


It gives you a two-pane view of the files on your machine and those on your Android phone or its SD card (or any other device that connects via MTP, really). OpenMTP is a fairly new project from a developer frustrated with Google's lacking Android File Transfer tool, released mid-2019. When you first plug in the cable to your desktop and your phone, make sure you open the Android notification shade, look for the Android System notification, and tap it to change the connection mode to File transfer / Android Auto. Depending on your phone and Android version, you might alternatively get to choose the connection mode via a popup when you plug in the cable. macOS generally has to rely on third-party software to do so.įor any of the tools below, I'd recommend using the cable that came with your phone to ensure it's high quality and won't disconnect during the process, but if you don't have it at hand, any cable rated for data connections should be fine. While both Windows and macOS have support for MTP built-in, only the former is able to mount MTP devices natively.
ANDROID FILE TRANSFER TO MAC FULL
In contrast to something like exFAT, this won't give your machine full control over the device's file system, effectively preventing you from tampering with the system partition and other critical files. When it comes to establishing a wired connection with a computer, Android relies on MTP (Media Transfer Protocol). Android File Transfer is essentially a streamlined method of sending files between Mac and Android operating systems. You don't have to rely on Google's tool for transfers, though - there are a ton of third-party apps that solve moving files between Android and macOS much better. There is Google's Android File Transfer application, but the program is hopelessly outdated, finicky, and prone to crashes when you transfer a lot of data at a time. While Android app development is an easy feat for Apple's desktop OS, the situation is much different for simple file transfers. Android and macOS have never been the biggest friends.
