Android file management: An easy-to-follow guide

From managing files on your phone to seamlessly syncing folders with your computer, this guide will turn you into a certified Android file master. CloseAd computerworld UNITEDSTATES UnitedStates Australia India Netherlands NewZealand UnitedKingdom Welcome!HerearethelatestInsiderstories. HowtorepairWindows10(and11)in4steps HowApple'siCloudPrivateRelaycreatesashadowITnightmare GoogleKeepcheatsheet:Howtogetstarted Androidvs.iOSintheenterprise:ITnowhasarealchoice MoreInsider SignOut SignIn Register SignOut SignIn Register NEWInsiderPRO LearnMore LatestInsider Gmailvs.Outlook:Whichworksbetterforbusiness? MSRTvs.MSERT:WhentouseeachWindowsmalwaretool HowAppleischangingMDMiniOS15 MicrosoftOneDrivecheatsheet NEWFROMIDG LearnMore Welcome!CheckoutthelatestInsiderstorieshere. SignOut SignIn Register MorefromtheIDGNetwork AboutUs| Contact| Reprints| PrivacyPolicy| CookiePolicy| MemberPreferences| Advertising| IDGCareers| AdChoices| E-commerceLinks| California:DoNotSellMyPersonalInfo| FollowUs × Close iPhonetoAndroid:Theultimateswitchingguide RELATEDSTORIES The20-minuteAndroidtune-up SPONSOREDBYAdvertiserNameHere Sponsoreditemtitlegoeshereasdesigned HowtobackupAndroiddevices:Thecompleteguide 16time-savingAndroidshortcuts Thinkstock TableofContents ManagingfilesonyourAndroidphone Supplementingyourphone'slocalstorage Transferringfilesbetweenyourphoneandcomputer Transferringfileswirelesslybetweendevices SyncingyourAndroidphone'sstoragewithacomputer ShowMore Whenyouthinkaboutyoursmartphone,appsandinterfacesareprobablythefirstthingsthatcometomind.Beneathallthatsurface-levelstuff,though,ourmodernmobiledevicesarefilledwithfiles—foldersuponfoldersof'em!—justliketheclunkyol'computerswe'verelieduponforages.Wemaynotcomefacetofacewithourphones'filesystemstoooften,butit'svaluabletoknowthey'rethere—andtoknowhowtheycanworkforuswhentheneedarises.Afterall,yourAndroiddeviceisaproductivitypowerhouse.ItcanjuggleeverythingfromPDFsandPSDstopresentationsandpodcasts.Itcanevenactasaportableharddriveandhouseanysortofimportantfilesyoumightneedinyourpocket(andnotjustonsomefar-awaycloud).Yourmobiledevicecancarryanawfullotofdata,andtheremaycomeatimewhenyouwanttodiginanddealdirectlywithit.Here'severythingyouneedtoknowtogetunderthehoodandtapintoyourphone'sfilemanagingpowers.ManagingfilesonyourAndroidphoneYoumightnotrealizeitataglance,butAndroidactuallyallowsyoutoaccessadevice'sentirefilesystem—evenfromthedeviceitself.Theoperatingsystemhashaditsownnativefilemanagersince2015'sAndroid6.0Marshmallowrelease,andwhatstartedoutasanexperimental-seemingefforthasevolvedintoacapabletoolforbasicdatamanipulation.WithAndroid6.0through7.1,thesystem-levelfilemanagerissomewhathidden:YouhavetolookintheStoragesectionofyoursystemsettings,thenscrollallthewaytothebottomandtapthelinelabeled"Explore"tofindit.WithGoogle'sAndroid8.0Oreorelease,meanwhile,thefilemanagerlivesinAndroid'sDownloadsapp.Allyouhavetodoisopenthatappandselectthe"Showinternalstorage"optioninitsmenutobrowsethroughyourphone'sfullinternalstorage.Youcanthenopen,move,rename,copy,delete,andsharefilesasneeded.[Related:Androidfiletransfer:Howtomovedatabetweenyourphoneandcomputer]AndifyouhaveAndroid9orhigheronyourphone,thingsgeteveneasier:InthoserecentAndroidversions,thefilemanagerexistsinitsownsensiblynamedFilesapp.JustopenituptobrowseanyareaofyourlocalstorageoraconnectedDriveaccount;youcaneitherusethefiletypeiconsatthetopofthescreenor,ifyouwanttolookfolderbyfolder,tapthethree-dotmenuiconintheupper-rightcornerandselect"Showinternalstorage"—thentapthethree-linemenuiconintheupper-leftcornerandlookforyourphone'sname. JRRaphael/IDG Themostrecentversionofthesystem-levelFilesappletsyoubrowsethroughfilesinavarietyofways,includingviaatraditionalfolder-by-folderview. Ifyoudon'tseetheFilesapponyourphone,oddsareyou'reusingadevicebyamanufacturer—suchasSamsung—thatoptsnottoincludethissystem-levelAndroidelementinitssoftwareandinsteadtoprovideitsownself-madealternative(ostensiblywiththegoalofpushingitsowncloudstorageserviceand/orapaidpartner'scloudstorageservicealongsideGoogleDrive).Suchanappmightexistwithinafolderbearingthemanufacturer'sname,inyourappdrawer,andmightbecalledMyFiles—orsomethingalongthoselines.You'llprobablyfindthesamebasicsortoffilemanagementfunctionalitywithinit,justwithasomewhatdifferentinterfaceandsetofoptions.Ifyouwanttodomorethanthemostbasicon-devicefilemanagement,meanwhile,athird-partyfilemanageristhewaytogo.YoucanfindmylatestrecommendationsforvariousneedsinmyseparateroundupofthebestAndroidfilemanagerapps.Supplementingyourphone'slocalstorageOnelittle-knownfeatureofAndroidisitsabilitytoconnectwithexternalstoragedeviceslikeUSBmemorysticksandevenlarger-capacityportableharddrives.AphonejusthastosupportsomethingknownasUSBOn-The-Go,orUSBOTG,inorderfortheconnectiontowork.Afairnumberofdevices,includingGoogle'sPixelphonesandmanySamsungGalaxyproducts,offersuchsupport.Ifyouaren'tsureifyourphonedoes,yourbestbetistoGoogleitsnamealongwith"USBOTG";oddsare,you'llfindtheanswerfairlyquickly.ProvidedyourdevicesupportsUSBOTG,allyouneedisaUSB-AtoUSB-CadapterlikethisonemadebyAmazon.(Ifyouhaveanolderdevicethatdoesn'thaveUSB-C,you'llneedaUSB-Atomicro-USBadapterinstead;youcanfindplentysuchoptionsonAmazonoratprettymuchanyelectronicsretailer.)Usetheadaptertoplugtheexternaldriveintoyourphone,thenlookforanotificationconfirmingthedriveisconnected.Tapthe"Explore"optionwithinthenotification,andthat'sit:Youcannowbrowseandaccessallthefilesonyourexternaldrive.JRRaphael/IDG Lookforthenotificationthatpopsupwhenanexternaldriveisconnected,andyou'llbebrowsingthedrive'scontentsinnotime. Whenyou'refinished,don'tforgettogobacktothenotificationandtap"Eject"beforedisconnectingthedrive.TransferringfilesbetweenyourphoneandcomputerInadditiontosupportingexternalharddrives,yourAndroidphonecanactasanexternalharddrive.JustplugyourdeviceintoanyWindows,Mac,orChromeOScomputer,andyoucanaccessitsentirefilesystemanddraganddropfilesbetweenitandyourdesktopwithease.WithaWindowsorChromeOSsystem,it'sessentiallyassimpleasplugandplay.WithaMac,you'llfirstneedtoinstallaspecialprogramonyourcomputerbeforetheconnectioncanbeestablished.Forstep-by-stepinstructionsonanyofthosefronts,clickovertomycomprehensiveAndroidfiletransferguide.TransferringfileswirelesslybetweendevicesWanttotransferfilesbetweenyourAndroidphoneandacomputer(oranotherAndroidphone,iPhone,etc.)withouttheneedforwires?Noproblem.Yourmostbasicoptionistoembraceamiddleman—specifically,acloudstorageservicelikeGoogleDrive,Dropbox,orMicrosoftOneDrive.JustuploadthefilestoafolderwithintherespectiveapponyourAndroidphone,thenfindthefolderwithinthesameapponthereceivingdevice(orviceversa).Youcangetmoreadvancedthanthat,though—andmakeyourlifesignificantlyeasierasaresult.Ifyou'retransferringbetweentwoAndroiddevicesinthesamephysicalarea,Google'sownFilesapp(which,confusingly,isnotthesameastheaforementionedFilesappthatcomespreinstalledonmanydevices)willgetthejobdonewithminimalfussandhassle.Justinstalltheapponbothdevices,taptheSharetabatitsbottom,andthentaptheSendorReceivebuttontosetupthetransfer.Theappwillautomaticallyencryptanydataitsends.Ifyou'reusingdevicesondifferentplatforms—and/ordevicesthataren'tinthesamephysicallocation—ahandytoolworthconsideringisamultiplatformappcalledJoin(whichalsohastheabilitytoencryptitstransfers,thoughyou'llneedtolookinsidetheapp'ssettingstoactivatethatoption).InstalltheapponyourAndroiddeviceandtheninstallthatsameapp,theChromeversion,ortheWindows10versiononanyotherdevicewithwhichyouwanttosharefiles.Youcanalsoaccesstheserviceviaaregularwebsiteonanydesktopcomputer—if,forinstance,youuseaMacalongwithabrowserotherthanChrome.Onceyou'vesignedintotheappsonbothends,you'rereadytoinitiatehassle-freefiletransfersineitherdirection.OnAndroid,justshareafilefromanyapp—afilemanager,animagegallery,oranyothersortoffile-usingutility—andselectJoinasthedestination.Thefilewillappearonyourdesktopwithinseconds.Onacomputer,meanwhile,sendingafileisassimpleasopeningtheJoinapporextension,selectingyourphoneasthereceivingdevice,andthendraggingthefileintothewindow.JRRaphael/IDG DropafileintoJoinonyourdesktop(left),andit'llappearonyourAndroiddeviceasecondlater(right). Joinhasabunchofotherfunctions—includingtheabilitytosenda"Notetoself"-stylenotificationfromacomputertoyourphoneandeventopastetextfromacomputerdirectlyintoyourphone'sclipboard—butevenifyoujustuseitforwirelessfiletransfers,it'swellworthkeepingaround.Theappcomeswithafree(ad-supported)one-monthtrialandthenrequiresaone-time$5purchaseifyouwanttokeepusingit.SyncingyourAndroidphone'sstoragewithacomputerMaybeyoulikehavingcertainfilesstoredlocallyonyourAndroidphone,butyoualsowantthosefilestobebackedupandsavedonyourcomputer.Thebestofbothworlds,right?Believeitornot,thisisactuallyquiteeasytopulloff.JustgrabanAndroidappcalledAutoSync,whichisavailableforusewithGoogleDrive,MicrosoftOneDrive,Dropbox,andBox.It'llletyoucreatepairingsbetweenalocalfolderonyourphoneandacloud-basedfolder—forfreewithasinglefolderpairandfilessmallerthan10MBorforaone-time$5paymentwithoutanyrealrestrictions.Installtheappropriatecomputer-sideappforwhicheverserviceyouprefer,makesureit'ssettosyncwithyourcomputer'sharddrive—andthereyahaveit:YourAndroiddevice'sfolderisnoweffectivelypartofyourPC.Youcanevenhavethefoldersstayconstantlysyncedinbothdirections—soifyouaddorupdateafileonthecomputer,thesamechangeswillappearonyourphoneaswell.That'sawrap!Congratulations:You'veofficiallyearnedthetitleofAndroidfilemaster.(Forreal—youcaneventypeitintoadocument,printitout,andtapeittoyourdesksoeveryoneknows.)Nextup:MakesureyouunderstandtheinsandoutsofAndroidbackups.They'reultimatelymadeupoffiles,too,afterall—andprettyimportantones,atthat.ThisarticlewasoriginallypublishedinSeptember2017andmostrecentlyupdatedinFebruary2020. Related: Android Mobile MobileApps Google SmallandMediumBusiness ContributingEditorJRRaphaelservesuptastymorselsaboutthehumansideoftechnology.Hungryformore?JoinhimonTwitterorsignupforhisweeklynewslettertogetfreshtipsandinsightinyourinboxeveryFriday. Follow Copyright©2020IDGCommunications,Inc. 7inconvenienttruthsaboutthehybridworktrend ShopTechProductsatAmazon