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How to transfer photos from Android to Computer

Transfer photos from Android to Computer

We all have tons of photos and videos on our phones. But between all the useless junk of photos, there are selected pictures and videos that are facets of memories. We all have some of our favorite photos or videos with friends, family, and other beloved ones. They keep the memories alive for years and maybe decades. Sadly, though, most of us find ourselves with our phone’s storage at its limits. One of the best ways to ensure the safety and security of your precious photos and videos is to transfer them to a computer. A computer often has ten times (if not more) the space of a smartphone. So, in this article, we will discuss all the ways by which you can transfer photos from your phone to a PC/laptop.

How to transfer photos from Android to Computer Using USB

Using a USB cable to connect your phone and your computer to transfer files, photos or documents is the most commonly known method. Using a USB cable is one of the best methods to transfer a bulk of files/photos/documents etc. in a relatively short time. Follow these steps to connect your phone and PC with a USB to transfer photos:

  1. Make sure that you have a compatible USB cable to connect your phone with a computer. Most modern smartphones have a USB cable attached to the charger, so if you have that, you can use that cable itself.
  2. Connect your phone and computer with the USB cable.
  3. You will receive a notification on your phone for USB debugging/tethering.
  4. Tap on the notification and choose the file transfer option when you’re presented with a list of options.
  5. Now, switch to a PC and boot it up. Go to “This PC/File explorer”.
  6. Your device name should appear under the “Devices and Drives” tab, open it.
  7. Now, navigate to the folder in which you have kept your photos.
  8. Copy and paste/cut and paste which ever photos you want to transfer to your PC/laptop.
  9. After you are done transferring the photos, go back to the “Devices and Drive” section tab and right-click on your device’s icon.
  10. From the small pop-up list, click on the “Eject” option.

Wireless photo transfer on Windows 10

In this method, we will discuss how to transfer photos/screenshots from your device to your Windows PC wirelessly. We will be using the “Your Phone” desktop app to transfer photos wirelessly. Let us look at the steps involved:

  1. Start up your PC and go to settings from the Start menu.
  2. Click on the search bar in the top left corner of the screen and search for “Phone“.
  3. The “Your phone” settings page will appear, tap on the “Add a phone” button.
  4. This will launch the Your phone desktop app on your PC (already pre-installed on modern PCs/laptops).
  5. On the phone type option, click on Android.
  6. The app will ask you to confirm your Microsoft account, just click on “Continue“.
  7. Now, launch of phone and go to the Google Play Store.
  8. Search for and install the “Your Phone companion” app.
  9. Once the app has been installed, launch it.
  10. When you’re starting it up for the first time, they will ask you to sign in with your Microsoft account to scan a QR code from your PC.
  11. Tap on the “Is there a QR code on your PC?“ button.
  12. Now, on your desktop, click on the “Yes, I finished installing your phone companion“ option.
  13. Then, click on the open QR code button.
  14. When the QR code will be displayed on your desktop, use your phone to scan the QR code.
  15. When the QR code has successfully been scanned, continue and grant whatever permissions are necessary for the Your phone app.
  16. You must choose to allow the app to run in the background till the file transfer is done.
  17. Allow your phone to be connected with your PC and tap on done.
  18. If your phone and PC are connected properly, you will get the “Your phone on PC are linked” message onscreen.
  19. Switch to your PC and click on the “Let’s go“ button. Now you should see you are linked phone listed under my devices.
  20. Click on your device’s icon.
  21. Then, click on settings. From the present list of options, click on “General”.
  22. Under the photos’ section, toggle on the “Allow this app to show photos from my phone” button.
  23. Go back to the “My devices” main page in the app.
  24. Click on your device’s icon and go to photos.
  25. On the right side of the screen, you will now see your recent 25 photos or screenshots from your phone.
  26. To save/share a photo, right click on any picture you would like to save/share and tap on the save/share button respectively.

Transfer photos from Android to computer with OneDrive

Anyone with a Windows laptop/PC has easy access to Microsoft’s OneDrive. OneDrive is a cloud service where you can upload any of your files, photos, videos, documents, etc. For now, we will go through all the steps you need to follow to upload your photos to OneDrive:

  1. Unlock your phone and go to the Google Play Store, swipe up to access your phone’s app drawer.
  2. Search for and install the OneDrive app for mobile.
  3. When is the app has been completely installed, launch the OneDrive app.
  4. Now you will be presented with a small list of folders, select a folder in which you would like to transfer all your photos to.
  5. Alternatively, you can just tap on the plus icon, and create a new folder in which you can save your photos.
  6. To do this, tap on the plus icon in the top right corner of the screen and then tap on the upload button.
  7. You will be directed to file manager, tap on the “Images” button or manually navigate to the folder in which you have kept your photos.
  8. Select all the photos you like of late, upload two years OneDrive cloud storage account.
  9. Also, if you want to automate photo uploading, simply toggle on the “camera upload“ button. This will automatically upload and back up all the new photos you take from your phone.
  10. Tap on the “Upload/Done” button when you are done.
  11. Now, Switch to a PC and click on the OneDrive option from under the quick access tab. Or simply search for and launch the OneDrive desktop app from the search bar in the Start menu.
  12. Finally, copy and paste all the photos that you have uploaded on your OneDrive account to a folder in your computer’s hard drive.

Wirelessly transfer photos form Android to Mac with Bluetooth

If you own a Mac computer and would like to wirelessly transfer your photos from your Android device, this is the method for you. We will discuss all the steps you need to take to connect your Android device with your Mac computer and then transfer your photos to your Mac PC. Let us look at the steps involved:

  1. On your Mac PC, download and install the “Android file transfer“ app.
  2. While it is installing, connect your phone with a compatible (with your phone and Mac) USB cable.
  3. On your Android phone, you will receive a notification for USB debugging. Tap on it.
  4. From the small pop-up list of options, tap on “File transfer“.
  5. Switch back to your Mac and launch the Android file transfer application.
  6. On the main page, you will find your Android device name, click on it.
  7. Now, simply copy-and-paste/cut-and-paste whichever photos you would like to save in your Mac.
  8. Make sure to eject your phone from your Mac before disconnecting it.

How to transfer photos form Android to Mac with USB

You can easily transfer photos from your Android phone to your Mac computer using a USB cable. Depending on the phone model you have and your Mac device, you will need to get a compatible USB cable to do this method successfully. The above-mentioned Bluetooth method might be impractical if you want to transfer photos and videos in bulk quantity. Here’s where the USB method comes in. Let us look at the steps involved in this method:

  1. After unlocking your phone, swipe down from the top of the Home Screen.
  2. From the list of features, tap on Bluetooth to turn it on.
  3. On your Mac PC, go to System Preferences and turn on Bluetooth. Then, pair those two devices together.
  4. Switch back to your Android phone, launch any of your preferred photo viewing/editing application.
  5. Select the photo you like to share and tap on the share button from the menu/more button from the top right corner of your screen.
  6. From the present list of options, tap on Bluetooth.
  7. The system will ask you to choose the Bluetooth device you would like to send it to. Select the Mac device you paired with your phone.
  8. The photo will be then wirelessly send to your Mac computer.