1/7/2015

9 Ways to Transfer Data Between a Cell Phone and Computer

How to Transfer Data Between a Cell

Phone and Computer
874,678 view s

Nine Methods:

Updated 13 days ago

Using Android USB

Using Bluetooth

Using iPhone WiFi Sync

Using Email

Using a Memory Card Reader

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

Transferring Movies, Music and Memory Cards on a CDMA Phone

Using a QR Code

Using Dropbox

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

Method 1 of 9: Using Android USB

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.

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Make sure your memory card is in your phone.

Touch the USB Connected notification on your phone's screen.

Select Mount.

Find the removable storage drive on your computer. On a Mac, the drive will

Drag and drop the files you want from your phone to your computer.

When you're finished, go to Notifications and select Turn Off USB Storage.

appear on your desktop; on a PC, check My Computer.

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9 Ways to Transfer Data Between a Cell Phone and Computer

Disconnect the data cable from your phone and your computer.

Method 2 of 9: Using iPhone WiFi Sync

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 Sync iPhone Wirelessly
with iOS 5 or just do the following:
Go to "Settings" on the home screen of your iPhone.
Click "General", then "iTunes Sync" button.
Press "Synch now".

Method 3 of 9: Using Email

Find a free WiFi network, or connect to your home WiFi with your phone.

Email yourself the data from your phone. Because you're using WiFi, you won't

Open the email on the computer where you want to store the data.

Select Download.

be charged by your mobile service provider.

Method 4 of 9: Using a Memory Card Reader

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.

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Make sure your phone saves data to the memory card rather than to the

Plug in your memory card into a memory card reader. In some cases, your

device.

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.

Plug the memory card reader into your computer. It connects via the USB port.

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.

Method 5 of 9: Using Bluetooth

Activate your phone's Bluetooth. If you're unsure about how to do this, look under

Purchase a Bluetooth adapter. If your computer does not have the hardware for a

Settings or Controls.

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.

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.

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Make sure you are standing within 30 feet (9.1 m) of your computer. Bluetooth

On your phone, find the data you wish to transfer.

Go to the menu, and select Copy or Send.

Choose the Bluetooth option.

Once you confirm that you want to enable Bluetooth, the Bluetooth menu in

Select the "Look for Devices" option.

does not work more than 30 feet (9.1 m) away.

the phone will pop up automatically.

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

12

Accept the request, and the data will be sent.

picture.

Method 6 of 9: Transferring Contacts, Memos, Pictures and Calendar

on a CDMA Phone

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.

Install the drivers necessary for your cell phone. These drivers should come with
the data link cable on a CD.

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9 Ways to Transfer Data Between a Cell Phone and Computer

Download and install the BitPim software from http://www.bitpim.org/.

Plug your phone in, and run BitPim. It should automatically detect your phone.

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.

Method 7 of 9: Transferring Movies, Music and Memory Cards on a

CDMA Phone

Select View, then View Filesystems to open up more advanced possibilities.

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)

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.

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.

Method 8 of 9: Using a QR Code

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.

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Find a QR code creator online. There are several versions available as websites,

Use the QR code creator to put your link, image, or text in QR form.

Scan the QR code using a reader app on your phone. There are several

browser extensions, and downloaded programs/apps.

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.

Method 9 of 9: Using Dropbox

Sign up to Dropbox on their website.

Install Dropbox on your computer. The program can be found online.

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.

Install the Dropbox app on your phone. The app is available for Android, iPhone,

Sign in to Dropbox in the app you just installed.

On your phone, go to the folder you placed the file in.

Click on the arrow next to the file, and click "Extract".

Choose a folder to put it.

iPad, iPod Touch and Blackberry.

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Download it. Use it to transfer files as needed.

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Tips
Try searching online to find the "resolution" of your cell phones wall
paper. That will make it easier to make properly sized images to use on
your cell.
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.
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9 Ways to Transfer Data Between a Cell Phone and Computer

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)

Sources and Citations

http://www.wirefly.com/learn/how-to/how-to-transfer-files-and-music-to-anandroid-phone-using-usb/

Article Info

Categories: Cell Phones

In other languages:
Deutsch: Wie man Daten zwischen Handy und Computer bertrgt, Italiano: Come
Trasferire Dati da un Cellulare a un Computer, Espaol: Cmo transferir informacin
entre un celular y una computadora, Portugus: Como Transferir Dados Entre um Celular
e um Computador, : ,
: , Bahasa Indonesia: Memindahkan Data Dari Handphone
ke Komputer (Dan Sebaliknya), Nederlands: Gegevens uitwisselen tussen een mobiel en
een PC

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 874,678 times.

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