How to transfer photos from Android to Mac, with or without a cable

To transfer photos from Android to a Mac, pick one of four routes: a USB cable with a file browser app on the Mac, Quick Share to the Mac's AirDrop on a supported phone, Google Photos in a web browser, or a local wireless app such as NearDrop, LocalSend, or The Relay. A cable is best for a whole camera roll. Wireless is best for a handful of pictures. Google Photos is best when you want every photo backed up anyway, as long as you check its quality setting first.

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.

Which way should I use?

For anything that is a general file and not a photo, the full list of methods is in every way to transfer files from Android to a Mac.

How do I transfer photos from Android to a Mac via USB?

Start with what the two companies say. Google's help page on transferring files by USB gives steps for Windows and for Chromebook, and none for a Mac. Apple's Photos guide has a short section called Import from a third-party mobile phone or device. Its steps are: connect the phone to the computer with a USB or USB-C cable, drag the photos from the phone to the Mac's internal disk, then drag them from the Finder into the Photos window or choose File, then Import.

The middle step is the catch. Apple assumes you have a way to drag photos off the phone, and with an Android phone a Mac does not give you one by default. A free app fills that gap. OpenMTP describes itself as an Android file transfer application for macOS, needs macOS 10.14 Mojave or later, and supports drag and drop and files larger than 4 GB.

1. Install OpenMTP on the Mac.
2. Connect the phone with a USB cable that carries data. Some cables only charge.
3. Unlock the phone and tap the Charging this device via USB notification.
4. Under Use USB for, choose File Transfer. That is Google's wording. Samsung and other makers may word it differently, so look for the option that mentions files.
5. In OpenMTP, open the phone's camera folder. On most phones it is called DCIM.
6. Drag the photos and videos to a folder on the Mac.
7. To add them to the Photos app, drag them from the Finder onto the Photos window, as Apple's guide describes.

If the phone never shows up, work through Android File Transfer not working on Mac.

Does Mac Image Capture work with Android?

Sometimes, and neither Apple nor Google promises it. Apple's Image Capture guide says the app imports images and videos "from a camera, iPhone, iPad, scanner or other device". It does not name Android phones. Google's USB help page names only the File Transfer option and does not describe a camera or photo-transfer mode at all.

So treat it as a five-minute test:

1. Connect the phone by cable and unlock it.
2. Tap the USB notification and look at the list under Use USB for. If your phone offers a photo-transfer option (some phones label it PTP), choose it. A phone in this mode presents itself as a camera.
3. Open Image Capture on the Mac. Apple's guide says a connected device appears in the sidebar under Devices.
4. If the phone is listed, select it, choose a folder in the Import To menu, and click Download or Download All.

If the phone is not listed after a minute, stop and use OpenMTP. One caution if it does work: Apple's guide describes a delete-after-import option. Leave it off until you have opened a few of the imported photos on the Mac.

How do I transfer photos from Android to a Mac wirelessly?

Quick Share to AirDrop. Google's Quick Share help page says a Pixel 8a or later, and certain Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, Honor, Transsion, and Motorola devices, can send to an iPhone, iPad, or macOS device. Set AirDrop on the Mac to Everyone, select the photos in your gallery app, tap Share, then Quick Share, and pick the Mac. The supported models and the full steps are in AirDrop from Android to a Mac.

NearDrop. NearDrop is a free Mac app that its author calls a partial implementation of Quick Share for macOS. It lives in the menu bar and saves received files to the Downloads folder. Phone and Mac must be on the same network.

LocalSend. LocalSend is a free, open-source app you install on both devices. Its page says it shares files over the local network without needing an internet connection, and lists Android 7.0 and macOS 11 Big Sur as minimum versions.

The Relay. The Relay puts a window on the Mac that browses the phone's storage over your local network, so you open the camera folder and drag out the pictures you want. That suits the person who pulls a few photos across several times a day and also wants the clipboard, texts, and notifications shared. It costs $19.99, paid once, and needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later. It is not a photo-library sync or a backup. If you want every photo copied automatically, Google Photos is the right tool, and if you only send photos now and then, the free options above are enough.

How do I get photos onto the Mac through Google Photos?

Google's backup help page says that with backup turned on, photos and videos are saved to your Google Account and can be reached from any device you are signed in to. To turn it on, open the Google Photos app, tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, then Backup.

On the Mac, Google's download page gives the steps: go to photos.google.com, select a photo or video, click More, then Download. For the whole library, that page points to Google's export tool. It also warns that your operating system can give a downloaded file a new timestamp, so do not rely on the file's date in the Finder.

Two costs to know about. Google says account storage is shared across Google Photos, Google Drive, and Gmail. And every photo goes up to the internet and comes back down, which is slow for long videos on a weak connection.

How do I keep the original quality?

A cable or a local wireless transfer copies the file as it is. The place quality can change is cloud backup. Google's page on backup quality lists three settings:

If you edit photos on the Mac, set backup to Original quality or move the files by cable. To check any method yourself, send one photo, then compare the file size and pixel dimensions on the phone and on the Mac. In the Finder, select the file and press Command-I. If the numbers match, nothing was resized.

Questions people ask

Can I import Android photos straight into the Photos app on a Mac?

Not in one step. Apple's Photos guide tells owners of third-party phones to copy the photos to the Mac's disk first, then drag them into Photos or use File, then Import. Any method on this page gets the files to the disk.

Why do my Android photos not show up in Image Capture?

Apple's guide lists cameras, iPhones, iPads, and scanners, and does not name Android phones. Check that the cable carries data, that the phone is unlocked, and whether the phone's USB menu has a photo-transfer option. If it still does not appear, use OpenMTP with the File Transfer option.

What is the fastest way to move a lot of photos?

We have not benchmarked these methods. A USB cable does not depend on your Wi-Fi, which is why it is the usual choice for a full camera roll. To compare on your own devices, send the same large video by two methods and time each one.

Do I need Wi-Fi to transfer photos wirelessly?

For NearDrop, LocalSend, and The Relay, both devices need to be on the same local network. LocalSend's page says no internet connection is needed. Google Photos needs an internet connection on both ends.