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How to Connect your Android Phone to a PC with a USB Cable

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Introduction

Droid Transfer offers a quick way to transfer your files, photos and other media between your Android phone and your PC. You can connect over your local Wi-Fi network, or opt for a direct connection using a USB cable for enhanced speed and stability.

To get started with a USB connection, you'll need to adjust some settings on your Android device to allow communication between Droid Transfer and the Transfer Companion app. This support article walks you through the steps — or, if you prefer a visual guide, check out our step-by-step video tutorial below!

Enabling Developer Options on your Android Device

You need to change some settings on your Android device so that "Developer Mode" is enabled.

  1. Open your device settings and choose "About phone", "About device" or just "About".
  2. Look for the entry "Build Number", or "Build Version". This entry may be under a further sub-menu called "Software Information" or "Software Info" on some devices.
  3. Tap the "Build Number" entry five or six times. (No, really!)
    Your device will show you how many taps are required to enable Developer Mode. When done your device will have Developer Mode enabled.
  4. Go back to your main Settings menu - scroll down to the bottom, you should see a new entry called "Developer Options". On some devices this might be in a sub-menu called "System & Updates"

Congratulations! You're now a developer! ;)

Enable USB Debugging

Just a couple more settings to change...

  1. Tap to open "Developer Options"
  2. Make sure "Developer Options" is set to ON.
  3. Scroll down to "USB Debugging" and make sure that is enabled also. If it isn't, slide the toggle switch to the right to enable it.

    Note: If "USB Debugging" is grayed out and you are using a Samsung device, you may have to disable 'Auto Blocker' to continue.
    Tap Here for Instructions on how to disable Samsung Auto Blocker below.

    Alternatively, you can connect your Samsung device to Droid Transfer over a WiFi network.

    How to Disable Samsung Auto Blocker

    Some Samsung devices have a feature called 'Auto Blocker' which can prevent USB Debugging from being enabled. To disable Auto Blocker, follow these steps:

    1. Open the Settings app on your Samsung device.
    2. Scroll down and tap on "Security and Privacy" or "Biometrics and Security".
    3. Scroll down to "Additional Security Settings".
    4. Tap on "Auto Blocker" to disable it.

    Tip: If you cannot find the Auto Blocker setting, you can search for it in the settings search bar.

    Once Auto Blocker is disabled, you should be able to enable USB Debugging as described above.
  4. Depending on your Android device - a window may pop up on your phone asking you to verify that you want to enable USB Debugging. Click OK or Apply to allow USB Debugging to become enabled.

Download and install

Download and install the Droid Transfer software on your PC, and the Transfer Companion app on your Android device.

Both apps work together to allow you to connect the Android to the PC.

Droid Transfer
for Windows
DOWNLOAD Droid Transfer
Transfer Companion
for Android

Run Droid Transfer on your PC

  1. Run Droid Transfer on your PC and when you see the connect screen:

  2. Click the toggle button to switch over to USB connection mode:

  3. Connect your Android device to your PC with a USB cable. Depending on your device, your phone may request permission for it to communicate with your PC.

    Click OK or Allow on any prompts showing on your Android Device.

  4. Check that your device is set to allow file transfer using your USB connection. To do this, on your device, swipe down from the top of the screen and tap "Charging this device via USB". Under "Use USB for" select "File Transfer".

  5. When Droid Transfer detects your device, it will launch Transfer Companion on your Android device and begin to load your phone's data through the USB cable.

  6. Connection should now made between Droid Transfer and Transfer Companion and you can start managing and copying your Android Phone content using Droid Transfer on your PC.

If you're having troubles, check out our USB connection troubleshooting tips which will help you resolve any issues.