How to transfer music from Android phone to Windows Media Player?

This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to transfer music files from an Android phone to a Windows PC using Windows Media Player. Listening to music on your computer can provide a better audio experience and allow you to manage your music library more easily. By transferring music from your Android device, you can access all your tracks in one place within Windows Media Player. This process only requires a USB cable and takes just a few minutes.

Prerequisites

To transfer music from an Android phone to Windows Media Player, you’ll need:

– An Android phone with music files saved locally – Music can be copied to the phone through the Files app, downloaded from streaming services, or transferred from a computer. Popular options include saving MP3 files in the Music folder or using apps like Google Play Music or Spotify to save music for offline playback.

Install Windows Media Player

If Windows Media Player is not already installed on your Windows computer, you will need to download and install the latest version before you can transfer music from your Android phone. Windows Media Player typically comes pre-installed on Windows PCs, but you may need to manually install it if you have a custom or new PC build.

To download Windows Media Player for Windows 10 or Windows 11, visit the Microsoft Store page here. For other versions of Windows, you can get Windows Media Player from the official Microsoft website here. Run the installer after downloading to install the latest version on your Windows PC.

Windows Media Player is free software from Microsoft that plays a variety of media formats and enables transferring media between devices. Ensure you have the latest version installed before attempting to transfer music from your Android phone to take advantage of improved compatibility and features.

Connect Android Phone to PC

The first step is to physically connect your Android phone to your Windows PC using a USB cable. Most modern Android phones use a USB-C cable, but older models may use a micro USB cable. Use the appropriate cable for your phone.

When connecting your phone to your PC, be sure to use the charging port on your phone, not any other port like the headphone jack. The charging port allows access to your phone’s data storage when connected to a computer.

According to Chron, USB 2.0 allows for much faster data transfer speeds compared to a wireless Bluetooth connection. USB 2.0 can reach speeds up to 60 MB/s, while Bluetooth tops out around 25 Mb/s. So a wired USB connection is preferred for quickly transferring large files like music libraries.

Enable File Transfer Mode

To transfer files between your Android device and Windows computer, you need to enable file transfer mode. Android supports two main protocols for file transfer – MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) and PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol).

MTP allows you to transfer media files like photos, videos, and music between your Android device and computer. When using MTP, the Android phone will appear as a portable media player on the computer.

PTP is commonly used to transfer photos from digital cameras. When using PTP, the Android phone will show up as a camera device when connected to the computer.

To enable file transfers:

On your Android phone, go to Settings > Connected devices > USB
Select either MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) or PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) mode

MTP mode is recommended for transferring music files from your Android phone to your Windows computer. With MTP enabled, you will be able to browse the contents of your Android device and transfer music files.

For more details on MTP and PTP, check out this guide: https://www.howtogeek.com/192732/android-usb-connections-explained-mtp-ptp-and-usb-mass-storage/

Transfer Music Files

Once your Android phone is connected to your Windows PC and file transfer mode is enabled, you can transfer music files in a few easy steps:

Open your phone’s storage on your PC. This will show up as a connected drive, similar to a USB drive.

Browse to the folder on your phone where your music files are stored. This is usually in a folder like Music, Audio, My Music, etc.
Select the songs or albums you want to copy. You can copy individual files or multi-select to copy everything at once.
Copy the selected music files and paste them into a folder on your PC. For example, you could create a folder called “Phone Music” to store them.

Once the copying process completes, you will have all your desired music files from your Android phone available on your Windows PC, ready to be added to Windows Media Player.

Add Music to Windows Media Player Library

To add your music files from your Android device to the Windows Media Player library, follow these steps:

Open Windows Media Player on your computer.

Click on the ‘Library’ tab at the top.
Click on ‘Add to Library’ on the left side.
Navigate to the folder or drive where your music files from your Android device are located.

Select the folders containing your music files.
Click ‘Include Folder’ to add the music files to your Windows Media Player library.

Adding the folders to your library allows Windows Media Player to index and organize your music files. You can then easily access them within Windows Media Player for playback.

Create Playlists

Once you have transferred your music files from your Android phone to your Windows Media Player library, you can create custom playlists to organize your music. Playlists allow you to group together songs according to genre, mood, activity, or any other system that works for you. Creating playlists can provide many benefits:

Playlists help you discover new combinations of songs and artists. By putting songs together in a playlist, you may find surprising connections between different music you hadn’t thought to play together before. This can lead you to appreciate individual songs more when you hear them in the context of a playlist.

Playlists make it easier to find and listen to music suited for particular activities or moods. If you are exercising, studying, relaxing, or celebrating, you can create a playlist that fits that moment. Then anytime you want music for that activity, the playlist is ready to go.

Playlists let you highlight your favorite tracks or showcase a genre you love. You can make an “all time greatest hits” playlist of beloved songs, or a playlist devoted to a specific genre like jazz, hip-hop, or classical. This showcases your favorite music in one place.

To make a playlist in Windows Media Player containing music you transferred from your Android phone, first click the “Create Playlist” button. Give your playlist a name and description. Then simply drag and drop songs from your library into the playlist. Reorder tracks within the playlist any way you like. You can create as many custom playlists as you want!

Listen to Music

The transferred music files from your Android phone are now available to play in Windows Media Player. You can access your music library within WMP and select songs, albums or playlists to listen to. WMP allows you to shuffle or repeat songs and control playback functions like pause, skip, etc.

With music successfully transferred from an Android device, Windows Media Player provides a robust platform to organize and enjoy your personal music collection. Features like playlists, ratings, and playback options make it easy to listen to songs exactly how you want.

WMP integrates your music into Windows, allowing quick access and playback from various apps and locations in the operating system. You can even stream music to other devices using features like Play To and Media Sharing.

Overall, transferring Android music to Windows Media Player unlocks the full potential of your personal media library. WMP’s tools and integration with Windows let you listen and manage your music collection with convenience and flexibility.

Conclusion

In summary, transferring music from an Android phone to Windows Media Player involves just a few simple steps. First, make sure you have Windows Media Player installed and your Android phone is connected to your computer. Then, enable file transfer mode on your Android so your PC can access its files. Once connected, you can simply locate the music files on your Android and drag and drop them into the Windows Media Player library. From there, you can organize your music into playlists and listen to it directly in Windows Media Player.

A couple additional tips: organize your Android music into folders or use playlists before transferring, so the files will stay organized in your Windows library. You may need to scan or add the new music files to your library after transferring. And make sure your Windows Media Player library is set to monitor the folder location you are transferring music into, so new additions will be automatically added.