Mobile phones have become a fundamental tool, they can accumulate audiovisual content through their internal and external memory . Thanks to this it is very interesting that they can connect to the computer and thus be able to share all types of files, either to transfer information from the mobile to the computer or vice versa.
Currently and thanks to technological advancement there are a variety of methods and applications that allow you to synchronize your devices with your computer . You can do this through Bluetooth, over WiFi, via USB cable and even through the cloud.
Most of these methods work with any type of Android Smartphone, while others are only specific to a certain model of phones. If you are one of the people who have a Samsung Galaxy, this device has some specific tools to do this, the same way it happens for the HTC Desire and LG phones . However, we will show you how to transfer information from your mobile to your computer through these four methods in an easy and fast way.
Index:
Steps to connect a cell phone or smartphone to my computer and transfer photos, videos and data
Virtually all mobile devices can be connected to your computer, this is something very simple to achieve. And there are many reasons to connect the Smartphone to the computer, either to free memory by removing multimedia files, to transfer files or to pass a Rom to the SD to flash . There are many reasons why we will need to transfer files from these devices at some point.
Due to all this, it is essential to be able to know the different ways of how to carry out this, which we will explain to you through the following methods.
By USB to transfer data
The USB cable is one of the essential accessories that usually includes all Smartphone at the time of purchase. In most cases it turns out to be the same cable used to connect the device to the charger . But, in reality any USB cable that has a micro USB connector should serve you, as long as it is compatible with the input port of the mobile device.
In order to carry out this process it is important that you follow all these steps one by one:
- To transfer the files, you must connect the cell phone to the computer via the USB cable . Once the PC has recognized the device, the drivers of the device will begin to install automatically.
- Then you will see a notice in the address bar of the mobile. You must click on it and it will open a window with two options.
- Once inside this window you will have two options to connect the device:
- “Multimedia device” This is the default method and which we must choose.
- While the other option that will appear will be “Camera” this is used to transfer photos or for computers that do not accept the MTP.
- If the case does not appear any kind of warning you can also access from the option of USB connections. To go to this option you must enter the part of « Settings».
- Now you have to click on the three points that will appear on the screen to access the menu and USB connections to PC.
- On the computer screen a notification will appear indicating that the device has been detected.
- After this you must choose what to do, the indicated thing is to open the memory of the mobile phone in a window of the file explorer.
- In case you don’t get any window you have to access the folder « My Computer » and click on the Smartphone icon. Once you access the device memory you can start copying, pasting or deleting the information you want, and of course, transferring files from one device to another.
For Wi-Fi to exchange data
It is also possible to transfer files to the PC from the Smartphone without the need to use any type of cable. To carry out this you must follow the following steps:
- To start both devices must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network . However, you can also establish a network either from your mobile or computer.
- To do this there are different ways. The first and simplest is from the application « WiFi File Transfer» . You can get this application through the Play Store, you just have to download and install it.
- Once the application is installed you have to click on the «Start» option.
- When you start running this application, you open the Internet browser on the PC and enter the code that will appear in the app.
- Once this is done a web page will open where you can download everything you want from your mobile phone . On the right side of your screen you will see the option to upload files to the device memory directory.
Within it you will find an option to enable data transit encryption through SSH, this only in case you are connected to a public network . This way you will be able to increase security in the event that another person tracks the traffic within the WiFi network. Keep in mind that this method does not allow you to have full control of where you are going to save or copy the phone files to your computer , it should be noted that this service is still a bit limited.
WiFi File Transfer works through an HTTP protocol, but you may also be able to access the phone’s memory through the FTP file transit protocol. In this way to download, upload and search files in any folder you will need a file browser on your mobile that is capable of working with FTP, such as the «ES File Explorer ».
While an FTP client must be installed on the computer such as FileZilla. To connect both devices follow these instructions:
- To connect the Smartphone to the computer, you must open the application « ES File Explorer». In the menu of the app that appears on the left by the Network section, select « Remoto accoun.
- To activate it you must click on «Turn on».
- Once this is done, an address will appear that begins with ftp followed of the IP address and then the two points of the port to which we must connect.
- In the FTP client of the computer you will enter the IP address in the option « Host ».
- The port where you connect will be placed in« Port », everything else can be left empty.
- Once both fields have been filled in, click on QuickConnect ».
- In the boxes of the FileZilla application, the folders of the application will appear on the right side mobile phone and on the left side all of the computer.
- It is important that both devices are connected to the same Internet network for this to work properly.
By Bluetooth
In order to connect your mobile device with your computer, you will need to both devices have a Bluetooth connection , either internal if you work with a laptop or laptop or external through a receiver that is connected to the USB port. This type of connection has its advantages but also its disadvantages.
First the main advantage of using this method is that you will not need any type of cable to transfer the data. However, the inconvenience of this could be speed reduction and loss of security since the data is sent via Bluetooth and could be captured by other people who have the necessary means. 
But, if you want to transfer files through this method here we show you what are the steps to achieve it:
- To start it is important to be able to pair both devices, for this you have to access the Bluetooth options of the mobile . This is done through the “Settings” option.
- Once you are in the Phone Settings menu you will select “ Wireless and networks” , then « Bluetooth».
- Once this is done you will configure the device so that it is visible, in this way the computer You may be able to recognize it.
- Then we will open the Bluetooth settings menu on the PC. To do this we display the side menu and look for the Bluetooth option and double click on it.
- The system will start automatically search for all nearby devices where your available Smartphone will appear.
- Once it has appeared we double click on it so that both devices start synchronizing. This process is automatic but we must be alert for security measures .
- Now on the PC we will click on “ Yes” on the mobile on “Link” and the connection between the two will automatically begin. This may take a few seconds.
- Once both teams are paired we can start enjoying the functions that this offers, such as sending and receiving files.
>
Transfer files from the cloud
Cloud Computing is becoming increasingly popular on Android phones, where it is surely the method chosen by many users to store their different files. In the case that you do not have a USB cable this method is a good alternative to transfer information to the laptop or desktop , to carry out this all you will need is a good Internet connection .
Some of the most popular cloud services are Dropbox , One Drive and Google Drive , each of them has its own application that allows to be able to manage that storage space in the cloud, they all offer both a free and paid service.
To transfer files from the cloud to your computer using Google Drive as an example from following the steps below:
- To start from entering the cloud application you have chosen and click on the “+” or “Add” or “Upload” depending of each case.
- Then you have to find the file you want to pass to your computer, drag it and wait for it to upload.
- Once this file is uploaded to the cloud you just have to Access your PC.
- You can also view your files from the web and download it to your computer . In this way you can send your files from your mobile to the computer quickly and easily.
Why does my computer not recognize my mobile device when I connect it? Solutions
It is very possible that for some reason your computer does not recognize your mobile phone despite being a completely simple procedure. And in many cases the system does not recognize these devices as a USB storage device, becoming frustrating in most cases.
If you have this type of problem, or we notice that our Android device connects and disconnects constantly, what you need to do is start to corroborate the connection cable , like others details that may be affecting that connection. That is why we bring some of the most common procedures and simple to solve this type of inconvenience.
Change the USB cable
If we are having this type of problem the first thing to do is change the USB cable or in that case check it. But if the problem continues, the ideal is to change it to a new one, since in this way it can be ruled out that the inconvenience has any relation to the connection. Keep in mind that many cables work only for charging the device and not for transferring data.
Uninstall and install Android drivers
If the problem continues, the next step we must do is proceed to uninstall and reinstall all Android drivers , to do this you must do the following:
- The Android device must be connected to the computer, regardless of whether or not it is recognized by the device.
- On the PC we will access the « Control Panel» , then “ System ” and there we click on the option “ Device Manager” .
- Once we are inside the menu, let’s look for the Android device driver and click on uninstall on it.
- Once these drivers have been uninstalled, we will disconnect the mobile.
- We must ensure that the computer is connected to the Internet and that the option of automatic update is activated .
- After approximately 2 minutes we reconnect the device and wait for Windows to get and install the drivers.
Connect as a mass storage device
We must bear in mind that this option is supported by any Android device , where the Tablet or the Smartphone together with its external SD card if it has one, are mounted to the computer as mass storage volumes. 
To carry out this we must follow the following steps:
- Within the Android Smarphone menu we will go to the option of « Settings», then select “More Settings”.
- Then we will connect the device to the PC and then click on the option of « Activate USB storage».
- After you must disconnect and return connect the equipment.
- When performing this procedure, install the drivers
again
Enable USB debugging
In some cases this type of problem may be due to the installation of an application that backs up mobile devices, therefore, these require a USB debugging .
To enable USB debugging we must perform the following steps:
- Enter the menu of the “Settings” of the mobile phone.
- Once inside the menu, you will select the option of “ Options from the Developer ».
- Then a window will appear where you must press« Accept ».
- Then you have to enable the item « Developer Options».
- Once this is done, we will select the box « USB Debugging ».
- Finally, select the option« Accept » to confirm the process.
Restore factory settings
If all the previous solutions have not worked and as a last resort we can try one more method. In this case we can choose to back up the content of the device to the PC wirelessly , to do this you must go to the Google Play store and Download one of the applications for this work. In the Google Play search engine you will place « Backup» and download the one of your choice.
Once you have managed to back up all the sensitive information of the Smartphone you must proceed to restore the equipment to the factory settings , which is very possible to reach solve this problem.
To do this you must follow these steps:
- To start you must enter the “ Menu ” of the device.
- Once we are there we go to the option of “ Backup and reset device ».
- In the Settings menu we will find the option of« Backup and reset device ».
- Next we will select the option of reset Factory Settings and finally click on the option of Accept.
- This process may take a few minutes while your phone is completely restored.