Guide
How to transfer files from a Mac to an Android phone
Getting a file onto the phone is half the job. The other half is putting it in the folder where the right app will look for it.
Over a USB cable, copy each file into the matching folder at the top of the phone's storage: Download for apps (APK files) and odd files, Documents for PDFs and office files, Movies for films, Music for songs, and Documents or a Books folder for ebooks. Without a cable, LocalSend sends files across your Wi-Fi, Google Drive goes through the internet, and recent Pixel phones, with some other models, can receive AirDrop from a Mac.
Big films need one check first. Android File Transfer, Google's old Mac app, could not copy a file over 4 GB, and an SD card formatted as FAT32 cannot hold one either. Going the other way, from the phone to the Mac, has a guide of its own.
Where each file goes
Apps (APK files)
Put them in Download. On the phone, open the file manager (Files by Google on many phones, My Files on Samsung phones), find the APK among the downloads and tap it. The first time, Android asks you to let that app install other apps: turn on Allow from this source, go back, and tap Install. The same switch is in Settings > Apps > Special app access > Install unknown apps, if you want to turn it off again afterwards. The exact names vary a little between phones.
Android 14 refuses to install an app that targets Android 5.1 or older, and Android 15 and 16 refuse one that targets Android 6 or older, whatever route it arrives by. If an old APK will not install, that may be why.
With Google's platform tools on the Mac and USB debugging on the phone, adb install app.apk installs it straight from Terminal instead. Only one program can hold the phone's adb connection at a time, so eject the phone from any app that holds it first.
Documents
Documents, for PDFs, Word and Excel files, and anything else you mean to keep. Any app that opens files through Android's file picker can reach them there: a PDF reader, an office app, or an email app attaching something.
Films for a flight
Movies. A video player such as VLC, which plays MKV, MP4, AVI and MOV files among others, lists what is there and can also browse any folder. Check the phone's free space in Settings before you start, and two more things:
- Films bought from Apple carry Apple's copy protection and will not play on Android. Copy your own videos, or download the film inside a streaming app's own offline mode.
- Files over 4 GB cannot go on an SD card formatted as FAT32; exFAT has no such limit, and nor has the phone's internal storage. Android File Transfer could not copy a file over 4 GB to anything; its 4 GB limit has the details.
Music
Music, in artist and album folders. MP3, AAC (.m4a) and FLAC play on every Android phone. Apple Lossless files and songs from an Apple Music subscription need more thought, and playlists need their paths changing: copying a music library from a Mac to Android covers all of it.
Ebooks
Documents, or a Books folder of your own. Reading apps such as ReadEra search the phone for EPUB and PDF files by themselves, and others open a book through the file picker. Google Play Books takes DRM-free EPUB and PDF files as uploads, and then keeps them in your library on the web and in its apps.
Over a cable
A cable is the way for anything large, and the one to use for a whole series or a stack of films. There are three ways to use one.
The phone in Finder. SideMount mounts the phone over USB as a volume in Finder, so you drag files into its folders as you would onto a USB stick, and large files copy at well over 100 MB/s on a USB 3 cable. Internal storage is the top of the volume, and an SD card is a folder named SD Card. It needs macOS 26 or later and USB debugging turned on once; download it for a seven day trial with no card. It is not the only app that puts a phone in Finder: MacDroid does it too.
An MTP app. Choose File transfer in the phone's USB notification (File transfer / Android Auto on some phones), and an app such as the free OpenMTP shows the phone's storage in a window of its own. Drag files into it. It needs no USB debugging, and OpenMTP copies files over 4 GB. The Mac apps for Android files compares the choices.
An SD card in the Mac's card reader. Copy to the card, then put it in the phone. Finder leaves a ._ file next to every file on a FAT32 or exFAT card, which music players and galleries may trip over: the ._ files on Android shows how to remove them.
| Cable route | Files over 4 GB | Works in Finder | Leaves ._ files | Needs USB debugging |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The phone mounted with SideMount | Yes | Yes | No | Yes, turned on once |
| An MTP app such as OpenMTP | Yes, in OpenMTP | No, its own window | No | No |
| Android File Transfer | No, 4 GB per file | No, its own window | No | No |
| An SD card in a card reader | Only on an exFAT card | Yes | Yes, one per file | No |
Without a cable
- LocalSend is a free, open source app for macOS 11 or later and Android 7 or later. With it open on both, and both on the same network, you send files from the Mac to the phone. Nothing goes over the internet, and the speed is your Wi-Fi's.
- Google Drive takes files up to 5 TB each: upload on the Mac, then open or download them in the Drive app on the phone. Everything goes up to the internet and back down again, and it counts against your Google storage, 15 GB free and shared with Gmail and Google Photos.
- AirDrop, through Quick Share. Since late 2025, Quick Share on some Android phones works with AirDrop. Google lists the Pixel 9 and later, except the Pixel 9a, and some Samsung, OPPO, OnePlus, vivo, Xiaomi, HONOR, Transsion and Motorola models as able to receive from a Mac. On the phone, set Quick Share's visibility to Everyone for 10 minutes, or open Quick Share's receive screen, then send from the Mac with AirDrop as usual.
- SideMount over Wi-Fi. On Android 11 or later, a phone paired once with a six digit code mounts in Finder whenever it is on the same network. It is much slower than the cable, so it suits documents, not films. Android and a Mac without a cable compares the wireless routes.
Questions
Where do I put an APK file on an Android phone?
In the Download folder. Open it on the phone with the file manager and tap the APK. The first time, Android asks you to allow that file manager to install apps; turn on Allow from this source, then tap Install.
Why will a film over 4 GB not copy to my Android phone?
Either the tool or the storage has a 4 GB limit. Android File Transfer could not copy any file over 4 GB, and an SD card formatted as FAT32 cannot hold one. Copy to the phone's internal storage or an exFAT card, with a tool that has no such limit, such as OpenMTP or an app that mounts the phone in Finder.
Can I AirDrop from a Mac to an Android phone?
To some phones. Since late 2025, Quick Share works with AirDrop on the Pixel 9 and later (not the 9a) and on some Samsung, OPPO, OnePlus and other models. Set the phone's Quick Share visibility to Everyone for 10 minutes, then send with AirDrop from the Mac.
Where do ebooks go on an Android phone?
In Documents, or a Books folder of your own. Reading apps such as ReadEra find EPUB and PDF files on the phone by themselves, others open them through the file picker, and Google Play Books accepts DRM-free EPUB and PDF uploads.
How do I send files from a Mac to Android without a cable?
LocalSend sends files across your own Wi-Fi with its app on both devices. Google Drive goes through the internet and counts against your Google storage. Some recent phones, the Pixel 9 and later among them, can also receive AirDrop from a Mac through Quick Share.
