Transfer photos from Android to your PC

How SendTheStuff will move photos from Android to your PC

SendTheStuff will pair your phone and your computer with a QR code, with no app on either side. Your PC will open a page and show a code, and your phone's own camera app will open its link.

• No cable, no drivers: SendTheStuff will work over the internet, so the phone and PC won't need the same Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
• Big batches: SendTheStuff will take up to 1,000 files and 5 GB in each send. SendTheStuff's allowance will be 5 GB of device sends per email address, per rolling day.
• Full quality: SendTheStuff will pass on the files your phone hands it, with no squeezing of its own.
• Short-lived by design: SendTheStuff's code will change every 2 minutes, and a photo will leave both screens 1 hour after you download it.
• Nothing to set up on the PC: the computer will be able to receive without signing in. Your phone will confirm your email once, since only signed-in phones send.

Why your PC sees a charging phone, not your photos

Plug an Android phone into a PC and, by default, it usually just charges. Google's steps for a Windows computer start with unlocking the phone. Then you tap the "Charging this device via USB" notification and choose Use USB for > File Transfer.

Microsoft adds two catches. Your PC can't find the phone while it's locked. And not every USB cable carries files, so a cable that charges fine may still show nothing.

Samsung phones word it differently. Samsung's own guide says to tap the USB settings notification and pick Transferring files/Android Auto. If a prompt asks to allow access to phone data, tap Allow.

Where your photos live on an Android phone

Once File Transfer is on, the phone opens in File Explorer like a drive. On a Samsung Galaxy, camera photos and videos sit in Internal storage > DCIM > Camera. Other makers may name the folders differently, so look for the camera folder.

Some photos aren't on the phone at all. If your camera app backs up to Google Photos or OneDrive, older shots may live only in the cloud. Microsoft's advice for those is to download them in a web browser, not over the cable.

Google Photos: what quality reaches your PC

Google Photos backs up in one of two qualities, and that choice decides what you can download later.

Both count toward your Google storage, which is 15 GB free across Gmail, Drive and Photos. To save a photo on your PC, open photos.google.com, select it, and click More > Download.

Cable, Phone Link, Quick Share or Google Photos

Each of these works, and each stops somewhere:

Phone Link only reads the Camera Roll (Microsoft's name for the camera folder) and Screenshots folders. Photos saved anywhere else on the phone won't appear in it.

Quick Share for Windows is Google's app. Google says a Samsung PC should use Quick Share by Samsung from the Microsoft Store instead.

Until SendTheStuff launches

Everything at once, by cable:

1. Unlock the phone and plug it into the PC.
2. Tap the "Charging this device via USB" notification, then choose Use USB for > File Transfer. On a Samsung, tap the USB settings notification and choose Transferring files/Android Auto.
3. On the PC, open the Photos app from Start and select Import.
4. Pick your phone, choose the photos and a folder, and wait for the copy to finish.

A few photos, without a cable (Quick Share):

1. Install Quick Share from Google's website on the PC, open it, and sign in.
2. Turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on both, on the same network.
3. On the phone, select the photos, tap Share, then Quick Share, and pick the PC.
4. Accept on the PC. The photos land in Downloads > Quick Share.

From Google Photos: open photos.google.com on the PC, select a photo, and click More > Download.

What arrives on the computer

It depends on the route:

• The Photos app import: copies land in the folder you chose during the import.
• File Explorer: you drag files from the camera folder to wherever you like.
• Phone Link: you copy photos from its Photos section to your PC.
• Quick Share: files go to Downloads > Quick Share on the PC.
• Google Photos: each download keeps the quality it was backed up in.

Videos are a different story. A cable, Quick Share and Google Photos carry them. Phone Link doesn't: Microsoft says it supports images, not videos.

Phone Link and Quick Share: what each needs

Both are wireless, but they ask for different things.

• Phone Link: Microsoft says to use the Phone Link app from Microsoft Store. Its photo feature needs Android 7.0 or newer on the phone.
• Quick Share needs Google's app on the PC, and a phone running Android 6.0 and up.
• Range: Quick Share wants Bluetooth on, both devices on one network, and no more than 16 feet or 5 meters apart.
• Office networks: Google says some block device-to-device sharing. Its fix is to connect the PC to your phone's hotspot.

When the PC doesn't see your phone or photos

• Nothing shows up in File Explorer. Unlock the phone, then check the USB notification is set to File Transfer, not charging.
• Still nothing. Try a different cable and port. Google also suggests restarting both, and updating Android.
• Phone Link is missing photos. It lists only recent ones from the camera and Screenshots folders, so copy older photos by cable.
• Quick Share can't find the PC. In the PC app, open Settings > Device visibility and choose Your devices or Everyone. Then check Bluetooth is on for both.
• Downloaded photos look soft. They were probably backed up as Storage saver. Copy the originals from the phone instead.