Just plugged in a USB cable to get your Android phone or tablet connected to Mac, but nothing happened? That's true. Mac can't detect and recognize Android phone or tablet, let alone mount it as an external hard drive. In case like this, is it possible to transfer music, playlists, movies, photos and other files to and from your Android phone or tablet on Mac? How can you do it?
Well, to use Android on Mac, you can draw support from some third-party tools. Here are 3 of them: Wondershare TunesGo for Android, Android file transfer and Samsung Kies for Mac. In the part 1, I'd like to introduce the 3 software to you in details.
Part 1. 3 Software to Easily Connect Android to Mac
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1. Wondershare TunesGo for Android (Mac)
Android Assistant for Mac is a cool app to manage Android device on a computer. It makes file transfer pretty easily between Android and Mac computer. You can backup contacts, text messages, photos, music as well as other content with this app in a few clicks. It is a great alternative to Android. Older Android devices have a USB Storage Mode that can be activated by plugging your device into your Mac, pulling down the notification shade, and tapping on the USB notification.
Just jump ship from iPhone, iPad or iPod to an Android device, like Google Nexus 5, but have stored tons of songs, movies in iTunes which you don't want to leave behind? Like using iTunes to manage all your media files and eager to import playlists and videos from your Android device to it for playing? If that's what you want, Wondershare TunesGo for Android (Mac) is the best software for you. It's easy-to-use software, which lets you sync media files between iTunes/Mac and Android device without any hassle.
Just to add my experience here. I had a similar problem with my mac book pro and my Google Pixel 1 device. For me when running adb devices locally, I was no longer showing my device on the list. I would see any emulators I had running, but not my physical device. My solution and steps: Go to the 'Settings App' Go to 'Developer Options'. Dr.Fone - Phone Manager. Dr.Fone - Phone Manager is a wonderful tool for transferring data from. Sign in with your Google Account Enter your email. Find my account Sign in with a different account Create account.
Features:
- Sync entire iTunes library to Android with a single click
- Sync or drag and drop selected songs, playlists, movies and more from iTunes to Android.
- Transfer Android media files to iTunes as easy as pie.
- Copy music, videos, document files and photos from Mac to Android by dragging and dropping.
Connection way: It lets your Android device connected to Mac with an Android USB cable.
Pros:
- It has a brief interface.
- You are skilled at using it even at your first try.
- It supports 2000 + Android devices, including Samsung, Sony, Google, HTC, Motorola, LG, HUAWEI and more.
- It's fully compatible with Android (from Android 2.1 to Android 7.0).
Cons:
- It's not free.
2. Android file transfer
Android file transfer is created by Google, mainly used for you to manage your Android device on Mac freely. It can mount your Android device as an external hard drive, so you can transfer data from Android to Mac and vice versa.
Features:
- Mount your Android device as an external hard drive.
- Open any folder or file saved on the SD card of your Android device.
- Transfer music, video, photos and document files to and from Mac.
Connection way: It allows connecting Android to Mac via an Android USB cable.
Pros:
- It's free.
- You have easy access to the SD card of your Android device.
Cons:
- It can't be used when Samsung Kies is installed.
- It often fails to detect your Android device.
- It only support Android 3.0 and up.
3. Samsung Kies 3 for Mac
Samsung Kies 3 for Mac is created by Samsung, to help you manage your Samsung device on Mac for free. With it, you can transfer contacts, music, video and contacts to and from your Android device, backup and restore phone data and upgrade firmware.
Features:
- Import and export music, video, contacts, photos and podcasts.
- Backup contents on your Samsung device to Mac and restore safely.
- Purchase apps from Galaxy Apps to your Samsung Galaxy device.
- Upgrade the latest firmware for your Samsung device.
Connection way: It connects Android phone to Mac with a USB cable.
Pros:
- It's totally free.
- It has many salient features for you to manage your Samsung device.
Cons:
- It only support Samsung device.
- It often fails to connect your Samsung device.
Part 2. Step-by-step Guide for USB Tethering of Android to Mac
Avr studio for mac os. You can tether your Android device with your Mac and for that you will have to use third-party application. Here I used HoRNDIS as the third party application. You can download the latest version of HoRNDIS.
After downloading it, you should install it on your Mac and then connect your Android phone to the Mac using data cable. Now from the notification menu enter Settings on your android device.
Then go to Wireless & Networks on your device as shown on the left side of the above picture where you will have to touch on Tethering & Portable Hotspot. Then a new menu will appear as the picture on right side. As shown there Select USB TETHERING and then your Android device will be tethered with Mac. Remember, you must be connected to a data or wifi network to make this work.
Android Device Emulator For Mac
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- Backup your music, photos, videos, contacts, SMS etc. to computer and restore them easily
- Manage, export&import your Contacts and SMS, deduplicate Contacts, reply SMS with computer
- One-click Root - root your Android phones/tablets to take full control of your device
- Phone to Phone Transfer - transfer music, photos, videos, contacts, SMS between two mobiles ( both Android and iPhone are supported)
- App Manager - Install, uninstall, import or backup Apps in batch
- Gif Maker - create Gif from photos, motion photos, videos
- iTunes Manager - Sync iTunes Music to Android or transfer music from Android to iTunes
- Fully compatible with 3000+ Android devices (Android 2.2 - Android 8.0) from Samsung, LG, HTC, Huawei, Motorola, Sony etc.