How to Back Up Your Android Phone
Do your future self a favor and back up that smartphone before it’s too late….
If you want something like iTunes to manage this process or an app to manage a wireless backup from phone to PC, then you can find various premium options online, though we don’t recommend any of them. If you’re trying to send files from your Android phone to a PC, try using Microsoft’s free Your Phone app.
Backing Up to Your Mac
To back up files from your Android phone on a Mac is also pretty straightforward. Here’s how:
- Install the official Android File Transfer app on your Mac.
- Plug your phone into a USB port on your Mac.
- An Android File Transfer window should open on your Mac, and you will see a list of folders and files on your phone.
- Dig in and copy and paste any files you want to back up. You may have to search to find the files you want. For example, your photos will be in a folder labeled DCIM, Camera.
There are some premium apps for MacOS that offer more of an iTunes-like experience, but nothing that we vouch for.
Backing Up to Your Chromebook
Here is how to back up files from your Android phone on a Chromebook:
- Plug your phone into a USB port on your Chromebook.
- Drag down the notification shade and look for a notification from Android System that says something like Charging this device via USB, Tap for more options and tap it.
- Look for an option that says File transfer and select it.
- The Files app will open on your Chromebook, and you can drag any files you want to copy over.
Backing Up to Another Cloud Service
Maybe you have run out of Google storage, or you prefer another cloud service. There are Android apps for Dropbox, Microsoft’s OneDrive, MEGA, Box, and others. Most of them offer some cloud storage for free, but what you can back up and how you do it differs from app to app.
We looked at how to back up mobile photos on a few of these before, and you can usually set that up to be automatic, though other files often have to be backed up manually. If you want to automatically sync photos and other files across devices using one of these services, then check out the Autosync app. There are specific versions for Dropbox, OneDrive, MEGA, and Box.
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