Can't go your Android phone to connect to your computer? This can happen for many reasons, including an incorrect connection fashion or a lack of proper drivers. The smallest of issues can preclude your PC from detecting your device.

If y'all have no clue what's causing this problem, walk through the below methods one by one. Each tip resolves a certain trouble with your phone not connecting to your PC, so keep trying them until information technology'south solved.

1. Bank check the USB Connection Manner on Your Telephone (Windows/Mac)

Your Android device offers several connectivity modes when connecting your phone to your reckoner. Each style has unlike purposes, and some could cause your phone not to show up on your calculator.

Changing the connection mode on your phone can get your computer to recognize it. Here's how to practice that:

  1. Connect your phone to your estimator using a USB cable.
  2. Pull downward the notification bar, and you should see an Android system entry that shows the current connection mode. Tap on the connection fashion item to open the USB Preferences folio.
  3. Select File Transfer.

One time you do this, your phone should appear as a storage bulldoze in File Explorer or Finder. Now you tin get-go copying files to and from your device.

two. Update the MTP USB Drivers on Your Computer (Windows)

If you're looking to utilise your telephone equally a media device on your reckoner, y'all need to enable the MTP mode on your telephone. This requires that you have MTP drivers installed and updated on your computer.

Almost computers have those drivers installed already. If they're outdated, you can easily update them using the Device Director:

update mtp android drivers
  1. Connect your phone to your computer using a USB cable.
  2. Printing Windows key + Ten and click Device Manager.
  3. Double-click Portable Devices to aggrandize it. Find your Android device, correct-click information technology, and choose Update driver.
  4. Select Browse my figurer for commuter software.
  5. Click Permit me pick from a listing of available drivers on my computer.
  6. Select MTP USB Device and click Next.

In one case the drivers are updated, your phone should work as a media device.

three. Use the Android File Transfer Utility (Mac)

Unlike Windows, you tin can't directly transfer files from Android to a Mac. You lot demand to commencement install a utility on your Mac that acts equally a span between your Mac and your Android device.

This utility is called Android File Transfer, which you lot can download from the official Android website:

android file transfer tool
  1. Catch the Android File Transfer tool from the Android website.
  2. Launch the downloaded file and drag the tool to your Applications binder.
  3. Double-click on the tool in your Applications folder (or search for it using Spotlight with Cmd + Space) to launch information technology.
  4. Plug your Android phone into your computer using a USB cablevision.
  5. Your phone should appear in the newly installed tool.

Once you see your phone, you tin can showtime moving your files equally you delight.

4. Utilize a Different USB Port and USB Cable (Windows/Mac)

If yous've run through the to a higher place and still have an issue, perhaps the USB port or cable that yous're using is defective or damaged. This will prevent your figurer from recognizing your device.

Luckily, near computers have multiple USB ports. Endeavor some other port on your machine to see if your telephone connects. You should besides connect using a different USB cable and run across if that makes your computer recognize your device.

5. Update Your Operating System Version (Mac)

On Windows, you can connect your Android phone regardless of your operating system's version. However, on Macs, older macOS versions can accept problems with Android connections.

Therefore, yous should update your macOS version when yous come across connexion issues between your phone and figurer. Y'all can practise this equally follows:

update macos version
  1. Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner and choose Well-nigh This Mac.
  2. Click Software Update to update your Mac'due south software.
  3. If a macOS update is available, download and install it on your auto, then attempt the connection once more.

Some phone manufacturers offer their own connectivity solutions, such as Samsung SideSync. These tools sometimes interfere with the standard Android connectedness methods; such conflicts can cause your computer not to recognize your phone at all.

If y'all have any of these tools installed, try removing them from your computer to avoid conflicts. Once that's done, reconnect your phone to your figurer and see if it works as normal.

seven. Run Windows Device Troubleshooter (Windows)

Windows 10 comes with several troubleshooters to aid you find and fix bug with various facets. Thankfully, ane of these is to troubleshoot external devices like your Android phone.

You tin enlist the help of this tool to fix connection problems and get your telephone to testify up on your machine. While it'southward not always perfect, information technology'due south worth a try.

Microsoft removed the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter from the list in the latest versions of Windows 10, but information technology's nonetheless accessible via the command line:

hardware and devices troubleshooter
  1. Press Win + X and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin) from the listing.
  2. Enter the post-obit command: msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic
  3. You'll see the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter. Click Side by side to let the tool detect issues with your devices. When it's done, it will offering methods to fix the detected issues.

If you're on an older version of Windows 10, you tin find the tool using the following method:

  1. Launch Settings on your PC, click Update & Security, and choose Troubleshoot from the left sidebar.
  2. From the list, click the detail that says Hardware and Devices to launch the devices troubleshooter.

Bonus Tip: Use an Alternate File Transfer Method

If your phone doesn't connect, regardless of what you try, you might want to use some alternate methods to transfer files from Android to your computer. This mode, you can at least get your files moving until your connection issue is resolved.

Keep Your Android and Computer Connected

At get-go, it might seem similar your computer is never going to recognize your device. However, with the methods above, you should successfully go your computer to mount your phone and let y'all move files between them.

Don't forget that y'all tin can also transfer files the opposite fashion, from your PC or laptop to your phone. If you lot run into problem with that too, some of the above tips will help you out.

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Nigh The Author

Mahesh Makvana (307 Articles Published)

Mahesh is a tech writer at MakeUseOf. He'south been writing tech how-to guides for well-nigh 8 years at present and has covered many topics. He loves to teach people how they can get the most out of their devices.

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