Transfer Data Between a Cell Phone and Computer

This guide will demonstrate how to retrieve and upload information and media from and to a cell phone from a computer.

Steps

Using Android USB

  1. Use a data cable to connect your phone to your computer's USB port. If you didn't get a data cable with your phone, check out the manufacturer's website or somewhere like eBay to buy one.
  2. Make sure your memory card is in your phone.
  3. Touch the USB Connected notification on your phone's screen.
  4. Select Mount.
  5. Find the removable storage drive on your computer. On a Mac, the drive will appear on your desktop; on a PC, check My Computer.
  6. Drag and drop the files you want from your phone to your computer.
  7. When you're finished, go to Notifications and select Turn Off USB Storage.
  8. Disconnect the data cable from your phone and your computer.

Using iPhone WiFi Sync

  1. If you are using iOS 5.0 or higher, you can transfer data automatically using iTunes Synch over WiFi. This will automatically sync your photos, tones, books, music, movies, podcasts and apps every time your phone is powered and connected to the same wifi network as your computer. Read detailed instructions at Enable iTunes WiFi Syncing on an iPhone or just do the following:
    • Go to "Settings" on the home screen of your iPhone.
    • Click "General", then "iTunes Sync" button.
    • Press "Synch now".

Using Email

  1. Find a free WiFi network, or connect to your home WiFi with your phone.
  2. Email yourself the data from your phone. Because you're using WiFi, you won't be charged by your mobile service provider.
  3. Open the email on the computer where you want to store the data.
  4. Select Download.

Using a Memory Card Reader

  1. Insert a memory card into your phone. Check to see if you can insert a memory card into your phone. Many phones use a micro memory card that comes with the phone and can be inserted and removed at will.
  2. Make sure your phone saves data to the memory card rather than to the device.
  3. Plug in your memory card into a memory card reader. In some cases, your memory card reader may be too big for a micro memory card. In this case, you can get an adapter in which you can insert your micro memory card. You can then insert the adapter into the memory card reader.
  4. Plug the memory card reader into your computer. It connects via the USB port.
  5. Transfer the data to your computer. You can look for the memory card reader as a removable disk in Finder or My Computer.
    • If you're on a Mac, open iPhoto, go to File>Import to Library and select the photos you wish to import within the memory card.

Using Bluetooth

  1. Activate your phone's Bluetooth. If you're unsure about how to do this, look under Settings or Controls.
  2. Purchase a Bluetooth adapter. If your computer does not have the hardware for a Bluetooth/Infrared this connection, then buy the adapter, sometimes called a 'dongle'. The common BT/I adapter plugs into a USB port. If you're on a budget, look for a used one online - they can be quite inexpensive. This adapter will have software for the connection process, which lets you transfer files from the computer to your phone, or vice versa.
    • Some computers, such as MacBooks, are already outfitted with Bluetooth devices, and won't require one of these cables. If you're unsure about whether or not your computer has this capability, search for the information online.
  3. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on on both your computer and your phone.
    • If you have a Mac, you can make sure your Bluetooth is on by clicking on the Bluetooth symbol on the right side of the upper toolbar. The symbol should be to the left of the Date and Time and should look like some triangles.
    • On a Vista, go to Control Panel -> Network and Internet Connection -> Bluetooth Devices.
  4. Make sure you are standing within {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of your computer. Bluetooth does not work more than {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} away.
  5. On your phone, find the data you wish to transfer.
  6. Go to the menu, and select Copy or Send.
  7. Choose the Bluetooth option.
  8. Once you confirm that you want to enable Bluetooth, the Bluetooth menu in the phone will pop up automatically.
  9. Select the "Look for Devices" option.
  10. Select your device from the list that appears.
  11. A request will be sent to your device asking for you to accept the sent picture.
  12. Accept the request, and the data will be sent.

Transferring Contacts, Memos, Pictures and Calendar on a CDMA Phone

  1. Find or purchase a data link cable, something that has a prong for your cell phone on one end and a USB connector on the other. Try searching the make and model of your cell phone on Google or various online stores.
  2. Install the drivers necessary for your cell phone. These drivers should come with the data link cable on a CD.
  3. Download and install the BitPim software from http://www.bitpim.org/.
  4. Plug your phone in, and run BitPim. It should automatically detect your phone.
  5. The two buttons in the upper left tool bar are Get Phone Data and Send Phone Data. Use these buttons to retrieve and send basic information stored on the phone memory.

Transferring Movies, Music and Memory Cards on a CDMA Phone

  1. Select View, then View Filesystems to open up more advanced possibilities.
  2. Look for folders that seem to contain useful information. On the Samsung a930, music and videos that are stored on the memory card are located at /mmc1/MY_(FLIX/MP3S/MUSIC/PIC)
  3. If you have several files (movies or pictures) you wish to remove at once merely right click on the folder and select "Backup Directory". This will copy everything in that folder onto your computer.
  4. Search online for advice about what can be done with your phone. Some phones are very limited on what file types can be used. Others have size restrictions you need to know about. Every model of phone is different.

Using a QR Code

  1. Get piece of data you need to transfer. This method makes sense if you need to transfer a link, image or text from the page in your browser to your mobile. For example if you need a path in Google Maps, shopping list or link to a picture to be shared or saved for any reason. Also works well if you are using desktop in office where other methods doesn't work because of security restrictions.
  2. Find a QR code creator online. There are several versions available as websites, browser extensions, and downloaded programs/apps.
  3. Use the QR code creator to put your link, image, or text in QR form.
  4. Scan the QR code using a reader app on your phone. There are several available on each phone platform, many of them for free. When you scan the code, the app will display the contained data: the image, link, or text.

Using Dropbox

  1. Sign up to Dropbox on their website.
  2. Install Dropbox on your computer. The program can be found online.
  3. On your computer, place the file you want to have on your phone in a folder inside the Dropbox-folder. The Dropbox-folder is located at "C:\Users\<your user name>\Dropbox". You can also place "%HOMEPATH%\Dropbox" (without the quotes) in the address bar of Windows Explorer.
  4. Install the Dropbox app on your phone. The app is available for Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Blackberry.
  5. Sign in to Dropbox in the app you just installed.
  6. On your phone, go to the folder you placed the file in.
  7. Click on the arrow next to the file, and click "Extract".
  8. Choose a folder to put it.
  9. Download it. Use it to transfer files as needed.

Tips

  • The movie file type for cellphones vary, so you'll have to look online for a converter to and from more common file types. YouTube accepts a very wide variety of files, including .3g2, so it's possible to upload videos without a converter. For putting movies on your phone, however, you will definitely need something to convert it to your phones file type.
  • If your phone is having trouble connecting to your computer, it sometimes helps to try different USB ports.
  • Try searching online to find the "resolution" of your cell phones wallpaper. That will make it easier to make properly sized images to use on your cell.

Warnings

  • There's always a possibility of messing up your cellphone with any invasive process. Do not mess with the advanced features of BitPim unless you know what you're doing.

Things You'll Need

  • Cellphone
  • Computer
  • Data Link Cable (optional)
  • Memory card reader (optional)
  • Bluetooth connection (optional)
  • Wi-Fi (optional)

Related Articles

  • Export Facebook Phonebook to Gmail
  • Maintain Your Cell Phone Data Cables
  • Transfer Files Wirelessly
  • Share Clipboard Text Between a PC and Android Device with ClipSync
  • Transfer Music from a PC to an Android

Sources and Citations

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