Both the mobile phone and the PC have become two full-fledged work tools. Sometimes we receive a file from WhatsApp or Telegram on the mobile that we need for a job that we are doing on the PC, other times we start to carry out a task on the phone and we see that it will be easier to continue on the computer, etc. Undoubtedly the casuistry can be several. How can we transfer a file from Android to PC without going crazy on the road?
As we did on previous occasions in the posts ” 5 ways to transfer files between two PCs ” and ” How to share files between any device in your home ” today we are going to see how to establish bridges between Android and a desktop computer.
10 methods to transfer files between an Android device and a computer
Next, we review some of the most common methods to be able to exchange images, videos, documents and all kinds of files from an Android tablet or mobile to a Windows PC (if you have Linux or macOS, don’t worry, most of the methods are transferable to Apple’s operating system).
Connect the mobile to the PC using a USB cable
This is the simplest and most direct method to transfer files from mobile to PC. Simply connect the Android device via USB cable and wait for the computer to detect it. Then go to “Computer” or “My Computer” and you will see how the smartphone is listed along with the rest of the hard drives and storage units of the system. Open it and transfer, copy or paste the documents that interest you.
If you have problems for the PC to detect or recognize the phone, display the Android notification bar and make sure that there is a notification from “Android System” that indicates that the mobile is in “Transfer files” mode. If not, simply click on the notification and select the file transfer mode.
In addition to that, if the PC still does not recognize the device, you may have to install additional drivers for your Android or reinstall the existing ones. You can see more details about this process in the tutorial “Does Windows 10 not recognize your Android phone? Solution! ”
Send the file by WhatsApp or Telegram
Did you know that WhatsApp and Telegram (as well as many other messaging apps ) have a desktop version for PC? This is most useful, since it allows us to send any file to a chat from the mobile phone and then download it from the PC using the desktop version of the same messaging app .
To do this, just open a chat with ourselves and send there all the files that we will then download from the PC (you can open a chat with yourself by adding your phone number as a new contact in the contact book). In Telegram you can use the “Saved Messages” chat to send all the files you need there without fear of being seen by any of your Telegram contacts.
Keep in mind, of course, that WhatsApp has a maximum file limit of 100MB. If you need to send heavier files then it is best to resort to Telegram, whose limit is 2GB.
Download Telegram for PC
Download WhatsApp for PC
Transferring files from Android to the computer with a file explorer
This method requires a bit more skill, but it is ideal for transferring files from Android to PC, be they photos, videos, PDFs, Word files or any other type of document. Just install a file explorer for Android that allows access to shared network resources and make sure you have at least one shared folder on your PC .
As for the file explorer, you can use an app like “ASTRO” (although there are more really decent browsers for Android ).
DownloadQR-Code
ASTRO file manager
Developer: App Annie Basics
Price: Free
Open the Astro app and go to “Storage Places”.
- Add a new place and select the connection type “SMB server”.
- Fill in the data indicating the IP address of the PC in the “Server” field.
- In the “Path” field, indicate the path where the Windows shared folder is located.
- Finally, click on “Continue as guest” or enter the username and password of your Windows account to continue.
In this way we will have access from Android to the shared folder of Windows, being able to transfer files in both directions without maximum file limit and at really high speeds. Of course, for all this to work, both devices must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network .
Share photos and videos with Google Photos
This is one of my favorite methods of transferring files from Android to computer. If what we want to send are only photos or a short video, the easiest thing is to upload said file to Google Photos and then download that file from the PC browser by going to https://photos.google.com/ .
All we have to do is open the image and then share it with the Google Photos app. We can also enter the Google Photos settings (Library -> Utilities -> Device folders with backup copies) and make sure that the folder where the image is located is synchronized. That easy.
Upload the file to Google Drive and download it to your PC
The bad thing about Google Photos is that it only allows you to upload images and videos to the cloud. If what we want is to transfer a file that is not a photo or a video, then the best we can do is turn to Google Drive.
The process would be exactly the same, install the Google Drive app on your Android, upload or share the desired file with Drive and then go to https://drive.google.com/ from the PC to download the file.
Just keep in mind that Google Drive has a maximum cloud storage limit of 15GB, so if you don’t have enough space before you will have to do some cleaning and delete the files that you no longer need.
Use a micro SD card
Here we already talk about major words. If what we need is to pass many or almost all the files stored on the phone it is clear that none of the methods mentioned above will be practical. The solution? Copy all files to a memory card.
In this way we will only have to remove the card and insert it into the PC to be able to copy all its content. If your computer does not have a card reader you will need an SD to USB adapter, which are available on Amazon for less than 10 euros (if you access from outside Spain you can also take a look at Amazon.com ).
Transfer images from Android with Microsoft’s “Your Phone” application
“Your Phone” is one of Microsoft’s biggest attempts to improve connectivity between Android and Windows. With this application we can not only download the photos that we have stored on the phone from the PC, but we can also make calls from the computer. A marvel.
DownloadQR-Code
Your Phone Companion – Windows Connection
Developer: Microsoft Corporation
Price: Free
You can see how to establish the connection between your Android and your PC in THIS TUTORIAL . Once the connection is established in Windows, just click on the “Photos” menu in the “Your Phone” application and save the photos that we want to have on the PC.
Install the AirDroid app
AirDroid has been on the market for years, and I honestly do not know how it is still not more popular (and that it has 5 million downloads). It is a super practical tool to access the content of our Android mobile and manage it remotely from the PC. Of course it also allows you to transfer files easily.
The most positive thing about this method to transfer files is that its interface is really intuitive and easy to use. Highly recommended for those who do not have much technical knowledge or simply do not want to complicate their life to transfer a sad Excel from mobile to PC.
DownloadQR-Code
AirDroid: access and files
Developer: SAND STUDIO
Price: Free
Send the file using WeTransfer
If you need to send a large file to the PC this is a good way to do it. The WeTransfer service allows you to send files up to 2GB for free. All we have to do is enter https://wetransfer.com/ , upload the file and choose a destination email. A few minutes later the recipient will receive an email with a link from where we can download the file.
Simply enter your email and download the file from your PC. That easy. If you prefer to try other platforms for sending large files, take a look at this post with the best alternatives to WeTransfer .
You can also send the document by email
If you don’t want to get involved with platforms like WeTransfer and the file you want to transfer is not too heavy, you can always email it to yourself . Gmail, for example, has a maximum size of 25MB for attachments, so if the document is not too heavy you will not have any problem. In Outlook the maximum size is 10MB (or 20MB for Exchange accounts).
Do you know other methods to transfer files between Android and PC easily? If so, do not hesitate to leave your recommendation in the comments area. We read in the next post!
