If we take many photos with our Android smartphone, we will soon realize that the internal memory may run out very soon, especially if we have a phone with less than 64 GB of internal memory. In these cases, transferring photos from Android to PC is of fundamental importance, so as not to have to give up your shots and continue taking photos without fear that the memory may end soon.
In this regard, we have created this guide, in which we will show you all the methods that we can use on an Android smartphone to transfer photos to your home computer.
We will show you both how to download photos via USB cable (the simplest and most practical method), and the methods to be able to move the shots taken via a cloud service or via app for WiFi synchronization (to transfer photos using the home wireless network ).
READ ALSO -> Transfer files and photos via Bluetooth from Android to Windows 10 PC
1) How to transfer photos from Android to PC via cable
To download photos from any Android phone to the PC (Windows and Mac), just connect with the USB cable that we normally use for charging the phone to one of the USB sockets on the PC.
Since Android is Linux, we will not have to install any driver to access the files stored in the internal memory or on the microSD: immediately after the connection we will only have to unlock the screen of the Android smartphone, click on the icon that will appear at the top and select, among the various options offered for cable connection, the transfer of MTP files (or any other item with MTP written will appear on our device).
After doing this we can bring ourselves in File Explorer -> This PC and click on the Android device, as detected by the Windows operating system.
By pressing the right mouse button on the smartphone icon, you can then choose the Import images and videos option to download all the photos and videos on the Android device completely automatically, without having to open the various folders.
Alternatively we can click on the Android smartphone icon and visit the internal memory (or external memory if there is an SD card), so we can find the DCIM or Pictures folders, where all the photos taken with the app are kept Camera on the phone, ready to be copied and pasted to any folder on our computer.
In the event that the PC does not see any Android device connected it is possible that there is a problem with the USB cable or a problem with the drivers assigned to the device.
In this regard, in another article we have studied and solved all possible problems if Android is not recognized by the PC with USB connection .
2) How to download photos from Android to PC via official software
If you want a more complete program to manage the transfers of photos and data from an Android smartphone to the PC, we can also find the proprietary software of Huawei, Samsung and other phone manufacturers, very useful for transferring photos using the USB cable. Wifi.
Official software can be downloaded from the following links:
- Samsung Smart Switch
- Huawei HiSuite
- Xiaomi Mi PC Suite
- LG PC Suite
- Sony Xperia Companion
Just download and start them with the phone connected to the PC via USB cable to take advantage of the various features, including photo synchronization (iTunes-style).
The official programs have not convinced you or there is nothing for the manufacturer you own "> programs to manage Android from PC and transfer data (in wifi or USB), where we can find valid alternatives to be able to manage any type of Android and transfer quickly photos on the computer, using both the USB connection and the WiFi connection.
3) How to download photos from Android to PC via cloud
On Android it is possible to save photos and videos safely using a cloud service ; the best without a doubt is Google Photos, often already integrated as a system app on all modern Android smartphones.
With Google Photos you can automatically backup all the photos for free on Android and iPhone, with no limit on the number, as explained in another article.
Using this service the photos will be saved in a specific space of Google Drive, therefore accessible from the PC after configuring the specific client downloadable from here -> Google Drive for Windows .
Open the page, click on Backup and synchronization to download the program and integrate it into Windows; once associated with the same Google account used on the smartphone, we will have access to all photos in a simple way by navigating in the synchronized folder.
Alternatively we can view the photos saved online on the official Google Photos website, accessible from here -> Google Photos Web .
4) How to download photos from Android to PC via app
As already seen for iPhone, we can take advantage of various apps to quickly establish the connection between Android smartphone and PC, taking advantage of the wireless connection at home as a "means of transport" of photos and data.
In this part of the guide we have collected the best apps to manage Android from PC, so that we can try them all and choose the one that best suits our phone and our PC.
- AirDroid : the best app to manage an Android via a browser, just scan the QR code to have a real management software with which to transfer photos and anything else.
- AirMore : app very similar to AirDroid, it allows you to manage every aspect of the phone in a browser window, synchronizing via a QR code.
- Send Anywhere : another very convenient app to quickly transfer large quantities of photos, by sharing a simple link or by scanning the QR code offered.
- PhotoSync : very good app to synchronize photo folders on the cloud, on an FTP site, on a NAS or on any PC, with a quick and fast configuration.
If we are looking for other methods to free up space from photos on our smartphones, we recommend reading our guide Free space with Google Photos on Android and iPhone .
