Connect Android to Mac: 3 options in the check

We'll show you three ways to connect your Mac to Android. It allows you to exchange music and pictures between your Android smartphone and MacBook or iMac.

USB connection: Connect Android and Mac with a cable

With Android devices, a USB cable is often included, which you can now connect to the Mac.

1. To do this, plug the two USB cable connections into the sockets on your smartphone or Apple computer. You will now see a small USB symbol in the menu bar on your Android device.
2. Unlike Windows, you need a program on your computer to communicate between Android and Mac. You can find the free Android File Transfer in our download area. Your smartphone needs at least Android 3.0.
3. You can charge your smartphone while you exchange data between Android and Mac using the program. Make sure your Mac has enough power.

Wireless connection via Bluetooth between Mac and Android

If you do not want to use additional software or your smartphone is not yet Android 3.0 capable, the two devices can establish a connection via the Bluetooth interface.

• We'll explain in another article how to connect your Mac to other devices via Bluetooth.
• With this connection, note that Bluetooth requires sufficient battery capacity on Mac and Android.
• If you have sent all the data, read another practical tip on how to deactivate Bluetooth on the Mac.

Connect Android to Mac via a cloud

If you want to exchange data between Android and Mac without being close to one another, you can synchronize files via clouds such as the Dropbox.

• To do this, install Dropbox on your Android device and Mac. You can then move and exchange data via the cloud interface.
• The Mac's own online storage iCloud is only accessible via the browser interface on Android smartphones, except for email use.

In another article, we will tell you how to install Android on your Mac.