Sync Mac with Android Devices. A Complete Guide to Using Android with Mac Synchronizer for mac os and android

Most of the services listed below rely on the cloud to make the process of moving data between devices painless, while other methods require a trusted and proven way to transfer data over a USB connection.

Document synchronization

Unlike the iPhone, file transfer is as easy as drag and drop. How you do this, however, will depend on which version of Android your phone is running. Not only can you sync documents for access on your Android device, but your phone can also act as a storage drive for important documents or an assistant for moving files between computers.

Older Android devices have a USB Storage mode that can be activated when the device is connected to a Mac, and a USB notification will appear. From there, select "Connect as USB Drive".

At this point, your phone will appear as a drive on your desktop. Open it and you can move files from various folders on your phone.

When using this method, make sure you turn off your Android device before disconnecting from your computer. To do this, open Finder and click the eject icon next to the device. If disconnection is not performed before disconnecting the device, data on the device may be corrupted, which in turn results in file loss.

Newer Androids require you to use the app to sync files between the two devices. Google recommends using their Android File Transfer (AFT) program, which you can download from Android.com. With AFT, you can browse your Android device's system folders and drag and drop files between it and your Mac. The program is very simple, but it works.

While AFT is more than adequate for basic file syncing, other apps like Droid NAS allow you to wirelessly share files between your device and your Mac with ease. The program effectively helps your phone or tablet appear as a shared computer in your Mac's Finder, allowing you to transfer files without using a USB cable. Read for Droid NAS to see how you can set up profile syncing based on your Wi-Fi network. I use this app and I love it.

Another option for wirelessly accessing files and other content on your Android device is AirDroid, a free service that allows you to remotely access and modify your phone's files from a browser window. AirDroid 2 is currently in beta and will allow you to manage a long list of items on your device's storage wirelessly. Or you can install the original version of AirDroid if you don't want to mess with the beta version.

Music

There are several scenarios that will determine how you sync the music files on your computer to your Android device. As you already know, you can simply drag and drop your entire music library onto your phone, but you'll run into a couple of issues. First, you may not want to do this every time you download a new song. Secondly, you may not have enough space on your device to store all these files.

Luckily, Google Music solves this problem and makes the music syncing process a breeze. With Google Music, you can download your entire music library (up to 20,000 songs) and stream or download to your phone as long as you have an internet connection. And every time you download a new song on your Mac, it will become available on your phone.

To get started with Google Music, you first need to download the Music Manager app.

After downloading the app on your Mac, you need to show it where your music is stored. Once you have defined a monitoring folder, the application will automatically upload music to the Google Music Service. Not only does this method provide an easy way to get your music on your device, but it also frees up storage space that would otherwise be filled with music.

Once you've created your library, you can download any artist, album, or playlist over Wi-Fi or cellular into the Android music app itself. Just click on the pushpin icon to start the download process.

Best of all, you don't have to mess with iTunes when syncing music from your computer to your Android device. You simply tell the Music Manager where your music library is, and when new files are added, they are automatically downloaded. You can store 20,000 songs for free.

Photo

There are several different ways to sync photos from your Android device to your Mac so that every time you take a photo of something, it is copied to your Mac. The beauty of some of these solutions is that after the initial setup, you don't have to do anything to transfer photos from your phone to your Mac. Not only does this type of system make it easy to access photos on your computer, but it also ensures that you always have a backup of your photos in case you lose your phone. Before proceeding, sign up for a Dropbox account if you don't already have one.

Dropbox provides a free way for your photos to automatically sync with the service, which in turn uploads them to your Mac's camera uploads folder. This is the fastest way to transfer photos from device to Mac, but not the only way. SyncMate Expert will also help you achieve the same results as the AFT and Droid NAS apps, though not automatically like Dropbox does.

There is also an app called DoubleTwist that has an AirSync feature. The app requires software to be installed on both Android and Mac devices. After installing and configuring the program, you can synchronize music, photos, videos and wirelessly between two devices.

Cinema

The large screens commonly found on Android devices make them ideal for watching movies. But not only do you have to rely on Netflix, Hulu Plus, or HBO Go for your entertainment, you can download movies to your phone and watch them anywhere, even when you're offline. Transferring large movies or videos between Mac and Android is time consuming, so make sure you don't do it in a hurry.

Solutions such as AirDroid, DoubleTwist, SyncMate, Droid NAS, and AFT all allow you to transfer movies and videos to your Android device from a Mac computer. But, be aware that some of the wireless solutions may be slower than the wired solution offered by Android File Transfer.

Regardless of which method you choose, you will need to add any movie files to the "Movie" folder located on your Android device. If there is no such folder, create it.

You will probably have trouble playing different types of video files on your Android device even though the built-in player supports many formats. But if you don't want to worry about that, download MX Player from the Google store and use it as your main video player. It supports a long list of file types.

Of course, all that video transmission quickly eats up precious storage space, so consider incorporating a cloud solution. One option is to stream videos stored in your Dropbox account through the Dropbox app. Just be aware that streaming video over a cellular connection consumes a lot of data.

Contacts and calendars

Many of us would be shocked if we suddenly lost contacts in our address book. Long gone are the days of remembering phone numbers, addresses and birthdays, we now rely on our devices to store this vital information. Also long gone are the days of needing a USB connection to synchronize this kind of information between devices. Now there are services like Google and Apple to ensure that all of our devices keep important information up to date as soon as you connect to an account.

The good news is that Google and Apple really do play well together when it comes to syncing contacts and calendars. On your Mac, sign in with your Google account in both Contacts and Calendar. You can do this by launching the application and going to the settings (in the menu bar, click on the name of the application, click the "Settings" button). After you enter the settings page, click on the account icon at the top. In the Contacts app, click on the "To My Mac" button and then check the box to start syncing with Google. You need to sign in with the same Google account as on your Android device.

The process in the Calendar app is similar, but instead of choosing "to my Mac", you need to click on the "+" sign at the bottom of the window and select Google from the list of services you can add. Again, sign in with the same Google account as you did on your Android device.

On an Android device, launch the settings app and find your Google account under "Accounts". Click on your account name and check the box next to Calendar and Contacts. Any changes made to this information will sync between your Android device and Mac permanently. Most of the time, these changes are almost instantaneous, but there may be slight delays in synchronization.

If you're an iCloud user who wouldn't want to switch to Google services for contacts and calendar needs, check out SmoothSync for the cloud-based Calendar or Contacts apps. Any of these applications will allow you to sync your information from iCloud to Android devices.

Bookmarks and tabs

Synchronization of browser bookmarks and tabs is one of those features that once you start using it, you will not understand how you used to live without it. It allows you to easily switch from your computer to your smartphone (or vice versa) and continue browsing where you left off. Instead of emailing or messaging links to yourself, you just fire up your browser and you're done.

The easiest way to make sure your bookmarks, open tabs, and other browser settings are synced from your computer to your Android device is to use the built-in Google Chrome browser.

If your Android device doesn't come with Chrome browser preinstalled, you can download it for free. And, of course, you need Chrome for Mac, which you can also download.

Sign in to Chrome on both devices with the same Google account, and then sign in to the setup page. Check the box to sync the services you want.

Note that you need to use a device running Android 4.0 or higher to install Chrome. If you are running an older version of Android, you can try using SyncMate . The free version does not provide bookmark syncing, so you have to pay $35 for the Expert version.

Obviously, we can't cover every app or service when it comes to using an Android device with a Mac, so if you have one you like the most, please let us know in the comments.

Some people believe that Android devices and Mac OS computers cannot interact. This misconception may have been partly true in the distant past, but nowadays there are many methods, applications and services that allow you to use your Android OS device with Mac OS. Within the framework of one article it is impossible to describe all the means available to us for this, but we will try to tell you about the best of them. Many of the services discussed below are cloud-based and make the process of exchanging information between devices simple and painless, although we will also touch on the methods associated with using a USB connection.

Document synchronization

Unlike the iPhone, transferring files to Android devices is quite simple. The method of downloading files may differ slightly depending on the version of Google Android you are using, but in general it works on the same principle. The Android OS allows not only to synchronize certain types of documents, but to upload any information in general, using a smartphone as a regular flash drive. Many Android devices use a "USB Storage Mode" that becomes active when the device is connected to a Mac OS computer or laptop. At the same time, you will see a notification about the USB connection on the display of the device. This notification just needs to be opened and the connection allowed. After that, you will have a connected USB flash drive on your computer, which you can safely open and download the information you need to it. After you finish downloading the files, safely remove the device using the special icon next to the device in the explorer window. Disconnecting an Android device from a computer without first ejecting it can damage the drive and the information stored on it.
Some newer Android devices require a special app to sync with your computer. Google recommends using Android File Transfer (AFT), which is very easy to manage and allows you to easily manipulate files and folders stored on devices. While AFT's capabilities are sufficient for most users, other programs such as Droid NAS , allow for wireless exchange of information between devices. Droid NAS makes your device visible in the Finder as a shared computer, allowing you to transfer files over Wi-Fi. Another way to sync wirelessly is with the free AirDroid service, which allows you to access files stored on your device through a regular web browser. Instructions for using AirDroid are located.

Music

There are several ways you can sync music between your PC and Android device. First of all, you can simply download music to your device with the simple copy we talked about in the previous paragraph. However, some may find it inconvenient to connect the device every time to download a new song, not to mention that the amount of memory on your device may not allow you to download all your music. Numerous cloud services can help you deal with these problems. Unfortunately, the Google Music service (which is perfect for us in this situation) is not yet available in all countries, so many will have to look for other solutions (Dropbox, etc.). On the other hand, the use of cloud services requires not only configuration, but also a constant connection of devices to the Internet, so for us personally, the good old manual method of downloading files is the most preferable.

Photos

There are several ways to sync your photos between two devices that allow you to save your photos to your Mac OS PC as soon as you take them on your Android device. The main advantage of these methods is that you only need to do the initial setup, and then all operations will be carried out automatically without your intervention. An added benefit is that you will never lose your photos as they will be backed up on your computer and in the cloud. For such synchronization of photos, the Dropbox service we have already mentioned is ideal, so we recommend using it. After you install and set up Dropbox, all photos taken with your Android device will be automatically saved on your Mac OS computer in the Camera Uploads folder.
As with music, there's nothing stopping you from using more traditional ways to sync your photos, as well as the already mentioned apps like AFT and Droid NAS. And if you like to experiment, then we recommend that you pay attention to two more interesting solutions that are implemented using the SyncMate Expert application and the AirSync add-on from DoubleTwist. However, keep in mind that with all of these methods, you are unlikely to achieve the same simplicity and automation as with Dropbox.

Movies

The large display found on many Android devices is great for watching movies. However, not everyone uses services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus or HBO Go to watch. Many people find it more convenient (and hard to disagree with this) to download a movie from a computer directly to their phone in order to be able to watch it offline. As a rule, movies are larger than other files, so they may take time to download. Those. if you are late for the train, then starting to download a movie is not the best idea.
To download a movie from Mac OS to an Android device, you can use any of the above methods (AirDroid, SyncMate, DoubleTwist, Droid NAS, AFT), however, keep in mind that wireless methods are usually slower than wired ones, so downloading large files, we recommend using a USB cable and applications like Android File Transfer. But in general, as you might have guessed, there are no particular problems with downloading videos on Android. If you have any difficulties, then they will most likely relate to the inability to play some video formats. However, this problem can be easily solved by installing an additional video player (for example, VLC or MX Player ), which includes a large set of codecs and is capable of playing almost any multimedia format. Another problem may be the lack of enough user memory in the device and, as a result, the inability to download a large number of videos. One of the possible ways out of this situation is to use the Dropbox service we have already mentioned, however, you should keep in mind that in order to work with it, you will need a good Internet connection and a large amount of available traffic.

Contacts and calendar

For many, the loss of contacts from the address book can be a serious problem. The days when people kept numbers, addresses, and dates of birth in their heads are long gone. Today, almost everyone relies on having their information stored in the device's memory. Gone are also the days when the only means of synchronizing such information was a USB connection. Google, Apple and some other companies provide wireless synchronization between all devices that are connected to a single account.
The good news is that Google and Apple are getting along quite well when it comes to contact and calendar syncing. On a Mac OS computer, you only need to connect to your Google account in the Contacts and Calendar apps. To do this, you need to launch the application and open its settings (this can be done not only in the application itself, but also by clicking on the application name in the menu and selecting the “Settings” item). On the settings page, you will need to click on the Accounts icon, which is located at the top. In the "Contacts" application, you will need to select the item "On my Mac" (On My Mac) and then put a special checkmark in the window that opens to start synchronization with Google. Please note that the Google account you added to the app must match the one used on your Android device. The process of synchronization with the calendar is similar, however, instead of the item "On my Mac" (On My Mac) you will need to click on the "+" icon, which is located at the bottom of the window, and select Google from the list of available services. Again, we remind you that the same Google account must be used everywhere.
On an Android device, you should open the settings, go to the accounts section and make sure that the "Calendar" and "Contacts" items are ticked in the account you are using. If everything is configured correctly, then any changes will now be synchronized on both your devices. In general, synchronization will be quite fast, but sometimes there may be small delays, which are not worth worrying about. If you are a user of the iCloud cloud service and are not in a hurry to completely switch to services from Google, then we recommend that you pay attention to the SmoothSync for Cloud Calendar applications. and SmoothSync for Cloud Contacts . With their help, you can easily synchronize information from iCloud with your Android device.

Browser bookmarks

Bookmark sync is one of those features that once you start using it, you'll wonder how you ever got by without it. Thanks to it, you can safely switch between your devices and calmly continue the work you have begun. The easiest way to keep bookmarks, open pages, and browser settings in sync across devices is to use the Google Chrome browser. In the latest versions of the Google Android platform, the Chrome browser is already installed by default, and if it is not, then you can try downloading Chrome in the Google Play app store. The version of Google Chrome for Mac OS can be downloaded. In both browsers (on a computer and on an Android device), you need to connect your Google account. In the Google Chrome settings, you can also choose which services you plan to sync. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that if you are using Android OS version below version 4.0, then Chrome installation may not be available. In this case, we recommend using the SyncMate application , the free version of which will allow you to sync your bookmarks.
The list of applications described above is far from exhaustive. You may be aware of other useful applications for synchronizing Android and Mac OS, as well as additional areas of interaction between these systems. It will be very kind of you if you share the information you know in the comments to this article.

October 31, 2018 11:21

When transferring files between Android phone and Windows PC, we just need to pair the two devices and use Media Transfer Protocol or MTP to move files at will. However, this is another story regarding file transfer between Android and Mac as MTP is not supported by default on Mac.

Luckily, Android File Transfer on Mac is able to sync Android to Mac. The problem is that a number of users have recently reported issues that Android file transfer not working on Mac and only get error messages like cloud not connecting to device, unable to connect to android mac and more. Therefore, in this post, we will tell you what to do if Android File Transfer is not working.

Part 1 : What to do if Android File Transfer is not working

First of all, Android File Transfer not working on Mac is a common problem and many people have experienced it. Thus, there is no need to be worried or upset when this happens on your device. Here are some tips to solve this problem in a few minutes.

Android File Transfer uses USB to connect Android phone and Mac. When it's broken or misused, Android file transfer doesn't work. The following steps may help you resolve this issue.

Step 1. First of all, unplug your Android phone, USB cable and Mac. Examine the USB cable carefully to check if it is damaged or broken.

Step 2 If it's broken, please use another USB cable to connect your devices. If not, reconnect Android and Mac via USB cable, unlock your Android phone, go to Settings > Developer Options and make sure USB debugging is enabled.

Step 3 When the connection options dialog box appears, select File transfer or MTP to. If you just want to transfer photos to Mac, you can also choose PTP mode. Only PTP is available for LG smartphones.

Tip 2Troubleshooting Mac and Android (Mac Restart)

If something is wrong on Mac or Android, it may cause Android File Transfer not to work as well. Troubleshooting on Mac and Android can fix this issue.

Step 1. Make sure your computer is running Mac OS X 10.5 or later. If the Android file does not work, disconnect your smartphone from your Mac and restart your Mac. Then open Android File Transfer after starting the Mac. If this does not work properly, reinstall the application from Google.

Step 2. Then, unlock your Android phone, go to Settings > About Device > System Updates > Check for Updates. If an update is available, install it. Then restart your smartphone.

Step 3. Then connect your Android phone to Mac with a USB cable and make the connection properly. Now Android File Transfer should detect your phone normally.

Major smartphone manufacturers have released some apps to help users back up smartphones or sync files between Android and computer, such as Samsung Kies, Sony PC Companion, HTC Sync Manager and more. These tools sometimes conflict with Android File Transfer and also cause Android File Transfer not to work. The solution is simple: remove the manufacturer's toolkit. We are using Samsung Kies as an example.

Step 1 Download the installation file from Samsung official website to Mac computer.

Step 2. Double-click the downloaded file, select the uninstall option, and follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall Samsung Kies from your computer.

Step 3. Restart your Mac, connect your smartphone to Mac, and launch Android File Transfer to sync files.

In addition to uninstalling Samsung Kies, you should also install the latest version of Android File Transfer. Google is releasing updates to Android File Transfer to fix bugs, including bugs that make Android File Transfer not work properly.

Tip 4Try Alternative Software (Best Android File Transfer for Mac)

Apart from Android File Transfer, there are several Android data transfer apps on the market. According to our research, the best alternative solution is Apeaksoft Android Data Backup & Restore for Mac when Android File Transfer Mac is not working. Its benefits include:

• Sync Android with Mac in one click.
• Selectively transferring files from Android to Mac is easy.
• View Android data on Mac by category.
• Password protect your Android data on Mac with advanced encryption technology.
• Support for various types of data, including contacts, call history, messages, videos, photos, music, etc.
• Recovering lost Android data from backup is easy.
• Compatible with all Android devices from Samsung, HTC, LG, Moto, Google, Sony, HUAWEI and more.

All in all, Android Data Backup & Restore provides the best way to transfer various Android files between Android phone and Mac. This is your best choice especially when Android File Transfer doesn't work on Mac.

Part 2: Use the best Android File Transfer alternative

With the description above, you can get a general idea of ​​this great Android File Transfer alternative. You can take the following guide to learn how to sync Android data to Mac.

Step 1. Install the best Android file transfer alternative on Mac

Download and install Android Data Backup & Restore for Mac on your computer. There is a special version for Windows PC. Then connect your Android phone to your Mac and launch the program. It will detect your handset automatically.

Step 2 Preview Android Files for Sync

If you want to transfer all Android data to Mac, please click the "One-Click Backup" button on the home interface to do it immediately. To selectively sync specific files, click the Device Data Backup button. In the data type window, select the required data types. You can add a password to Android backup by checking the "Encrypted backup" box.

Step 3 Sync Android with Mac is easy

If you're ready, click the "Start" button to start the sync process. When it's done, remove your Android phone from Mac. And you can view the backup file on Mac in Android Data Backup & Restore at any time.

Conclusion:

Based on the above introductions, you can understand what to do if Android File Transfer is not working. As you can see, this problem can be easily fixed with our tutorial. And the procedures are not complicated and anyone can perform them easily. If troubleshooting isn't right for you, don't worry, you can try the best Android File Transfer alternative, Apeaksoft Android Data Backup & Restore. It allows you to sync Android to Mac in one click. And it is much more stable than other android data transfer software. In any case, we hope that our guides and suggestions will be useful.

Unfortunately, in the usual way (as Windows and Linux users are used to using the file manager), you cannot transfer files from an Android smartphone to a Mac and vice versa via a USB cable. Previously, that is, before the version of Ice Cream Sandwich, smartphones with Google's OS used the UMS (Universal Mass Storage) protocol, which made it possible to connect these devices like a USB flash drive and it was easy to exchange files between devices. But with the advent of Android 4.0, developers switched to a new standard - MTP (Media Transfer Protocol). That is why the “corporation of goodness” released a special utility for this called Android File Transfer.

Android File Transfer allows you to move absolutely any type of files, be it music, videos, photos, documents, applications and others. And in today's article, we'll show you how to use Android File Transfer to transfer files from Android to Mac and vice versa.

How to Transfer Files from Android to Mac and Back

Now, to transfer files from an Android device to a Mac, you just need to go to the desired folder in Android File Transfer, select the files and drag them to an arbitrary directory on the computer.

In the same way, you can transfer files from Mac to Android by moving files and folders from the file manager to the Android File Transfer window.

To create a new folder, you need to click on the folder icon in the upper right corner of the program.

To delete one or more files, you need to select them, right-click and select "Delete".

It should be noted that Android 4.4+ and Mac OS X 10.5 and higher versions are required for the correct operation of the program.

Devices based on OC Android are extremely popular. If earlier people bought gadgets of certain systems, for example, Apple, now the number of such “partites” is falling every day. But some problems come out of this, one of which is the synchronization of Android and Mac, which is simply impossible by standard means. Now we will look at and evaluate a non-standard tool for solving this problem, or rather the SyncMate application.

SyncMate appeared relatively recently, but already now it can do everything you need and even a little more. The program allows you to synchronize contacts, messages, bookmarks in the browser and marks in the calendar, photos, music, videos and any other files, moreover, immediately in automatic mode - all this is configured in the application itself. True, in the free version of SyncMate, the functionality of the program is much simpler - we can view SMS messages, as well as synchronize contacts and important dates in the calendar. The application is of high quality, it took a lot of time to develop it, which is why the developers want financial returns.

By the way, in order to synchronize information, we need to also download SyncMate for Android. Surprisingly, the “exchange” of data can be carried out via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and even via a USB cable - everyone will choose the most convenient connection method for themselves.

Well, and one more point, which we simply could not ignore. SyncMate will also be useful for owners of iOS-based smartphones, as the application can interact with such devices.

In general, SyncMate is a very good program for synchronizing android devices on Apple computers. True, you need to pay for all the functions - by purchasing the paid version of the application.