An Android File Transfer alternative for Mac
Updated 5 October 2026
For years, the answer to getting files off an Android phone on a Mac was Google's Android File Transfer. Google no longer offers it. The old download page at android.com/filetransfer now sends you to Quick Share, which is for Windows PCs, and there is no Mac version of that.
SideMount is a different kind of replacement. It is not a window you drag files in and out of. It mounts the phone in Finder as a drive, so every app on the Mac can use it.
Why Android File Transfer always felt broken
Android File Transfer used MTP, the Media Transfer Protocol. With MTP the computer asks the phone for one file at a time, through commands of its own. It is not a file system, so macOS cannot mount it, and that has consequences you have probably met:
- The files live in the app's own window, not in Finder.
- No other app can open a file on the phone. You copy it to the Mac first, then open the copy.
- The terminal, rsync and backup tools cannot see the phone at all.
- Large copies crawl, and the connection drops easily. "Could not connect to device" was a familiar sight.
What SideMount does instead
SideMount does not use MTP. It speaks the protocol of Android's own developer tools over the cable, with that protocol built into the app, so there is no adb to install. It then presents the phone through FSKit, Apple's supported way for an app to add a file system. To your Mac, the phone is a volume, like a USB stick.
That is also why it is fast. On a USB 3 phone, SideMount writes at 147 MB/s and reads at 111 MB/s, about 92% and 82% of what the bare cable manages. On a USB 2 phone it matches the cable exactly.
Side by side
| Android File Transfer | SideMount | |
|---|---|---|
| Available today | No, Google withdrew it | Yes |
| Where the files appear | In its own window | In Finder, as a drive |
| Open a file in place | No, copy it first | Yes, from any app |
| Terminal and rsync | No | Yes |
| Over Wi-Fi | No | Yes, on Android 11 or later |
| What the phone needs | File transfer mode | USB debugging, turned on once |
The trade-offs, honestly
SideMount asks for two things Android File Transfer did not. The phone needs USB debugging turned on, once, which takes a minute: see how to turn on USB debugging. And the Mac needs macOS 26 or later, because that is the release where FSKit can do this. On an older Mac, an MTP app such as the free OpenMTP is still the way.
SideMount is also paid software, after a seven day trial that asks for no card. The prices are on the home page.
Moving over from Android File Transfer
- Download SideMount and move it to Applications.
- Turn on its file system extension in System Settings. The app opens the right pane for you.
- Turn on USB debugging on the phone, plug it in, unlock it and tap Allow.
The phone then appears in Finder's sidebar. Internal storage is the root, and an SD card is a folder at the top. The setup guide has every step in detail.