How to Transfer Files from Your Phone to an External Drive

Edited 1 week ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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In today's digital age, managing and backing up data has become essential. We often find ourselves accumulating a large number of files on our smartphones, from photos and videos to documents and applications. Given the limited storage space available on phones, transferring files to an external drive is a practical way to organize data as well as secure a backup in case of data loss. This guide will comprehensively explain the steps, options, and considerations involved in transferring files from your phone to an external drive.

Understanding the basic requirements

Before proceeding with the transfer process, it is important to ensure that you have the necessary tools and equipment. The first requirement, of course, is an external drive. External drives come in various forms such as USB flash drives, portable SSDs or external hard disks. Choose one of these based on your needs, storage space requirement and budget.

Next, you need to have the right cable or adapter to connect your phone to the external drive. Most modern smartphones use a USB-C, Micro-USB, or Lightning port. Depending on your phone and external drive, you may need a USB OTG (On-The-Go) adapter, a USB-C to USB adapter, or a Lightning to USB adapter.

Compatibility check

Not all phones support OTG functionality. However, most Android phones nowadays come with this feature built in, allowing them to act as a host for an external USB device. iPhones, on the other hand, usually require an Apple-specific accessory like a Lightning to USB adapter. Before proceeding, verify that your phone supports connecting to an external drive. You can usually check this by referring to your phone's specifications on the manufacturer's website.

Preparing your external drive

Before you begin the transfer, make sure your external drive is properly formatted. Common file systems are FAT32 and NTFS, but there are others such as exFAT that offer larger file size limits than FAT32. For smooth compatibility across different devices such as computers and smartphones, consider formatting the drive to exFAT - a universally supported format. Note that formatting will erase all data on the drive, so back up any existing data if necessary.

Transferring files to an Android device

Via file manager app

Android phones usually have a default file manager app. If not, there are several good file manager apps available on the Play Store like Files by Google or ES File Explorer. Here's how to proceed:

1. Connect the OTG adapter to your phone's charging port.
2. Connect the external drive to the other end of the adapter.
3. Once connected, a notification may appear or the file manager app may open automatically. Grant all the permissions requested.
4. Go to the file manager and locate the files you want to transfer.
5. Select files or folders. You can usually do this by long-pressing on a file to activate selection mode and then tapping on other files to include them in the selection.
6. If you want to move them without leaving the copy then choose the 'Copy' option or use the 'Move' command.
7. Go to your external drive which will now appear as a storage option within the file manager.
8. Paste the copied or moved files to the desired location on your drive.
9. Safely disconnect the drive by ejecting it via the file manager or notification panel to avoid corruption.

Through third-party apps

There are many third-party apps designed to improve and facilitate file transfers between devices. Apps like Solid Explorer or Dual File Manager Automator can be quite useful and offer additional features and a user-friendly interface. These apps usually guide you through the same process as the native file manager method described above.

Transferring files to an iOS device

Transferring files from an iPhone to an external drive requires a different approach as iOS operates within a more restrictive ecosystem. Here’s how you can achieve it:

1. First, you'll need a Lightning to USB adapter that will act as a bridge between your phone and the drive.
2. Connect the adapter to your iPhone, and then connect your external drive to it.
3. Open the Files app which is the default file management app on iOS devices.
4. Select 'Browse' from the bottom of the screen to locate connected devices.
5. Your connected drive should appear under the 'Locations' section.
6. Go to your phone's storage and find the files you want to transfer.
7. Select the files by tapping the 'Select' button and select multiple files if necessary.
8. Use the 'Share' option which is usually represented by an upward arrow in a rectangular box and select 'Copy'

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