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What You Need to Know About the Sony A5100
The Sony A5100 is a compact APS-C mirrorless camera that fits in a jacket pocket but shoots like a much bigger camera. It has built-in Wi-Fi and NFC, which means you can send photos to your iPhone and even control the camera remotely without any extra hardware.
Sony originally used an app called PlayMemories Mobile for wireless connections, but that app was retired and replaced with Imaging Edge Mobile. As of 2026, Imaging Edge Mobile is still the app you need for the A5100, though Sony has also released Creators’ App for newer cameras. The A5100 is not supported by Creators’ App, so stick with Imaging Edge Mobile.
If you also shoot with Nikon cameras, the process is different. Here’s how to connect Nikon D3400 to iPhone for comparison.
Method 1: Wi-Fi Direct Connection
This is the most reliable way to connect the A5100 to an iPhone.
On Your Camera
1. Press the Menu button on the A5100.
2. Navigate to the Wireless tab (the antenna icon).
3. Select Send to Smartphone and then choose Select on This Device.
4. Pick the images you want to send, or choose This Date to send all photos from a specific day.
5. The camera will display a Wi-Fi SSID (network name) and password on its screen.
On Your iPhone
1. Open the Settings app and go to Wi-Fi.
2. Find the SSID shown on your camera (it usually starts with “DIRECT-” followed by random characters).
3. Tap it and enter the password displayed on the camera.
4. Once connected, open Imaging Edge Mobile.
5. The app will detect the camera and begin transferring the selected photos.
The transfers happen over a direct Wi-Fi connection between the camera and phone, so you don’t need an internet connection or a router. Your phone will temporarily disconnect from your regular Wi-Fi network during the transfer.
Method 2: NFC Tap-to-Connect
NFC (Near Field Communication) lets you start a connection just by tapping your iPhone against the camera. However, there’s a catch. Apple restricts how NFC works on iPhones compared to Android. On older iPhones, NFC is limited to Apple Pay and won’t work for camera pairing. On newer iPhones running iOS 14 or later, NFC tag reading is supported but Sony’s NFC pairing protocol still doesn’t work reliably with iPhones.
The honest recommendation: skip NFC if you’re using an iPhone and use the Wi-Fi direct method or QR code instead. NFC pairing works great between the A5100 and Android phones, but Apple’s NFC limitations make it unreliable on the iPhone side.
Method 3: QR Code Pairing
This is the fastest way to get connected and avoids manually typing in Wi-Fi passwords.
1. On the A5100, go to Menu, then the Wireless tab.
2. Select Send to Smartphone, then Select on This Device.
3. Instead of manually connecting, look for a small QR code icon on the camera’s screen. On some firmware versions, you’ll see the QR code displayed alongside the SSID and password.
4. Open Imaging Edge Mobile on your iPhone.
5. Tap the option to connect to a new camera, and point your iPhone’s camera at the QR code on the A5100’s screen.
6. The app will read the code and automatically connect to the camera’s Wi-Fi without you having to type anything.
This is easily the most convenient method. The QR code contains the SSID and password encoded together, so the app handles everything in one step.
Transferring Photos to Your iPhone
Once the camera and phone are connected, you can send photos in a couple of ways.
Selecting Photos on the Camera
If you chose “Select on This Device” when setting up the connection, you’ll pick which images to send using the camera’s screen. Scroll through your photos, mark the ones you want, and press the center button to start the transfer.
Selecting Photos in the App
Alternatively, choose Select on Smartphone from the camera’s menu. This lets you browse thumbnails of all the photos on the camera’s SD card within the Imaging Edge Mobile app. Tap the ones you want and hit download.
Transfer Sizes
The A5100 shoots up to 24.3 megapixels, and a full-resolution JPEG can be 8 to 12 MB. If you’re transferring a lot of photos, consider selecting the “2M” or “VGA” transfer size option in the app settings. This sends smaller versions that are fine for social media posting but saves significant transfer time. You can always grab the full-resolution files later by connecting the SD card to a computer.
RAW files (ARW format) cannot be transferred wirelessly. For RAW transfers, use a card reader.
Remote Shooting from Your iPhone
One of the best features of the wireless connection is using your iPhone as a live viewfinder and remote shutter.
1. On the A5100, go to Menu, then the Wireless tab, and select Ctrl w/ Smartphone.
2. Connect your iPhone to the camera’s Wi-Fi (same process as above).
3. Open Imaging Edge Mobile and tap Remote Shooting.
4. Your iPhone will display a live view from the camera.
5. You can adjust exposure compensation, switch between still photos and video, and tap the shutter button on screen.
This is really useful for group photos (set the camera on a tripod and use your phone as the remote), low-angle or high-angle shots where you can’t see the camera screen, or any situation where touching the camera would cause vibration (like long exposures on a tripod).
Note that remote shooting introduces about half a second of delay on the live view, so it’s not ideal for fast action. It works best for posed shots, still life, and landscapes.
Troubleshooting Connection Problems
The A5100’s wireless connection can be finicky. Here are the most common problems and fixes.
Camera’s Wi-Fi network doesn’t appear on iPhone: Make sure Wi-Fi is enabled on the camera (check the Wireless menu). Also, try turning the camera off and back on. The Wi-Fi broadcast times out after about two minutes of inactivity.
iPhone connects but app can’t find the camera: Force-close Imaging Edge Mobile, disconnect from the camera’s Wi-Fi network on your iPhone, then reconnect and reopen the app. Sometimes the app loses track of the connection if you switch between apps on your phone.
Connection drops during transfer: This usually happens when the camera goes to sleep. Go to Menu, then Setup, and set Power Save Start Time to a longer interval or turn it off temporarily while transferring.
Slow transfers: The A5100 uses 802.11n Wi-Fi, which tops out at about 2 to 3 MB per second in practice. Transferring 50 full-resolution JPEGs will take a few minutes. There’s not much you can do to speed this up other than reducing the transfer size in the app settings.
App crashes on newer iOS: If Imaging Edge Mobile is crashing, check the App Store for updates. Sony has released stability patches to keep the app working on newer iOS versions, though support for older cameras like the A5100 gets less attention over time. If the app refuses to work, try uninstalling and reinstalling it.
