There are some situations where you might want to get the files off a GoPro’s memory card without touching the camera.
I run into this issue when I use GoPros among a suite of cameras for capturing long-term time-lapse for commercial clients.
In these shoots, which can last anywhere from weeks to months, I don’t want the camera to move even a little bit, because that can create a glitch in the footage. With the extra wide-angle lens of GoPros, even the tiniest movement creates issues with the smoothness of the time-lapse.
And the cameras are usually mounted in hard-to-access places up high or in difficult-to-reach places, which makes it all the more risky to manually take the memory card out and swap it for a new one.
You might run into a similar need if you’re shooting wildlife, for example, when going near the camera might scare the animals.
So, ideally, I want to download the images from the memory card and wipe the memory card clean without touching the camera at all.
There are two ways I’ve used successfully to do this. Both of these allow you to get the images off the card and then format it to free the card’s space up, all without touching the camera at all.
The short version: if you’re above water and within Wi-Fi range of the camera, use the app (Option 1). If the camera’s underwater or too far away for Wi-Fi, run a cable to it (Option 2). And if the camera sits on wall power near a Wi-Fi network between shoots, the newer models can upload and clear the card on their own (Option 3).
I have a separate post on the related issue of providing your GoPro with power over long shoots.
Option 1: Wirelessly, using the GoPro Quik mobile app
The first, and probably the most obvious option is to use the GoPro mobile app to download the images and then use it to format the card.
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The advantage of this method is that there’s no special setup or modification needed. Since power isn’t an issue, you don’t have to factor in the extra battery drain from leaving the wifi on.
Pros:
- No special equipment or modification needed.
- Works well when the camera is mounted in difficult-to-reach places (but still within normal range of the camera’s wireless signal).
Cons:
- You’ll need enough space on your phone (or tablet) to store the downloaded images or connect an external drive to your phone.
- Won’t work underwater, because the wireless signal can’t pass through any significant amount of water (here’s a more detailed explanation). For those situations, option 2 is a better option.
Option 2A: Custom-made housing with a USB cable to a computer
Another option is to enable wired access by jury-rigging a housing that allows for the USB cable to stay connected on the camera’s end. You can then connect a laptop to the USB cable and copy the photos straight to your laptop or an external drive connected to it. The original version of this setup used GoPro’s Quik desktop app to do the importing, but GoPro has discontinued it: the Mac version was pulled from the App Store at the end of 2024, and a Windows version never shipped.
Without the desktop app, the way in is a camera setting called USB Connection (under Connections), which you set to MTP. MTP is the same protocol phones use to share photos with a computer. On Windows, the camera then shows up as a device you can copy files from. Macs don’t support MTP out of the box, so on a Mac you’d need extra software to do the same thing.
The challenge with this option is sealing each end of the cable from water leaking. I’ve done it successfully by drilling a hole in the side of a standard waterproof housing, attaching the cable, and then using silicon sealant around the opening. I’ve found it to work well for above-water outdoor use against the elements like rain and snow, but I’d be pretty hesitant to take it underwater like that.
If the camera is mounted somewhere fairly inaccessible, you can use a long USB cable–but if it’s exposed to the elements make sure to protect the bare end from water as well.
Pros:
- Inexpensive and customizable to your needs.
- Works with nearly all GoPro models (you’ll need an additional external housing for some models).
Cons:
- You’ll need confidence in your DIY skills.
- Housing isn’t any good for normal use afterwards.
- Quality control (especially against leaks) is entirely up to you.
Tip: If you’re using one of the newer GoPro models that uses USB-C, you’ll find that long USB-C cables can be hard to find and expensive. It’s easier to find a long standard USB cable and use an adapter on the end, but there are three things to watch for: quality control on the inexpensive adapters isn’t always good; it introduces another potential point of failure; and the extra bulk of the adapter can introduce challenges to making the cable fit through the housing.
Option 2B: Off-the-shelf WiFi/Bluetooth extension cable
UPDATE: When I first wrote this, the cable only fit GoPro’s HERO3 and HERO4 dive housings. CamDo has since updated it, and the current version works with GoPros from the HERO3 through the HERO13, in 20-, 50-, and 125-foot lengths.
A variation on these is a hybrid option that combines wireless access to the GoPro with a wired extension cable. It’s a commercially available option put together by the folks at CamDo. You can find it here.
Their solution is designed for underwater use but works equally well in the elements above water if you need to extend the range of the wireless signal and don’t want the hassle of setting up some kind of wireless relay or booster.
This option comes with a few advantages:
Pros:
- As a professional manufactured option, the overall construction quality is higher than many DIY solutions.
- The cable itself is also ruggedized, which adds extra protection against the elements and reduces the risk of a potential weak link in the cable’s shielding.
- You can use the mobile wireless app rather than being restricted by the limitations of the wired connection to a computer.
Cons:
- It’s more expensive.
- It only carries 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi (plus Bluetooth), not the faster 5 GHz band, so you’ll need to set the camera’s Wi-Fi band to 2.4 GHz.
Option 3: Let the camera upload itself (HERO11 and newer)
The newer GoPros can send their own footage to GoPro’s cloud and then clear the card, with no phone or cable involved. You need a GoPro Premium or Premium+ subscription, a Wi-Fi network the camera can join, and the camera plugged into a power outlet. Turn on Auto Upload, then Auto Clear. Each time the camera’s charging on that network, it uploads anything new and deletes it from the card once it’s safely in the cloud.
On the HERO11 and HERO12, Auto Clear is under:
Preferences > Auto Upload > Auto ClearOn the HERO13 and MAX2, it’s under:
Preferences > Setup Cloud Upload > Auto ClearThe HERO9 and HERO10 can auto-upload too, but they don’t have Auto Clear, so you’d still need to clear the card another way.
The catch for long time-lapse shoots is that Auto Upload only runs when the camera is idle or charging, not while it’s recording. So it won’t empty the card in the middle of a continuous capture. It suits rigs that shoot in sessions, and GoPro Labs has a command built for exactly that: a daily time-lapse that can upload at the end of each capture, on Labs-enabled HERO8 through HERO13 cameras. Two things to know before you rely on it: GoPro doesn’t say it clears the card afterward, so test it with Auto Clear turned on, and GoPro warns that most USB power banks don’t work well for this because they switch off when they think charging is done.
