Android file switch: How to maneuver knowledge between your cellphone and laptop
Moving recordsdata between your Android system and a Windows PC, Mac, or Chromebook would not must be tough — or depending on any cloud companies.
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Your smartphone is a robust laptop in your pocket — and with Android, a part of that PC-like muscle means having the ability to plug your cellphone into any Windows, Mac, or ChromeOS system after which drag and drop recordsdata both method.
Unlike iPhones, Android units let you entry their file programs straight from a desktop, with out the necessity for any cumbersome interfaces or sophisticated procedures. In truth, transferring recordsdata to or from an Android system is mainly no totally different than plugging an exterior exhausting drive into your laptop and shifting knowledge to or from it.
All you want is your cellphone, your laptop, and a cable to attach ’em — with micro-USB or USB-C on the cellphone aspect and USB-A or USB-C on the pc aspect, relying on the specifics of your units. (Most present Android telephones use USB-C, whereas most pre-2016 units have the older micro-USB normal. USB-A, in the meantime, is the standard connector port you are used to seeing on computer systems, although increasingly more fashions now additionally provide USB-C.) There’s an honest likelihood that the identical cable that connects your cellphone to its wall charger will work.
Got it? Good. Here’s what you’ll want to do subsequent, relying on whether or not you’ve got a Windows, macOS, or ChromeOS system:
Android file transfers for Windows computer systems
With Windows, issues are so simple as might be. Just plug your cellphone into any open USB port on the pc, then flip in your cellphone’s display screen and unlock the system.
Swipe your finger down from the highest of the display screen, and it’s best to see a notification in regards to the present USB connection. At this level, it’s going to most likely inform you your cellphone is related just for charging.
JR Raphael/IDG
After you join your cellphone to your laptop, a notification will allow you to put together it for transferring recordsdata.
Tap the notification and choose “Transfer recordsdata” or “File switch” within the menu that seems. If media recordsdata are all you are planning to maneuver, you would additionally use the “Transfer pictures” (generally listed as “PTP”) choice, which’ll deal with your cellphone like a digital digital camera. Once you’ve got made your choice, go to your desktop and open up a File Explorer window utilizing the strategy that makes probably the most sense in your Windows configuration:
- Click the File Explorer icon in your taskbar
- Open the Start menu and click on This PC or Computer
- Click the This PC, Computer, or My Computer icon in your desktop
Then search for an icon representing your cellphone alongside different moveable units and drives. Click or double-click that icon, and ta-da! You’re watching your Android cellphone’s inner storage. You can now click on round and browse folders, drag and drop recordsdata between your cellphone and PC, or manipulate the information in any method you need.
JR Raphael/IDG
Your Android cellphone’s storage appears to be like like all common exhausting drive when seen from a pc. (Click picture to enlarge it.)
Android file transfers for Mac computer systems
Got a Mac? The Android file switch course of is a little more sophisticated for you — however concern not, for it is nonetheless fairly darn straightforward.
The fundamental distinction is that earlier than issues will work, you may must obtain and set up an official Google program known as Android File Transfer. To use this system, your Mac have to be working macOS 10.7 or later, and your Android system should have Android 3.0 or later — one thing that ought to hopefully be a given on each fronts at this level.
Once this system’s in place in your Mac, simply plug your cellphone into your laptop, flip in your cellphone’s display screen and unlock the system, after which look for a similar USB standing notification described above.
Tap the notification and choose “Transfer recordsdata” or “File switch.” The Android File Transfer program ought to then robotically open in your Mac, and it’s best to be capable to browse your cellphone’s storage and switch recordsdata to your coronary heart’s content material.
If the official Android File Transfer program would not work properly for you — a vexingly frequent grievance amongst Mac customers today — think about the favorably reviewed third-party Commander One Pro instead. It prices $30 for a single license or $100 for a five-user group license.
Or — properly, skip all the way down to the ultimate part of this story for one different choice.
Android file transfers for ChromeOS computer systems
You’d count on file transfers between Android telephones and Chromebooks to be so simple as might be, contemplating that Google’s the driving pressure behind each of these working programs — and by golly, you would be completely proper.
Just like on a Windows system, all you’ve got gotta do to attach your Android cellphone to a Chromebook is plug it into any open USB port, then faucet the USB charging notification on the cellphone and choose both “Transfer recordsdata” or “File switch” from the immediate that seems — or choose “Transfer pictures” or “PTP” in order for you your cellphone to be handled like a digital camera, with a spotlight completely on multimedia recordsdata.
Once you do this, the ChromeOS Files app ought to robotically seem in your Chromebook together with your cellphone loaded because the lively storage focus. You’ll discover an choice inside the app’s menu (within the upper-right nook of the display screen) to again up your whole cellphone’s media recordsdata to Google Drive, if you wish to go down that street — or you may merely drag and drop recordsdata in both path as wanted.
JR Raphael/IDG
Pulling up your Android cellphone’s storage on a Chromebook is simple as might be. (Click picture to enlarge it.)
There’s actually not a lot to it — nor ought to there be.
And in order for you a good less complicated option to handle enterprise…
Don’t like cables?
Hey, wait a minute — aren’t there apps and cloud companies for this form of factor? Sure there are, and we have got you lined there, too. Check out “Transferring recordsdata wirelessly between units” in our in-depth information to file administration on Android for the whole lot there may be to know.
This article was initially revealed in August 2017 and most lately up to date in October 2022.
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