How to Transfer Photos from Android to a Computer

If you have photos that you cherish so much on your Android phone that you can afford to lose you can easily transfer them to your computer or save them on the cloud.  Well, with this guide, you will learn how to transfer photos from Android to a computer for safety.

You can transfer photos from Android to a computer in several ways, some of these methods include; using a USB cord to connect your Android phone to your PC or Mac at one end and manually transfer files without WiFi, using the Windows Photos app, or via the Microsoft’s Phone Link app.

The USB-C is now the most common connection port on all these devices.

If you have a Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer and Android OS device and above, then you can go ahead to transfer photos from Android to a computer using the best method that suits you.

How to transfer Photos from Android to a Computer

Just as mentioned earlier, there are several ways through which you can transfer your photos from Android to your computer, you can try out any of these methods below:

Using a USB Cord

Copying your images straight from your phone is the simplest option. The steps are as follows:

• First, connect your phone to a PC’s USB port.
•  Swipe down from the top of the screen on your phone until you see a USB connection option.
•  You may get a notification that your device is now being charged through USB.
•  Change it to File transfer by clicking on that setting.
•  After that, navigate to your Android device using File Explorer on your Windows computer.
•  Go to the DCIM subfolder in the Internal Storage or Internal Shared Storage folder, and then open the Camera folder. All of the phone’s pictures ought to be displayed here.
•  Use File Explorer to open a different window to a local PC folder.
•  The photographs from your phone can then be copied and pasted or dropped onto your PC.

That’s it! Now, you have successfully transferred photos from Android to your computer via USB Cord.

Using the Windows Photos App

Using the Windows Pictures app, you can also import pictures from your Android smartphone. Follow the steps below:

• Launch the app on your computer, click the Import button, and then choose the option “From a connected device”.
•  Select your Android phone and allow the app to generate all of its photos.
•  To select a different folder for importing the photos, click on the Change Destination link.
• Select the option for All items from the Select drop-down menu.
• To remove the photos from your phone, check the box next to Delete original items after import.
• After you have finished, click the Import button.

That’s it! This is how to transfer photos from Android to a computer.

Using Google Photos

First, confirm that Google Photos is backing up and syncing the photographs on your phone. Follow the steps below:

• Launch the Photos app.
• Select Photos settings from your profile icon.
• Select Back up & Sync and confirm that the Back up & Sync switch is turned on.
• Check that you have enough space in your Google Cloud storage for all of your photos.
• By uploading your images in a compressed format, you can also reduce the upload size and conserve disk space.
• Go to the Google Photos website on your computer and sign in. You should see the photos that were synced from your Android phone there.
• In case you want to save all of the photos to your computer, select the first photo, then the Shift key, and finally the last photo.
• Select Download from the three-dot icon in the upper right. Your photos are saved as a ZIP file in your default Download folder.

That’s it! This is how to transfer photos from Android to computer using Google Photos.

Using Microsoft OneDrive

If you already use Microsoft OneDrive in Windows, here’s a useful option. If you haven’t already, then you need to download and install the OneDrive app for Android.

Follow the steps below to transfer photos from Android to a computer using Microsoft OneDrive:

• Sign in with your Microsoft account to the app.
• At the bottom, click on the Photos icon.
• Tap the Camera Upload option and then the Turn On button.
• Then toggle the Camera Upload switch.
• Once the photos have been synced, open the OneDrive folder on your computer to see all of them.

This is all about using Microsoft OneDrive option to transfer photos from Android to the computer.

Using Microsoft’s Phone Links

Another option you can use to transfer photos from Android to the computer is via Microsoft’s Phone Link, which allows you to view and retrieve photos and other data from your Android phone. Follow the steps below:

• The first step is to connect and sync your Android device with Windows.
• After connecting your phone, go to the Phone Link app on your Windows PC and select the Photos option.
• You will see all of your phone’s photos.
• Right-click on a photo to download it and choose Save.

The disadvantage of Phone Link is that you can’t select and download multiple photos to your PC at the same time. This application is therefore better suited for downloading a few photographs at once.

Using Bluetooth

You are likely already familiar with Bluetooth technology if you use an Android device. Although Wi-Fi has made Bluetooth less popular, Bluetooth is still a practical option for transferring data between Android and PC.

Please keep in mind that not all laptops or desktop PCs have Bluetooth capabilities before going ahead. Here’s how to transfer photos from Android to computer via Bluetooth if your PC has the capability:

• Go to Settings >> Devices >> Bluetooth & other devices on your computer and turn on Bluetooth.
• To create a wireless connection, turn on Bluetooth on your Android phone and pair it with your computer.
• Choose some photos on your phone, then touch the Share icon once both devices are paired.
• To start the transmission, tap the Bluetooth icon and acknowledge the PC’s confirmation prompt.

Using Email

Email has long been the preferred method for transferring files between a computer and a phone. Users using mobile devices can email images and download them to PCs.

However, note that this approach works when you only need to send a few photographs because emails can only carry data up to 25 MB in size. The procedure is as simple as it can be.

• Simply pick the pictures you want to send and add them as an attachment to an email.
• Open your PC’s email account and save the files there.

With any of the above-listed methods, you can transfer photos from Android to your computer successfully.