How to transfer files from Mac to Android using USB cable?

ByJael Lawler

Transferring files between a Mac and an Android device using a USB cable is a simple and convenient way to move photos, videos, music, documents, and other data between the two platforms. With the right software setup, an Android device can appear as an external drive on a Mac, allowing you to easily drag and drop files back and forth.

In this guide, we’ll provide a step-by-step overview of how to enable file transfers between a Mac and an Android device over a USB connection. We’ll cover how to enable USB debugging and file transfer modes on your Android device, connect it properly to your Mac, mount the Android storage, efficiently transfer files in both directions, safely disconnect your device when done, and troubleshoot any issues that arise.

Whether you need to migrate data from an old phone, regularly sync files for work, or just want an easy way to share photos and videos between devices, connecting your Android device to your Mac with a USB cable provides a simple wired file transfer option.

Prerequisites

To transfer files between a Mac and an Android device over USB, you’ll need the following:

  • A Mac computer with a USB port – Most modern Macs have USB-C or USB-A ports that can be used to connect to Android devices. According to recent data, the most popular Macs like the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro come equipped with USB ports.
  • A USB cable – Use a USB-C to USB-C cable for Android phones with USB-C ports, or a USB-A to USB-C cable for Android phones with micro USB ports.
  • An Android smartphone or tablet – The device will need to support USB file transfer which most modern Android devices do.

Enable File Transfer on Android

Before you can transfer files between your Mac and Android device, you need to enable USB debugging on your Android device. This allows your Mac to recognize your Android device and access its file system when connected via USB.

To enable USB debugging:

  1. On your Android device, open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down and tap About Phone or About Device.
  3. Tap Build Number 7 times until you see a message that says “You are now a developer.”
  4. Back in Settings, you will now see a Developer Options section. Tap into it.
  5. In Developer Options, check the box next to USB Debugging to enable it.

Enabling USB debugging allows your Mac to access your Android device’s file system when connected via USB cable. This is required for transferring files between your devices.

Note that leaving USB debugging enabled does come with minor security risks, like allowing USB access to your device data if it falls into the wrong hands. You can turn it off after you are done transferring files. For more details, see this Android developer page.

Connect Android to Mac

To transfer files between your Android device and Mac, you will need to connect them using a USB cable. Here are the steps:

1. Use a USB-C to USB-C cable if your Android device has a USB-C port, or use a USB-A to USB-C cable if your Android device has a regular USB-A port.

2. Plug one end of the cable into the USB port on your Android device.

3. Plug the other end into an available USB port on your Mac.

Make sure to use the cable that came with your Android device for the fastest transfer speeds. Some third-party cables may only support USB 2.0 speeds which will result in slower file transfers (up to 480Mbps according to Sony). The newer USB 3.0, 3.1 and USB-C cables support faster transfer rates up to 10Gbps or higher (Wikihow).

Once connected, your Android device should show up on your Mac’s desktop as a connected drive or in the Finder under Locations.

Mount Android Storage on Mac

Before you can transfer files between your Android device and Mac, you need to mount the Android file system on your Mac so it has access to the storage. By default, Mac OS cannot access Android’s internal storage directly over a USB connection. Android uses the ext4 file system for internal storage, while Mac can only read Microsoft FAT formatted drives by default.

To enable Android file transfer on Mac, you will need to download and install the Android File Transfer application. This utility allows Mac OS to recognize Android devices in file transfer mode and mount the Android file system. Once installed, connecting your Android phone or tablet to your Mac via USB should prompt the Android File Transfer app to open and display the files and folders on your device.

You can then access and transfer files bi-directionally as you would with any other external disk drive on your Mac. With Android File Transfer handling the mounting duties in the background, the ext4 Android file system will appear as just another native volume on your Mac.

Transfer Files from Mac to Android

Once you have mounted your Android device’s storage on your Mac, you can easily transfer files by dragging and dropping them in Finder. Here are the steps:

  1. Open a Finder window and navigate to the files you want to transfer. This can be photos, videos, music, documents, etc.
  2. Select the files and folders you wish to transfer. You can select multiple files at once.
  3. With the files selected, drag them over to the mounted Android drive in Finder.
  4. Drop the files into the destination folder on your Android device storage.
  5. The transfer will begin immediately and you can monitor the progress.

Large files like movies and videos may take some time to transfer depending on your USB cable speed. As a benchmark, USB 2.0 cables can handle around 60 MB/s transfer speed, while USB 3.0 is around 640 MB/s. For a 2GB HD movie file, the transfer time on USB 2.0 would be around 30 seconds.

Once the transfer is complete, you can safely disconnect your Android device.

Transfer Files from Android to Mac

One of the easiest ways to transfer files from your Android device to your Mac is by using drag and drop. First, connect your Android phone to your Mac using a USB cable. Once connected, unlock your Android phone and swipe down from the top to open the notification shade. Tap on the “USB for file transfer” notification.

This will mount your Android device’s storage on your Mac. Open Finder on your Mac and you will see your Android phone show up in the sidebar under “Locations.” Click on it to browse the files and folders on your device.

From here, you can simply drag and drop files from your Android device to anywhere on your Mac. For example, drag photos to your Desktop or documents to a folder in Finder. The files will be copied from your Android phone to your Mac.

Drag and drop makes transferring files like photos, videos, and documents very simple. Just connect with a USB cable, mount as a drive, and drag the files over. No special software is required.

Source: See all ways for Android File Transfer to Mac

Disconnecting your Device

It’s important to properly eject the Android device before unplugging it from your Mac. Simply unplugging the USB cable without ejecting can potentially corrupt files or damage the storage.

To safely disconnect your Android device on Mac:

  1. Close any open files or apps on the Android device
  2. On your Mac, click the eject button next to the Android device name in the Finder sidebar or desktop
  3. Wait for any file transfers to completely finish
  4. Unplug the USB cable from your Mac and Android device

Ejecting the Android device will unmount it from your Mac safely before disconnecting. This helps prevent any potential file corruption or damage that can occur from improper device removal.

Some reasons abruptly unplugging the USB cable can cause issues (source):

  • Interrupting an active file transfer
  • Removal during a read/write operation
  • File system errors or corruption
  • Disk write cache not fully flushed

While the likelihood of serious damage is low, it’s still best practice to properly eject external drives before disconnecting. Taking the extra step to eject helps ensure your files remain intact.

Troubleshooting

If you run into issues transferring files between your Mac and Android device, here are some common solutions:

Check that your USB cable is not damaged or faulty. Try swapping to a different high-quality cable like the one that came with your Android device. Damaged cables are a common cause of connection issues.

Make sure you have the proper drivers installed on your Mac if prompted. You may need to manually install or update your Android USB drivers through the Android SDK.

Try connecting your device to different USB ports on your Mac. Some ports may not make a proper connection. Front ports tend to be more reliable than those in the back.

Force quit and relaunch the Android File Transfer app if it is unresponsive or frozen.

Toggle USB debugging off and back on in your Android device’s developer options. This can reset the connection.

Restart both your Android device and your Mac to clear out any software issues. Power cycling helps reconnect the devices.

Check that you have granted proper USB permissions within your Android settings. You may need to enable file transfers.

As a last resort, you can try connecting your Android device to your Mac without using Android File Transfer. Simply access and manage the files through your file explorer like normal external storage.

If none of these basic troubleshooting tips resolve your file transfer issues between Mac and Android, you may need to investigate further or try third-party apps like AirDroid as an alternative solution.

Summary

Transferring files between a Mac and an Android device is straightforward once you have the necessary prerequisites in place. The key steps are:

1. On your Android device, enable USB debugging and MTP file transfer mode in the developer options. This allows your device to interface with the Mac.

2. Connect your Android device to your Mac using a USB-C or USB-A cable, depending on your ports. The device should mount and appear as a drive on your Mac.

3. You can now copy files and folders in either direction using Finder on your Mac. Simply drag and drop files between the Android drive and folders on your Mac.

4. When done transferring files, eject the Android drive properly before unplugging the USB cable.

Following these main steps allows quick and easy file transfers between Android and Mac. Just be sure to have the proper software enabled on both devices.

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