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Every wall you can hit, and the way past it. If yours is not here, write to support@blackboxtools.com and say what the screen said.
Last updated 25 October 2026, for PhoneFerry 0.1.2. Written by BlackBox Tools, the maker of PhoneFerry.
Installing
Windows says "Windows protected your PC"
That is SmartScreen, which flags any new program it has not seen often enough yet. Click More info, then Run anyway. The installer puts PhoneFerry in your own user folder and asks for no administrator password.
Connect your iPhone
PhoneFerry says Apple's device service is missing
Install the free Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store, or iTunes. Either one installs Apple's USB driver, which PhoneFerry uses to talk to the phone. Plug the phone in again afterwards.
The phone asks to Trust This Computer
Tap Trust and enter the phone's passcode. This is Apple's pairing step and happens once per PC. If you tapped Don't Trust by mistake, unplug and plug in again.
The phone shows but PhoneFerry says it is locked
Unlock the phone with Face ID or the passcode. PhoneFerry carries on by itself.
Photos and files
Copies are slow
Most USB-C cords, including the one in the iPhone box, carry USB 2 data: about 40 MB/s. PhoneFerry shows "Connected over USB 2" when that is the case. A cable rated 10Gbps in a USB 3 port on the PC is several times faster. Two things a cable cannot change: an iPhone with a Lightning port is USB 2 inside, whatever the cord; and a "PC to PC transfer" or "data link" cable, the kind that shows up as its own little disc with software on it, has a chip in the middle for linking two computers and never shows a phone at all.
HEIC photos stayed HEIC
Windows converts HEIC to JPG with the HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store. Without them PhoneFerry keeps the original HEIC so nothing is lost, and the result sheet links to the extension.
A Live Photo became two files
That is what a Live Photo is: a still and a short video. PhoneFerry copies both, the way the Photos app exports them.
Putting files on the iPhone
Drag files from Explorer anywhere into the PhoneFerry window. They go into an app on the phone that shares its files (VLC, Documents, GoodReader and many others), and show up in the Files app under On My iPhone with that app's name. In the Files view PhoneFerry lists those apps first; drop while you are inside one and the files land in that folder. Each file counts as one trial item.
Can it put photos in the camera roll?
Not over the cable. The Photos library is a database only the phone itself writes. Drop the photo into an app as above, then on the phone open it in Files, tap Share, then Save Image; it is in the camera roll.
Delete from iPhone after copying
Tick it on the copy sheet and PhoneFerry removes each photo or file from the phone only after reading the copy back from the phone and comparing it byte for byte. It never deletes a photo it converted to JPG, and it keeps a Live Photo's video with its still.
Messages, WhatsApp and the library
"Your iPhone is preparing its library" for minutes
Before it sends anything, the phone freezes a snapshot of everything on it. On a full phone that takes about three minutes, and it starts over every time the cable is unplugged. Keep the phone unlocked and plugged in.
The read takes hours
The phone sends its whole library in one stream, in its own order, and PhoneFerry keeps only the megabytes it needs. App data comes first (WhatsApp, Notes, Voice Memos are usually ready within the hour), then the photo library, then Messages, Contacts and Calendar. On a phone with hundreds of gigabytes of photos the first read is an overnight job over USB 2. Plug in, keep the phone unlocked and the PC awake, and leave it; if the read is interrupted it carries on by itself. A cable marked USB 3 or 10Gbps, in either USB-C port, is several times faster; the cable that came with the phone is USB 2.
The phone asked for its passcode during the read
Enter it on the phone. Apple asks before the first library read to a new PC.
The read stopped
A cable drop ends the stream, and PhoneFerry continues on its own once the phone is back, with no button to press. If the phone locks during a read, unlock it; PhoneFerry tries again on its own.
Where is call history?
Apple includes call history and Safari history only in an encrypted backup. In the Calls view choose Read call history: PhoneFerry turns backup encryption on for that read with a key of its own and off again afterwards, and your iPhone asks for its passcode twice. If the second prompt is dismissed, encryption stays on and the next read turns it off.
PhoneFerry says the phone's backups are encrypted
Type the backup password on the read screen; it is the one set in iTunes, Finder or the Apple Devices app, and PhoneFerry keeps it only for that session. If you would rather not, turn off "Encrypt local backup" there and read again.
Exporting several conversations at once
In Messages, WhatsApp or LINE, click Select beside the search box, tick the conversations, then Export. Each one lands in its own folder with the page, a text file and its attachments.
Android phones
What works on Android
Plug the phone in and choose File transfer on it. Photos and videos, Files, copying to the PC with dates kept, Delete after copying, and dropping files onto the phone, the camera roll included. Nothing to install on the phone.
Messages, contacts, calls and calendar on Android
Android hands these to a PC only through USB debugging. One time, on the phone: Settings, About phone, tap Build number seven times; then Settings, Developer options, USB debugging on. Press Read in PhoneFerry, tap Allow on the phone when it asks. The first read fetches Google's Android tools once (about 8 MB) after you say yes; nothing from your phone goes online.
WhatsApp on Android
The chat database is encrypted with a key only the WhatsApp app holds, so no PC program can read it. PhoneFerry saves WhatsApp's encrypted archive files to your PC; WhatsApp itself can load them on another phone. Photos, videos and voice notes are plain files under Android, media, com.whatsapp in Files.
File Explorer opens on top when I plug the phone in
That is Windows AutoPlay, not PhoneFerry: Windows opens the phone in File Explorer a few seconds after it appears. PhoneFerry has already come forward by then and is behind that window. Close Explorer, or turn AutoPlay off for the phone in Windows Settings under Bluetooth and devices, AutoPlay.
PhoneFerry opens by itself when I plug a phone in
That is the switch "Open PhoneFerry when a phone is plugged in" in the Licence sheet, on by default. Turn it off there and PhoneFerry stays closed until you open it.
Trial and licence
What counts as an item?
A copied photo, video or file (a Live Photo counts once), an exported conversation, or an exported record such as a contact or a song. The trial covers 100 and never expires.
My key is already in use
A key works on two PCs. On a PC you no longer use, open Unlock PhoneFerry and choose Release Licence; the seat frees up for the new one.
The key was not recognised
Copy it from the purchase email, including the dashes. If the store is unreachable, PhoneFerry says so; try again when online.
"Waiting for the licence signature"
The store accepted the key, but PhoneFerry could not reach the licence server for the signed licence that unlocks this PC. It asks again every time it starts; connect to the internet and choose Try Again. Until then the free trial still applies.
Does PhoneFerry need the internet?
Only to activate a key, and once a week to confirm it is still valid. Copying, reading and exporting never go online.