Over the last few years, the rise of mobile devices has been one of the highlights of technological advancement. Android devices are the most popular, with approximately 70% of the operating system market share.

Nowadays, Android devices come with ample storage options ranging from 8 GB up to 1 TB, which has led many users to start using their Android devices as portable storage devices.

However, smartphones are fragile and are prone to damage. Therefore, it is an excellent strategy to back up files from your Android devices to an external drive.

This tutorial will discuss different ways to transfer files from your Android device to a Windows PC.

Method 1 – USB Cable

The simplest and most common way to transfer files from your Android device to your PC is to use a USB cable.

NOTE: It is recommended to use the official cable shipped with your device to avoid any issues.

Depending on the Android version you are running, once you connect your device to your Windows computer, you will be prompted to allow access.

In the notification area, select USB Options and select the “USB File Transfer” option. Once you do that, it will mount your Android device storage onto your computer, where you can transfer files to and from your device.

On newer Android versions, you may not get this prompt as File transfer is the default option. Select “Allow,” thereby giving the computer access to your phone data.

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Once mounted, turn your attention to your Windows PC and open the File Explorer. Ensure you are in “This PC” location and not in “Quick Access.”

You should see your device listed as a storage device with the device’s model name. If you have a custom name for your device, it should be listed as such.

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Using file explorer, you can copy files to and from your Android device storage. A quick way to send files to your Android device is using the “Send to” option.

Select all the files you want to send to your Android device and right-click. Navigate to “Send to” and select your Android device:

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Method 2- Bluetooth

The second method you can use is the good old Bluetooth. This method will require both your Android and Windows PC to have Bluetooth capabilities.

To add your device, open the start menu and search for “Bluetooth and other device settings.”

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In the next step, click on “Add device” to add a new Bluetooth device. In the Window that opens, select “Bluetooth,” as shown in the screenshot below:

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Your PC will scan for all available devices. In this step, open your Android device and turn on your Bluetooth.

Once your device is visible, click on it and select “Connect” to initialize the pairing process. You may get a prompt asking you to accept a pairing code on your Android device.

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Once the pairing is successful, you should see “Connected” as:

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To send or receive a file from your Android phone, open the Windows system tray and right-click the Bluetooth icon.

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If sending a file, a prompt asking you to accept the file will appear on your Android device:

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Method 3 – Cloud Storage

Another popular way to transfer files from your Android device is to use a cloud storage option. Cloud storage allows you to upload a file from your device and re-download them on other devices.

There are popular choices that provide enough storage for most users with just a free tier. Such options include Dropbox, Google Drive, Mega, OneDrive, Box, and more.

Most cloud storage services will provide respective applications for their individual operating systems, including Windows and Android.

Method 4 – Xender

Xender is another popular way of transferring files between your Android and Windows PC. It allows you to connect your Android device to your Windows PC over Wi-Fi. Xender is simple to use and configure, bypassing the hassle innate to other methods.

Open your Android device and launch the Google Playstore. Search for Xender and install the app.

Once installed, launch it and allow the required permissions as you see fit.

On the top right side, select the hamburger icon and select “Connect to PC.” Xender will instruct you on setting up the connection on your PC and transferring files between the two devices.

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Method 5 – FTP

In some cases, you may choose a more advanced option. This method will show you how to use FTP to transfer files to and from your Android device.

NOTE: This is considered overkill for most users, and you will rarely need to opt for this option.

Start by launching your browser on your Windows PC. Navigate to the resource below to download the Filezilla server:

https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=server

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After downloading your installer package, launch it to begin the installation process.

The installation is pretty straightforward, and you can use the defaults.

After installing the Filezilla server, launch the “Filezilla Server Interface”:

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In the top menu, click on edit and select users. This will launch a window where you can configure the FTP users. Under the General tab on the left menu, select “Add” to add new users.

Enter the username for the FTP users and click on “OK” to save:

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Next, navigate to the “Shared Folders” tab. Here, select the drive you wish to transfer to and from your Android device:

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Click “OK” to save the settings and reload the FTP server.

In the next step, open your Android device and Open the Google Play store. Search and install “X-plore File Manager.”

Once installed, launch the app and allow the required permissions as you see fit. In the application, swipe the right bar to the left to reveal the advanced options:

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Select FTP and Click on “Add Server.” This will launch a window where you can configure your FTP server settings.

In the server entry, enter the IP address of your Windows PC. You can find this out by using the command:

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NOTE: Ensure your PC and Android device are on the same Wi-Fi network.

In the username tab, enter the user we set up in the Filezilla server. In the pass tab, enter any password.

Click on “Test” to test the connection to the FTP server.

NOTE: You may need to disable the Windows Firewall or allow port 21 on your firewall.

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If correctly configured, you should get “Server OK!”. Finally, click on “Save” to save the FTP server configuration.

Now, you can access your Windows PC from your Android phone and copy files to and from the two devices.

Conclusion

This guide provided various ways to transfer files to and from your Android device. Although we tried to cover a broad range of techniques, you can also use other approaches and applications to transfer files between your Android and Windows device.

About the author

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John Otieno

My name is John and am a fellow geek like you. I am passionate about all things computers from Hardware, Operating systems to Programming. My dream is to share my knowledge with the world and help out fellow geeks. Follow my content by subscribing to LinuxHint mailing list