How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

With the Photos app you can edit your photos, organize them into albums, and delete those you no longer need. However, some users come unstuck when trying to delete pictures. In this guide, we will try to explain why you can’t delete photos from iPhone or any other iOS device like iPad or iPod Touch and provide workable solutions to delete photos from iPhone.

  • I can’t delete photos from iPhone
    • Why iPhone won’t delete photos
    • ⚡ How to delete photos from iPhone ⚡
  • I can’t delete photos with CopyTrans Photo
  • I can’t delete photos because my storage is full
  • I can’t delete Recently Deleted photos

There are several reasons why you can’t delete photos from iPhone. Here are the three main issues and how to handle them.

1. Why cant I delete photos from Photo Library?

The chances are that the iPhone won’t delete photos because you have previously synced your photos with iTunes or added photos to the device with a third-party app. Most likely the photos you can’t delete are located in the From My Mac section of the Photos app.

Camera Roll contains pictures taken with your iPhone, whereas the From My Mac section stores photos added from your computer. For more details and useful tips refer to our support article Camera Roll vs Photo Library.

When you tap on a photo, you don’t see a Recycle bin icon:

How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

This is a limitation introduced by Apple that doesn’t allow you to delete synced albums directly on your phone. Luckily, we have a solution! CopyTrans Photo is an absolute lifesaver — it can delete synced photos from your iPhone in just a few steps.

2. Why when I delete a photo it comes back?

Why do deleted photos reappear on iPhone? iCloud Photos are to blame. If you have deleted some pictures from Camera Roll while iCloud Photos were disabled on the device and then decided to enable it, an exact copy of the current iCloud Photo Library will be uploaded to your device regardless of the changes you have previously made from the iPhone. Pictures you have deleted will come back.

If you need to delete pictures when iCloud Photos is enabled, follow this guide: How to delete photos from iCloud.

If you are sure that iCloud Photo Library is disabled on your device, you have most likely encountered the third issue.

3. Why can’t I delete photos when my storage is full?

If your iPhone storage is full, you might find yourself in a pickle: iPhone demands to free up some space, but it can’t delete anything because it doesn’t have enough space to perform deletion. Go ahead and try to delete some of your iPhone pics from the PC with CopyTrans Photo. It offers 100 free trial actions so that you can check whether it can help you solve this problem.

For more tips scroll down.


How to delete photos from iPhone

CopyTrans Photo has an intuitive interface, gets things done quickly and you can see thumbnails of all the files you’re operating at any moment. The process of deleting photos from iPhone is intuitive, but you can always follow our instructions on how to remove photos from iPhone below:

  1. Download and install CopyTrans Photo: Download CopyTrans Photo

    If you need help installing, please refer to the installation guide.

  2. Connect your device to the PC. Your synced albums will appear on the left side of the interface, under the Photo Library category.

    How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

  3. To delete synced photos from your iPhone, simply select them and press the Delete key on your keyboard. You can also delete entire albums.

    How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

  4. Once you are done, click on the Apply changes button to delete photos from synced albums.

    How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

That’s it! Here is how to delete photos from iPhone!

💡 If you still have other questions such as If I delete photos from iPhone, is it deleted from iCloud? or How to remove photos from iCloud?, learn some useful tips in our comprehensive guide: How to delete photos from iPhone.

Some other marvelous features of CopyTrans Photo:

🌞 Introduces a convenient way to manage photos and videos on your iPhone from PC;

🌞 Transfers photos and videos between iPhone and PC preserving the original quality and EXIF data;

🌞 Copies photo albums back and forth preserving album structure;

🌞 Converts HEIC to JPEG;

🌞 Works offline;

🌞 Compatible with the latest iOS, iTunes, and Windows versions;

🌞 Works with the new Apple format, ProRAW.

Get a free test version


I can’t delete photos with CopyTrans Photo

Camera Roll holds photos that users take with their cameras or save from apps, messengers, emails, and websites. Even if you receive an error message when deleting photos, our overview of common problems below will mitigate frustration.

How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

There are 3 common reasons that may prevent you from deleting photos from Camera Roll.

1. iCloud Photos is enabled on your device

To check, go to Settings > your Apple ID > iCloud > Photos. You will see whether iCloud Photos toggle is on (iCloud Photos enabled) or off (iCloud Photos disabled). CopyTrans Photo doesn’t support deletion of photos when your iCloud Library is turned on. Here’s more on how to disable iCloud Photos on your iPhone.

If you don’t want to disable iCloud Photos, you can switch to CopyTrans Cloudly to delete your iCloud photos at once. This app is a multi-purpose tool to mass-delete all the photos from your iCloud Photo Library, upload JPG, PNG, HEIC photos to iCloud, download iCloud photos to your PC and restore permanently deleted iCloud items.

Download CopyTrans Cloudly

How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

For more details on how to delete photos from iCloud please refer to this article: How to delete photos from iCloud.

2. Your iPhone is not recognized correctly

Open Computer or My Computer where all the connected PC drives are listed and make sure that your iPhone is displayed as a portable device, not a camera.

How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

If your iPhone appears as a photo camera icon or another drive symbol different from the true iPhone icon seen above, follow this tutorial: My iPhone, iPod touch, iPad is not recognized or detected as a camera.

3. Your iPhone is not properly connected to your PC

If there was an error in CopyTrans Photo, follow the steps below:

  1. Make sure that the iPhone is unlocked, and you are on the Home Screen.

    How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

  2. Connect your iPhone to CopyTrans Photo and hang on for up to 30 seconds.

  3. Now try deleting some Camera Roll photos, the screen should be unlocked.

    How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

  4. Click on the Apply changes button to permanently delete multiple photos from Camera Roll.

    How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

4. You are trying to delete pictures from native albums

Due to an Apple limitation, albums created from within the iPhone or iPad are read-only in iTunes and CopyTrans Photo. This means that you cannot add or delete photos/videos from albums like Panoramas, Selfies, Screenshots, Live Photos, etc., or delete the albums themselves. These pictures and albums can be deleted only from within the iPhone.

How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

Here is our guide on how to create an editable album and transfer photos to the Recents album.


I can’t delete photos because my storage is full

Deleting photos also requires free iPhone storage. So, when trying to delete pictures, you might find yourself in a loop of photos reappearing on iPhone. Here are some unconventional tips and tricks on how to free up space on iPhone (click on the links to get detailed instructions).

iPhone storage full can’t delete photos:

  • Delete some of your iPhone photos from the PC.

  • Empty the Recently Deleted Album from the Settings.

  • Clear WhatsApp (and other messengers) cache and app data.

  • Clear your browser cache (here are guides for Safari and Chrome).

  • Trim your music library and delete podcast episodes you have already finished from the PC.

  • Clean up files from third-party apps installed on your iPhone from the PC.


I can’t delete recently deleted photos on iPhone

In an attempt to free up some storage on iPhone by deleting photos in the Recently Deleted folder some users come across an iOS bug. No matter how many times you try, those photos won’t delete, and that can be confusing and frustrating at the same time.

We suggest that you restart your iPhone and delete Recently Deleted items from the settings. Here is how to delete Recently Deleted photos:

  1. Go to Settings > General.
  2. Select iPhone Storage. You will find the installed apps listed along with the storage consumed.
  3. Tap on Photos.
  4. Tap on Empty next to the Recently Deleted Album.
  5. Wait 5-10 minutes and check again.
  6. How to delete multiple photos on iPhone 11

How do I delete more than 1000 Photos from my iPhone?

How to Bulk Delete Photos on an iPhone or iPad.
Tap the Photos app on the iPhone or iPad Home screen..
Tap Photos at the bottom of the screen to see all your photos grouped by the date they were taken..
Locate the date or group of photos you want to delete. ... .
Tap the Trash can icon to remove the selected images..

How do I do a mass delete on my iPhone?

Delete multiple emails at once.
Open Mail and go to your Inbox..
Tap Edit in the upper-right corner, then individually select the emails that you want to delete, or tap Select All. To select multiple emails quickly, swipe down through the checkboxes..
Tap Trash or Archive..