Android File Transfer Mac download: where it went, and what to install instead

There is no official Android File Transfer download for Mac any more. As of 1 October 2026, Google's old address for it, android.com/filetransfer, redirects to a page for Quick Share on Windows, and no Google page we could find offers the Mac app or its DMG file. Any copy you find now sits on someone else's site. Nobody maintains the app, and installing a Mac app from a site that is not its maker carries a risk Apple warns about directly. Install a maintained replacement: OpenMTP is free and does the same job over the same cable.

Publisher note: The Relay publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Details about other products come from each maker's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.

Where did the official download go?

Three of Google's own pages tell the story between them.

• The download address redirects. Typing android.com/filetransfer now lands on Google's Quick Share for Windows page. That page offers a Windows installer and lists its requirement as Windows computers running a 64-bit version of Windows 10 and up. There is no Mac download on it.
• The help article skips the Mac. Google's Transfer files between your computer and Android device lists three options: your Google Account, a USB cable, and Quick Share for Windows. The USB steps cover a Windows computer and a Chromebook. A Mac is not mentioned, and neither is Android File Transfer.
• One technical document still names it. The Android 16 Compatibility Definition, the rulebook phone makers follow, says phones that support Media Transfer Protocol "SHOULD be compatible with the reference Android MTP host, Android File Transfer". So the name survives in a specification, with no download behind it.

Google has not published a notice saying the app is discontinued, so we will not claim one exists. What can be said is that Google no longer offers or documents it. The longer account is in what happened to Android File Transfer.

Is there still an Android File Transfer DMG anywhere?

Not on a Google page that we could find. Any DMG offered today is therefore hosted by a third party. We have not examined any such file and are not accusing any site of anything. The problem is structural and applies to all of them equally:

• You cannot compare the file with an official one, because the official source is gone.
• The app has no maintainer. If it has a bug or stops working on a newer macOS, no update is coming.
• A download page that is not the maker's can change what it serves at any time.

Is it safe to download it from another site?

It is a risk you do not need to take, and Apple explains why. macOS has a check called Gatekeeper. Apple's page on safely opening apps says it is "designed to ensure that only trusted software runs on your Mac", and that an app notarized by Apple "indicates that Apple checked it for malicious software and none was detected". The same page warns that "running software that hasn't been signed and notarized may expose your computer and personal information to malware".

That gives you a usable rule for any DMG from an unfamiliar site, not only this one.

1. Open the app the normal way, by double-clicking it.
2. If macOS opens it without complaint, Gatekeeper's checks passed.
3. If macOS says it cannot check the app for malicious software, or that the developer cannot be verified, stop there.

Do not go into System Settings to force it open. Apple's guide to opening an app from an unknown developer describes how the Open Anyway button works, and it also says this: "Overriding security settings to open an app is the most common way that a Mac gets infected with malware." An abandoned utility is not worth being the exception.

Imitation download pages exist in this category. OpenMTP's project page carries a warning of its own: "Only download OpenMTP from the official sources below. There are copycat websites that use the OpenMTP name, logo and content." The same caution belongs on any page offering the original.

What if I still have the app installed?

Then you have a working copy for now and nothing more. Keep these in mind.

• It will not be updated. If it shows "Could not connect to device", the fixes are in Android File Transfer not working on Mac.
• It can get in the way of its replacement. OpenMTP's connection guide says only one app can use a phone over MTP at a time, and names Android File Transfer among the apps to quit if the phone is not detected.
• It may be on a clock. Whether your copy keeps opening on a current Mac depends on how it was built. How to check, and what Apple says about older Intel apps, is in Android File Transfer on Apple silicon.

What should I install instead?

For most people who searched for this download, OpenMTP is the answer. It reads the phone the same way the old app did, over the same cable, with the same File transfer setting on the phone. Its site says it handles files larger than 4 GB and describes Google's app as unable to copy files over 4 GB. Install steps are in how to use OpenMTP, and the wired process from start to finish is in Android to Mac file transfer via USB.

MacDroid makes sense if what you liked was dragging files in Finder. See MacDroid vs OpenMTP.

When is The Relay the better replacement?

When the cable was the part you disliked. The Relay is wireless. You install it on the phone and the Mac, pair them by scanning a QR code shown on the Mac, and browse the phone's storage from a window on the Mac, dragging files either way over your local network. The app sets no file-size limit. It needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later.

It is not a like-for-like replacement for Android File Transfer. It has no USB mode, it costs money, and it only works while both devices are on the same network or in Bluetooth range. If you want a free app that works over a cable, OpenMTP is the right download.

Questions people ask

Can I still download Android File Transfer from Google?

No. On 1 October 2026 the old android.com/filetransfer address redirected to Google's Quick Share for Windows page, which has no Mac download. Google's USB help article covers Windows and Chromebook only.

Is Android File Transfer discontinued?

Google has not said so in any announcement we could find. It has removed the download and stopped documenting the app, which has the same practical effect: there is no supported way to get it and no updates.

What replaced Android File Transfer on Mac?

Nothing from Google. Its replacement page promotes Quick Share for Windows, and Google offers no Quick Share app for macOS. On a Mac the replacements come from others: OpenMTP and MacDroid for cable transfers, NearDrop, LocalSend, and The Relay for wireless ones.