makes it easy for you to continue editing work, where you can take advantage of the larger screen and more advanced tools that are available in the desktop version of iMovie. 

We hope you found this article helpful. If you have any further questions about iMovie, kindly drop us a comment below, and we will be more than happy to help answer your questions.

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