How to do it
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Open the Live Photo
In the Photos app, open the Live Photo. You should see LIVE at the top left of the photo.
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Save it as a video
Tap the Share button, scroll down the share sheet, and tap Save as Video. A video copy appears in your library.
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Send the video, not the Live Photo
Send that video with LocalSend or any file-transfer app. It plays as a normal video on your Android phone.
Apple says some data and formats in iCloud Photos, including Live Photos, may not be available when you transfer your content to another service (Apple Support). That matches what you see when LocalSend sends a Live Photo to Android: you get the picture, but it doesn’t move.
Why does a Live Photo arrive as a still?
A Live Photo is two things stored together on your iPhone: a still photo and a short clip of the moments around it. Photos on iPhone knows how to play them as one. Most transfer apps send only the still, or send two loose files, and the Android gallery has no way to join them.
What can I send instead?
| What you send | What you get on Android |
|---|---|
| The Live Photo as it is | Usually a still image |
| A video made with Save as Video | A short video that plays |
| A still from the Live Photo | A still image, same as before |
Save as Video makes a new video copy in your library. The Live Photo stays where it is, so you can keep both.
Does this work for a whole backup?
It works, but only one photo at a time, so it is slow for thousands of Live Photos. Save as Video is meant for the ones you care about most. For the rest, the still image is usually all that Android can show anyway. Check your results on the phone before you delete anything from the iPhone.
Will the Live Photo move on Android?
Not as a Live Photo. A video is the closest match. If the video looks too short or too large, remember it is a normal video file, so it follows the usual size limits of whatever app you use to send it.