Android phone not showing up on your Mac
Updated 5 October 2026
A Mac does not show an Android phone in Finder by itself. Plug one in and it charges, and that is all, until an app talks to it. So the fix depends partly on the app. Start with the causes that apply to every app, then go to the section for the one you use.
Check these first
The cable only charges
It is the cable, four times out of five. A cable that came with a power adapter often has no data lines at all, and nothing will ever see the phone through it. Try the cable that came with the phone, or one you know carries data. If the phone charges but no app on any Mac can see it, suspect the cable.
The port or the hub
Plug the cable straight into the Mac rather than into a hub, a dock or a display. Then try a different port on the Mac.
The phone is locked
Android does not show its prompts or share its storage on a locked screen. Unlock the phone after you plug it in, and look for a prompt.
If you use SideMount
USB debugging is off
SideMount talks to the phone through USB debugging, so it must be on. See how to turn on USB debugging for your phone. Turning Developer options off also turns USB debugging off.
The phone is waiting to be allowed
The panel says so when it is. Unlock the phone and tap Allow on the prompt. If you dismissed the prompt before, open Developer options, tap Revoke USB debugging authorisations, then unplug the phone and plug it in again.
The file system extension is off
The phone then appears in the panel but cannot mount. In System Settings, open General > Login Items and Extensions, scroll to Extensions, switch the list to By Category, open File System Extensions and turn SideMount on.
Another program is holding the phone
A phone offers one USB debugging connection at a time. If Android Studio, scrcpy or an adb server is running, quit it. If you used adb in the terminal, run adb kill-server. Then press Reconnect in SideMount's settings.
The USB mode does not matter
SideMount uses USB debugging, not file transfer mode, so you do not need to choose anything in the phone's USB notification.
Mounts fail one after another
macOS runs the file system service, and it can get into a state where nothing will mount, including Apple's own file systems. Apple does not allow that service to be restarted, so the cure is to restart the Mac. Ejecting the phone before you unplug it is what avoids this.
The Mac runs an older macOS
SideMount needs macOS 26 or later, because it is built on FSKit, Apple's supported way for an app to add a file system.
If you use an MTP app
This covers the old Android File Transfer, OpenMTP and similar apps.
- Most phones only charge when plugged in. Pull down the notification shade, tap the USB notification, and choose File transfer.
- Only one app can hold the phone over MTP. Quit the others, including the Android File Transfer Agent if it is still installed.
- Android File Transfer itself is no longer offered or updated by Google. See the alternative.
Still stuck with SideMount? Email us and say what the app shows you. You will get a real answer.