How To Send Long Videos on an iPhone [Easy Guide]

iMessage is convenient to send images and videos with, but it doesn’t transfer videos that are longer than four and a half minutes. Luckily, there are a couple of other ways to send videos from t an iPhone. This article will cover them all. So, read on to learn how to send long videos on an iPhone.

Understanding iPhone Sending Limits, What Is a Large Video File?

iOS devices can currently only send videos that are less than four minutes and twenty seconds. So for the purpose of this guide, any video longer than that could be considered a large video.

How to Send Large Video Files from iPhone Using AirDrop

Sending lengthy videos on the iPhone is simple, thanks to Apple’s AirDrop function. But you have to be near the recipient since it uses Bluetooth technology. Additionally, they must turn on their Bluetooth, connect to iCloud, and activate AirDrop in their settings.

Here are the steps on how to send a long video on iPhone using AirDrop:

1. Make sure both devices are close to each other. Ensure they are powered up and have enough battery to last through the transfer process.
2. Ensure that the recipient’s device can accept the airdrop files. We will discuss the steps to enable this at the end of this section.
3. Open Photos on the sender’s device and click “Videos” under the “Media Types” section.
4. There, select the file you wish to send to the recipient.
5. On the video screen, click the “Share” icon on the bottom-left side of the screen.
   
6. In the menu that shows up, select “AirDrop.” You will see a list of all the nearby devices available for transfer. If you cannot see the recipient’s device, just wait a few seconds for the list to refresh. You can also click the “AirDrop” icon again to refresh the list.
   
7. Click on the recipient’s device there.

This will start the transfer process. Be patient and avoid moving the devices too far apart because the sending time will vary depending on the video size. You will know the file has transferred successfully when the clip appears in the “Photos” app on the recipient’s iOS device or under “Downloads” on macOS.

Although AirDrop is often stable, if you try to share many videos that are more than a few hundred gigabytes in size at once, the transfer may not succeed. It’s best to transfer one video at a time for this reason. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to recover a deleted file.

How To Setup Device to Receive AirDrop Files

iOS

Here are the steps you need to follow to set up your iPhone or iPad to receive AirDrop files:

1. Click on the “Settings” icon on the home screen.
2. In the settings menu, click on “General.”
3. There, click on “AirDrop.”
4. Here, you can select whether you want “Everyone” to be able to send you files or you just want your “Contacts Only.” Select your desired option.

macOS

Here are the steps you need to follow to set up your Mac to receive AirDrop files:

1. Search “AirDrop” in the “Spotlight” or look for the application directly in “Finder.”
2. There, click on “Allow me to be discovered by.”
3. Here, you can choose from “Everyone” or “Contacts Only,” depending on your preferences.

How To Send Large Videos from iPhone Using iCloud

Although there are other cloud storage alternatives, if you own an iPhone, you probably already have an iCloud account.

Long videos and large files can be shared using the 5GB of free storage included with iCloud. The ideal choice is Mail Drop if your file doesn’t exceed this 5GB limit. While the Apple Mail Drop feature allows you to send file attachments up to 5 GB via a direct email link, iOS Mail’s attachment size limit is 20MB. The recipient has 30 days to download the file after receiving the link.

Here’s how to send a long video on iPhone through iCloud:

1. On the home screen, click the “Photos” icon to open the app.
2. Look for the video that you wish to share.
3. After choosing the video, click the “Share” icon.

4. Choose the “Mail” option.

5. When you are on the Mail compose page, your attachment will be automatically added to the message.

6. Add your recipient and the subject. Compose your email.

7. Select the “Send” option.

8. You will notice that your attachment is too large. There will be an option to use the Mail drop.

9. Choose the “Use Mail Drop” option.

10. Your message will start sending automatically.

The transfer process starts in the background if your video attachment has not already been backed up to iCloud. After the upload is finished, your email will be sent.

Related Reading: How To Download YouTube Videos

How To Email Large Videos from iPhone Using Cloud Storage

Although iCloud is often excellent for backing up your iPhone data, a different service such as Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, or Google Drive is usually a better choice for sharing video files larger than 5GB. The different services come with varying storage plans, so take a look before using one. For this example, let’s look at sending videos from iPhone using Google Drive.

Here’s how to send a long video through email:

1. Download the application to your device first. You can do this by going to the App Store.
2. Open the app and either “Create a new account“ or “Log in” to an existing one.
3. On the main screen, click on the colorful “Plus (+)” icon towards the bottom-right corner of the screen.

4. Here, tap on the “Upload” icon in the menu that pops up from the bottom of the screen. There, click on “Photos and Videos.”
5. Select the file you wish to upload.
6. Once the video is uploaded onto Google Drive, click the three dots icon beside it.
   
7. A menu will show up. There, click on the “Share” button.
8. This will open another window that will open the sharing options. There, enter the recipient’s email in the “People” textbox.
9. Click on the “Send” button towards the top-right of the screen to send the email.

How To Send Long Videos on an iPhone by Compressing It

Making sure the video files are compressed on your iPhone before sending them is the best way to send a long video. This can be done using two methods.

The first method is to adjust the video recording settings to save storage before taking the video. To do this, open the “Settings” app on your iPhone and go to “Camera.” There, click on “Record Video.” Here, you can select the options that will help you reduce the recording size enabling you to record more while saving on storage. But that doesn’t help when sending videos from an iPhone that have already been recorded.

The second method involves using an application to compress the video files. There are many different apps that do this, but the general instructions of how to send a video that is too large would look something like this:

1. Head to the “App Store” and search for “Video Compress.”
2. Download an app and open it.
3. Load up the video
4. Choose the size for your target video.
5. Tap “Save.” The app will compress the file and save it to your gallery.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Can I Send a Long Video From My iPhone?

You can learn how to send a large video from iPhone to email via a cloud service like iCloud, or you can compress the file first so it sends through iMessage.

What’s the Longest a Video Can Be to Send on iPhone?

The maximum video duration you can share over iMessage is currently roughly 4 minutes and 20 seconds on iOS 14.4, which is an improvement over the previous 3 and a half minutes in earlier iOS versions. iMessage will prompt you to cut any longer videos to send them. However, file size can also be a factor when delivering a video.

You can instead send larger files as iCloud or other cloud provider attachments via email.

Where Do I Find My Videos on My iPhone?

To see any videos shot with the iOS Camera, open the “Photos” app as you normally would, then select the “Albums” option. Select the “back” button to return to the main “Albums” section if it isn’t already visible. If you only want to view the videos captured with the iPhone camera, find and choose “Videos.”

How Do I Transfer Video Files from My iPhone to My Computer?

The most efficient way is to plug the iPhone into your computer via a USB connection.

1. Connect the iPhone to the PC using a cable, then unlock it.
2. Click on “Start” and then click on “Photos” to open the app.
3. Click on “Import” and then click on “From a USB device.”
4. There, pick the items you want to import to your PC and select where you want to save them. Make sure the videos are on your device. They won’t show up if they are stored on the cloud.

Transferring Large Files

Now that you know how to send long videos on an iPhone, you can use the same methods for any type of large file you want to share from your iPhone. Note that some of the ways we mentioned require two Apple devices, such as AirDrop and iCloud, so you may have to use one of the other ways if you’re sending to or from an Android or Windows device.

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