Here’s how you transfer files between phone and PC

There are several ways to transfer files between your phone and PC, such as the old wired connection, third-party apps for wireless transfer, Bluetooth, cloud storage, email, and more.

The sheer variety of sharing methods got us thinking about how Android Authority readers transfer files between phone and PC. We posed this question to you earlier this week, and here’s how you answered it.

How do you share files between phone and PC?

Results

Roughly 1,700 votes were cast in this poll, and it turns out there was one option that stood out above all else. 38% of polled readers said they stuck with a wired connection as their method of choice for transferring files between PC and phone.

We can see why many people would choose this option, as it’s still the most reliable method and offers top-notch speeds as well. This solution is particularly important for transferring large files such as videos and game files.

Related: The best Android apps to transfer files from Android to PC

Otherwise, the runner-up pick was “I use two or more of these solutions,” accounting for 17.6% of the vote. This makes complete sense, as smaller files might be better suited for some methods (e.g. email) while larger files might require a cable or something similarly fast.

Rounding out the podium was cloud storage (~16%). Otherwise, the “wireless” option also gained plenty of votes (~14%), with Nearby Share, PushBullet and Link To Windows being some popular options in this regard.

Comments

• Ayayo: I message the file to myself on a messaging platform because it’s the easiest with the most straight forward user experience and doesn’t need extra software.
• Shubham: I bought a USB3.0 cable just to copy files from PC to phone and reverse. Its 5times faster than USB 2.0
• HemanthJabalpuri: I use FTP/HTTP Server using MiXplorer in Android and sometimes MTP using wired connection.
• thesecondsight: I’m old school. I use a USB cable.
• veesonic: USB transfers via MTP are terrible. Computuer always seems to freeze and it seems Android is picky about what files it wants to accept. I use SD card reader as its easier. (Consequently this is one reason why my Android device must support SD cards!)
• dunnywastaken: Syncthing, also use it to transfer files to my Steam Deck.
• allhaileris: I use a cable for transferring big data like music folders or videos to the phone. For pushing smaller junk I use Telegram or Pushbullet. You can push files up to 2GB with Telegram. Both run on PC and all my Android devices.
• Lawrence Aubin: I use Microsoft’s Link to Windows mostly, sometimes USB cable and sometimes I send via email.
• Todd Heath: Been using KDE connect for Windows for file transfers over WiFi. It’s really good for being a port from KDE.
• B!: Pop the Type-C adapter in my phone, backup files to SD card, pop the Type-C adapter in the PC, move/copy files to my PC.
• Glen M Lj: Gotta make use the free 15GB Google gave me for file sharing purpose between my phone and my laptop, but that’s limited to smaller files only, because the internet in my region sucks big time. For larger files, I’ll just use a wired connection.