# How do I transfer files from Android to a Mac? — Adinand Auto File Sorter Last reviewed: October 10, 2026. HTML version: https://adinandsorter.com/answers/transfer-files-from-android-to-mac **For photos and videos, plug the phone in and try the Mac's own Image Capture app, which Apple says imports from a camera "or other device". For other files, the cable route is the gap: Google's transfer guide has steps for Windows and Chromebook and none for a Mac, so a wireless route or Google Drive is the documented way.** Here is what each company says, read today. ## What Google's guide covers, and what it leaves out

Google's page on moving files between a computer and an Android phone gives USB steps under two headings, "Windows computer" and "Chromebook", plus "Quick Share for Windows" as a third option. It has no Mac section ([*Transfer files between your computer & Android device*, Android Help](https://support.google.com/android/answer/9064445?hl=en), read 10 October 2026). The old address many guides still link, `android.com/filetransfer`, now redirects to Google's page for the Quick Share app on Windows PCs ([*Quick Share app: Android to Windows PC file transfer*, Android](https://www.android.com/better-together/quick-share-app/), read 10 October 2026).

## Photos and videos: Image Capture

Apple describes Image Capture as the Mac app that imports "images or videos" from a camera, a scanner "or other device" connected by cable; you select the device in the app's sidebar "below Devices or Shared", choose a destination from the **Import To** menu, and import some or all. By default the originals stay put: "items you download remain on your device" unless you choose "Delete after import" ([*Image Capture User Guide for Mac*, Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/image-capture/image-capture-imgcp1003/mac), read 10 October 2026). The guide does not name Android phones on that page; on whether a given Android model appears in the sidebar it is silent (the same page). If the Mac sees nothing, our first check would be the phone's USB notification — Google documents switching it from charging to "File Transfer" for Windows, and [our Windows page](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/access-samsung-files-on-my-computer) quotes those steps.

## Documents and everything else over a cable

Image Capture is for pictures and videos, so documents need something else. Samsung's Smart Switch page lists "Android file transfer application installed on your computer" among the requirements for Smart Switch for Mac — on a page last updated "21st December, 2022" ([*Samsung Smart Switch*, Samsung UK](https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/smart-switch-app), read 10 October 2026) — while Google's address for that app now leads to the Windows page above. Smart Switch itself is Samsung's tool for moving and backing up a phone's data, not a file browser. If you need a cable for documents, a third-party Mac app is the honest answer; pick one from a developer you can name.

## Without a cable ## Which to use

Our suggestion: Image Capture for a phone's worth of photos, Quick Share for a handful of files, Drive for anything you also want kept online. For a whole Downloads folder, sort it on the phone before you move it, so that what lands on the Mac is a few folders rather than a pile.

Related: [Access Samsung files on a computer](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/access-samsung-files-on-my-computer) · [Does Android have cloud storage?](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/does-android-have-cloud-storage) · [Where are photos stored on Android?](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/where-are-photos-stored-on-android)