How do I transfer files from a USB drive to my Android phone?

Last reviewed: October 15, 2026 · Markdown version

Plug the USB drive straight into the phone's charging port, using a USB-C adapter if its plug is the older full-size kind. Then open a file manager, tap the drive in its list of storage, select the files and copy them into the phone's internal storage. No computer is involved. Google documents this for Files by Google and Samsung documents it for its own My Files app; both sets of steps are below, along with what to try when the drive does not appear.

Connecting the drive

Google sets one floor: "You can only access your USB storage on a device with Android 7.0 (Nougat) and up" (Use USB storage devices, Files by Google Help, read 15 October 2026). That page says nothing about adapters. Samsung's does: "If the USB flash drive doesn't have a USB type-C connector, you will need to connect it to a Type-A to Type-C USB-OTG adapter, and then plug it into your Galaxy phone or tablet to transfer files" (USB flash drive not recognized on Galaxy phone or tablet, Samsung US, read 15 October 2026). Samsung's Australian page, quoted further down, spells the abbreviation out as "On The Go".

With Files by Google

Once the drive is in, Google says "You'll find a notification that says "USB available."" Tap it, then Allow, and the drive is listed under Storage devices (the Use USB storage devices page above). To bring files across:

Under Storage devices, tap the USB drive and find the file.
Tap the Down arrow next to it, then Copy to. Google's tip if the arrow is missing: "tap List view".
For several at once, tap the Down arrow, then Select, tick each file, and choose Copy to from More at the top.
"Choose where you want to copy the file", then tap Copy here.

The same page lists Move to beside Copy to, with the same steps. Copy is the safer first choice: check the files open on the phone, then delete from the drive if you want. Why a move is really a copy and a delete explains what an interrupted move can cost. If the notification never shows, Google's advice is short: "remove the USB storage device and try again."

With Samsung's My Files

Samsung Australia publishes the steps in this direction, from drive to phone (Download Media Files from a USB to my Galaxy Device, Samsung Australia, read 15 October 2026):

Insert the drive and launch My Files.
Select USB Storage, long-press a file to select it, and tap Copy.
Go back to the My Files main screen, tap Internal Storage, and open the folder you want.
Tap Copy here.

Samsung's worked example ends in "Internal Storage > Downloads", and the page says the steps suit "a range of different file types", naming audio, documents, presentations, photos and videos. The US page adds that the USB Storage entry "will only appear if you have a USB flash device inserted" (the Samsung US page above), so if it is missing, the phone has not seen the drive.

When the drive does not show up

Samsung's troubleshooting page works through it in order: inspect the drive and the phone's port for damage, restart the phone, reconnect the drive and "Make sure the USB drive is fully plugged into your phone or tablet", and check that USB is set for file transfer from the quick settings panel (the Samsung US page above). One of its steps is formatting the drive from Settings, Device care, Storage. That page does not say what formatting does to the files already on the drive, so leave it until you have copied anything you need from the drive on a computer.

Google's Files page is silent on all of this beyond the reconnect tip, and it names no drive formats that Android can or cannot read (the Use USB storage devices page above). What format Android uses covers what we could find on filesystems.

Unplugging safely

Samsung's step after the copy is to unmount: swipe down the notification panel and tap Unmount, or go through Settings, Device Care, Storage, Advanced (the Samsung Australia page above). Google's Files page does not describe ejecting a drive at all (the Use USB storage devices page above). Either way, wait until the copy has finished before you pull it out.

Where the files land, and Adinand Auto File Sorter

A copied file goes exactly where you tapped Copy here; neither app sorts it for you. If you copy loose files into Downloads, as Samsung's example does, Adinand Auto File Sorter can file them from there. It moves files sitting directly in Downloads into category folders (Documents, Images, Videos and so on, decided by file extension) inside Downloads › Sorted Files, or inside another folder you choose in Settings on Android 11 and newer.

Its limits matter for a drive's worth of files. A whole folder copied into Downloads is left alone, because the app sorts only the files sitting directly in a watched folder, never what is inside its sub-folders. It does not watch the USB drive itself unless you add the drive as an extra watched folder, which is a Pro feature and needs Android 11 or newer. And it moves files rather than copying them, so nothing it sorts is left behind in Downloads.