So you finally captured lots of amazing footage with your GoPro and want to finally upload it to your computer but you are not sure where to start? In this article, I am going to show you 3 ways how you can upload your GoPro videos and photos to your computer. It doesn’t really matter which camera model you have as it works exactly the same for any GoPro camera.
In this article, I am going to assume that you have installed a GoPro Dekstop app called Quik. It’s not really necessary to have the app installed on your computer but if you do have it, your files will be automatically recognised by the GoPro software and they will be downloaded to your hard drive so it’s simply faster and easier to do than without it. However, If you prefer not to install it then you will have to manually access the camera files and click and drag it to your file destination every single time so I highly recommend you try it with Quik software.
Table of Contents
There are 3 ways to download your GoPro files from their camera
- Using a USB-C cable that came with your camera
- Using a Micro SD card adapter
- Using a micro SD card Reader
Importing your GoPro footage is definitely going to be much faster if you remove a Micro SD from the camera and read it from your computer. A Micro SD card should be hidden either in your camera’s battery compartment or a side door if you have an older camera model. Gently press on the micro sd card with your nail and it should pop out, if it doesn’t please remove a battery so it’s easier to do so.
How to upload your footage via Micro SD Card Reader
Now that you have successfully removed the Micro SD card from your camera it is time to insert it into your Micro SD Card Reader. Honestly, it is the fastest way possible to transfer your files from the camera to your computer, especially if you have USB 3.0 because data transfer is significantly faster this way. Here is a step-by-step guide on what you need to do.
- Insert your Micro SD card into Micro SD Card Reader.
- Plug your Micro SD card reader into your computer’s USB.
- You should hear a sound notification and/or a message should pop out that a new device has been connected.
- If GoPro Quik software is installed on your computer the application should automatically open.
- Now click on the “Import files” button, and your GoPro footage will be downloaded to your computer. You can select a specific folder within the settings option in the upper right corner.
- Once your footage download is complete you can either click on “the” Delete files” Button or leave it if you still want to keep the copy on your Micro SD card. However, if you don’t want to keep it and want it to be deleted automatically after successful import then click on the settings icon near your camera and tick “Delete files after importing”
- Success! Your GoPro footage is now ready to be accessed directly from your computer.
- Disconnect your Micro SD Card Reader from your computer’s USB port and remove your Micro SD card from it.
- Insert it back into your camera’s Micro SD card slot in a battery compartment.
How to import your GoPro footage using a Micro SD card Adapter
When you bought your Micro SD card, chances are it already came with a Micro SD card adapter in the package. A micro SD card adapter is used to fit your Micro SD card inside of it and imitates a standard SD card that can be put into your laptop SD card slot. Here is what you need to do with it to import your GoPro footage.
- Take out your Micro Sd card from your camera’s battery compartment.
- Gently put the Micro SD card into your Micro SD card adapter.
- Insert the adapter into your SD card slot from your laptop or PC until it clicks in.
There should be a sound notification and a message might pop out in the lower right corner of your screen that a new device is being connected.
If you already have installed GoPro Quik on your computer, the software will automatically launch showing you that there is new footage ready for import.
- Click on the blue “Import files” button, your footage will be quickly downloaded from your Micro SD card to your computer.
- Success! Your GoPro footage has been downloaded to your computer.
- After your footage is successfully imported click on the button “Delete files” or leave it if you still want to keep the footage on your camera.
- Safely remove your Micro SD card adapter from your computer and remove the Micro SD card from it.
- Insert the Micro Sd card back into your GoPro camera.
How to import GoPro footage via USB-C cable
Importing your files via USB-c cable is unfortunately the slowest method that you can choose to download or even preview your GoPro footage. On top of that to make matter worse it’s also quite unreliable as your camera can be easily disconnected if you have a poor USB port. I highly recommend you purchase a Micro SD card Reader or the Adapter, believe me, it is so much faster. However, if you don’t have them yet or you forgot to take them with you then the charging cable needs to be enough. Here is what you need to do.
- Open your Camera’s battery door to access the USB-C port in the battery compartment.
- Take the GoPro charging cable that your camera came with and insert its USB-C connection into the USB-C port of your camera.
- Insert a USB connection into the USB port from your computer.
- Press and hold the Power/ Mode button of your GoPro until it powers on. There should be a notification on your camera’s front or back screen that says “USB connected”
- If you have GoPro Quick installed on your computer then it should automatically launch and notify you that there is new GoPro footage ready for import.
- Click on the blue button “Import files” and all of your GoPro footage will be automatically downloaded to your computer.
- Once your footage has been successfully imported, you can either delete the files by clicking on a red “Delete files” button or leave it as it is if you want to keep it on the camera’s memory card.
- Press and hold on to the Power/ Mode button until the camera shuts down.
- Disconnect the USB-C cable from the camera and the USB cable from your computer.
Important! Please remember that every time you disconnect your Micro SD card, Micro SD Card Reader or USB cable from your computer it is recommended to always “safely remove” your device to avoid data corruption on your card in the future. Additionally, after every import I highly recommend you format your Micro SD card within your GoPro camera. This way you will erase all the unnecessary files from the camera that might be still there. It will also prevent your card from having all sorts of errors in the future while recording or previewing your video.
Pro Tip: If Quik doesn’t automatically start when you insert a Micro SD card reader into your USB then launch Quik software manually and from there go to “settings “
Tick “Automatically launch Quik when the camera is connected”. Additionally, make sure that your “import location” is set to exactly where you want your footage to be saved for example D:\GoPro\Import.
From here, please go back to the main page where you could see your camera icon/ micro sd icon. There should be a small setting icon just next to it, click it.
Once you are there, look for an option that states “automatically download GoPro files when detected”. If everything is done correctly, whenever GoPro Quick detects your GoPro footage it will automatically start up and import your files. It doesn’t really matter if you use a Micro SD card reader, adapter, or even a cable. However, it is only going to remember that particular camera. If you have another GoPro camera you will have to repeat that step again.
Don’t like GoPro Quik? Import your GoPro footage manually.
If you don’t want to use GoPro Quik and prefer to import your GoPro footage manually its totally fine. In this case, follow these steps:
- Insert your Micro SD card to your computer either with the Adapter, or reader, or simply use a USB-C cable and connect the camera via USB.
- Go to “This PC” either from your desktop or hit Windows key + E and select it from there.
- Your Micro SD card should be visible next to your Hard Drives under the Device and drivers category.
- Inside of your Micro SD card, there should be 2 folders visible: DCIM and MISC.
- Open the DCIM folder where you can find all of your GoPro videos and photos.
- Find the files that interest you and simply click and drag them to your computer.
- Disconnect your Micro SD card/ camera from your computer. (Remember to safely remove your device)
Thank you so much for reading through this article, I hope I have managed to explain to you how easy it is to quickly import your GoPro footage to your computer. If you would like to know more about GoPro action cameras then please visit my youtube channel! See you there!
