Android file transfer: How to motion data between your telephone and estimator

Moving files between your Android device and a Windows PC, Mac, or Chromebook doesn't accept to be difficult — or dependent on any deject services.

Contributing Editor, Computerworld |

Table of Contents
  • Android file transfers for Windows computers
  • Android file transfers for Mac computers
  • Android file transfers for Chrome Bone computers
  • Don't like cables?

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Your smartphone is a powerful computer in your pocket — and with Android, function of that PC-similar musculus ways being able to plug your phone into any Windows, Mac, or Chrome OS system and and then drag and drop files either way.

Unlike iPhones, Android devices allow you to access their file systems directly from a desktop, without the need for whatsoever cumbersome interfaces or complicated procedures. In fact, transferring files to or from an Android device is basically no unlike than plugging an external difficult drive into your reckoner and moving data to or from it.

All you need is your phone, your computer, and a cable to connect 'em — with micro-USB or USB-C on the phone side and USB-A or USB-C on the calculator side, depending on the specifics of your devices. (Most electric current Android phones use USB-C, whereas almost pre-2016 devices have the older micro-USB standard. USB-A, meanwhile, is the traditional connector port you're used to seeing on computers, though more and more than models now also offer USB-C.) There'south a decent chance that the same cable that connects your telephone to its wall charger volition work.

Got it? Good. Here'due south what you need to do next, depending on whether you have a Windows, macOS, or Chrome Os system:

Android file transfers for Windows computers

With Windows, things are as simple equally can be. Just plug your phone into whatsoever open USB port on the estimator, then turn on your phone'due south screen and unlock the device.

Swipe your finger down from the peak of the screen, and you should see a notification about the current USB connexion. At this signal, information technology'll probably tell you your phone is connected only for charging.

android file transfer usb notification JR Raphael/IDG

Later on you connect your phone to your calculator, a notification will permit y'all gear up it for transferring files.

Tap the notification and select "Transfer files" or "File transfer" in the carte that appears. If media files are all you lot're planning to move, you lot could too use the "Transfer photos" (sometimes listed as "PTP") option, which'll treat your phone like a digital camera. Once you lot've made your choice, go to your desktop and open up a File Explorer window using the method that makes the most sense for your Windows configuration:

  • Click the File Explorer icon in your taskbar
  • Open the Start bill of fare and click This PC or Figurer
  • Click the This PC, Figurer, or My Calculator icon on your desktop

So look for an icon representing your phone alongside other portable devices and drives. Click or double-click that icon, and ta-da! You lot're staring at your Android phone's internal storage. You can now click around and scan folders, drag and drop files between your phone and PC, or manipulate the data in whatever way you desire.

android file transfer windows JR Raphael/IDG

Your Android telephone's storage looks similar any regular hard bulldoze when viewed from a computer.

Android file transfers for Mac computers

Got a Mac? The Android file transfer process is a bit more complicated for you — but fear not, for it's even so pretty darn piece of cake.

The main difference is that before things will work, you'll need to download and install an official Google program called Android File Transfer. To use the programme, your Mac must be running macOS 10.7 or later on, and your Android device must take Android 3.0 or later — something that should pretty much be a given with whatever reasonably recent Android product.

Once the program's in place on your Mac, just plug your telephone into your computer, turn on your phone'southward screen and unlock the device, and so await for the same USB status notification described above.

Tap the notification and select "Transfer files" or "File transfer." The Android File Transfer program should and then automatically open up on your Mac, and you should exist able to scan your phone's storage and transfer files to your heart's content.

If the official Android File Transfer program doesn't piece of work well for y'all — a vexingly mutual complaint among Mac users these days — consider the favorably reviewed third-party Commander One Pro as an alternative. Information technology costs $xxx for a single license, $100 for a five-user team license, or $150 for a l-user company license.

Or — well, skip down to the final section of this story for i other option.

Android file transfers for Chrome OS computers

You'd expect file transfers between Android phones and Chromebooks to be as simple every bit can exist, considering that Google's the driving force backside both of those operating systems — and by golly, you'd be admittedly right.

Simply like on a Windows arrangement, all you've gotta do to connect your Android phone to a Chromebook is plug it into any open up USB port, then tap the USB charging notification on the phone and select either "Transfer files" or "File transfer" from the prompt that appears — or select "Transfer photos" or "PTP" if you want your phone to be treated like a camera, with a focus exclusively on multimedia files.

Once you do that, the Chrome Os Files app should automatically announced on your Chromebook with your phone nowadays as ane of the storage options. The organization volition probably even prompt yous to back up all of your phone'south media files to Google Drive; you tin allow that, if you'd like, or dismiss it and only drag and drop files in either direction as needed.

android file transfer chrome os JR Raphael/IDG

Pulling upward your Android telephone'south storage on a Chromebook is easy equally tin can be — and typically includes a 1-click choice to re-create all your device'south media files as well.

In that location's really not much to it — nor should at that place be.

And if you lot desire an even simpler way to take care of business...

Don't like cables?

Hey, wait a minute — aren't there apps and cloud services for this sort of thing? Sure at that place are, and we've got you lot covered there, too. Check out "Transferring files wirelessly between devices" in our in-depth Android file management guide for everything there is to know.

This commodity was initially published in August 2017 and updated in October 2019.

Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels about the human side of technology. Hungry for more? Bring together him on Twitter or sign upwards for his weekly newsletter to get fresh tips and insight in your inbox every Friday.

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