Share and transfer files with your Galaxy phone and Windows

You can always transfer files the old-fashioned way: using a USB cable. You can use the same cable that came with your Galaxy phone.

1. Unlock your phone, and then connect it to a computer using the USB cable.
2. On the phone, a notification about the USB connection may appear; swipe down from the top of the screen to open the Notification panel, and then tap the notification. Select the option for MTP or Transferring files.
   
   Note: If you are having any trouble getting your computer to recognize your phone, check out our guide.
3. Open the Action Center or Notification Center on your computer’s taskbar to view the File Explorer window, and then select your desired option.
   
   Note: You can also open the File Explorer program, and then select the name of your phone in the side menu.
4. From here, you can go into your phone's files and drag and drop them into your computer. You can also move files from the computer into the phone's storage.

You can drag and drop up to 100 files at a time, of any type. However, moving entire folders is not supported, and no single file can be larger than 512MB. The size of the content will be adjusted to 1MB if "metered data" is used. For text files, the size will be limited to 128KB or less, and images will be resized to 1MB or less. You can also transfer content using Smart Switch or DeX for PC.

After you've set up the Link to Windows feature, you can sync your phone's most recent photos or videos to your PC and then save them. The Phone Link app will display up to 2,000 recent photos and videos.

1. Open the Phone Link app, and select Photos.
   
2. To do more with a particular photo, select it and then choose from the options at the top.
3. Select Open to view the photo and make edits, Copy to create a duplicate, Save as to save it to your PC, Share to send it to another device, or Delete to remove the photo from Phone Link and your phone.
4. As you take more photos on your phone, the Phone Link app will remove older photo previews from your PC. It never changes or deletes any photos on the phone itself.

Bluetooth can also be used for sharing files from your phone to your PC. Before starting, make sure Bluetooth is enabled on both devices.

1. On your phone, swipe down from the top of the screen using two fingers to open the Quick settings panel, and then touch and hold the Bluetooth icon.
2. Under Available devices, select your PC, and then tap Pair on the pop-up. You may need to confirm the pairing request on your PC.
   
3. The next step will differ depending on which version of Windows you are using.
   • Windows 10: Right-click the Bluetooth Devices icon on the taskbar. Select Receive a File to open the Bluetooth File Transfer window.
   • Windows 11: Open Settings, then select Bluetooth & devices, and then select Devices. Select Send or receive files via Bluetooth to open the Bluetooth File Transfer window.
4. Using your phone, navigate to the file you’d like to share. Select it, then tap Share, and then tap Bluetooth.
5. Select your PC in the Available devices list. You’ll see the transfer process on the Bluetooth File Transfer window. Select Browse to choose where you’d like to save the file.
   
6. When the transfer is complete, select Finish on your PC. You can then navigate to the file on your PC!

In addition to the methods mentioned above, you can also use some other options when transferring files.

• Manage your files using an SD card, flash drive, or a cloud storage option.
• Back up your files using Samsung Cloud, Google Drive, or Smart Switch, and then restore the files at a later date.
• Transfer music files from your Windows PC, Mac, or Chromebook to your phone or tablet.
• Use Samsung DeX to transfer files between your phone and PC.