How to transfer music from a computer to an Android phone
Short answer: the quickest way is a USB cable. Connect the phone, tap the USB notification, choose File transfer and drag your songs into the phone's Music folder. Without a cable, Google's Quick Share app sends files from a Windows PC wirelessly, and from any computer, a Mac included, you can upload songs to Google Drive and download them on the phone. Audify picks the songs up by itself; if some are missing, More → Scan Media searches the phone for them.
Copy music with a USB cable (Windows or Chromebook)
- 1. Connect the phone with a data cable. Unlock the phone and connect it to the computer with a USB cable. If nothing happens, try another cable: some cables only charge.
- 2. Choose File transfer on the phone. Tap the "Charging this device via USB" notification and, under "Use USB for", select File transfer. The wording differs a little between brands; pick the file option, not photos or charging only.
- 3. Open the phone on the computer. On Windows, a file transfer window opens; you can also open File Explorer and select the phone. On a Chromebook, the Files app opens by itself.
- 4. Drag your music into the Music folder. Open the phone's internal storage (or its SD card), then the Music folder, and drag in your songs or whole album folders. Android automatically indexes audio in the Music folder, and that index is where Audify and other players find your songs.
- 5. Eject, unplug and play. When the copy has finished, eject the phone in Windows, unplug the cable and open Audify. The new songs appear in your library, sorted into songs, albums, artists and folders.
Without a cable: Quick Share, Google Drive or a memory card
Quick Share, from a Windows PC. Google's free Quick Share app for Windows sends files to a nearby Android phone over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and Quick Share is already part of Android 6 and up. The PC needs 64-bit Windows 10 or later with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched on. Drag your songs or a whole folder into the app, pick your phone and accept on the phone. The files arrive in Downloads → Quick Share, and Audify lists them from there.
Google Drive, from any computer. Upload the songs at drive.google.com with New → File upload or Folder upload. Then open the Google Drive app on the phone, tap More (⋮) next to a song and choose Download to save a copy on the phone. Choose Download, not Make available offline, which keeps the file inside the Drive app. If Download is missing, check Data Saver: Drive hides the option while it is on. Use the Drive app for this, not Audify's backup restore, which only lists songs that Audify backed up itself.
A memory card. If your phone takes a microSD card, copy the music onto the card with a card reader, keeping it in a Music folder, then put the card back in the phone.
From a Mac: what works now
A Mac needs extra software to open an Android phone over a cable. Older guides send Mac users to Google's Android File Transfer app, but its page now redirects to Quick Share for Windows, and Google's own help lists cable steps for Windows and Chromebook only. These routes work from a Mac without it:
Google Drive, as above: upload in the browser, download in the Drive app on the phone.
A USB flash drive or memory card. Copy the music onto a flash drive that fits the phone's USB port (or use an adapter), plug it into the phone and copy the songs to the Music folder with the Files by Google app, which opens USB drives on Android 7.0 and up. A microSD card works the same way.
AirDrop, on a Pixel 9 or later. Except for the Pixel 9a, these phones can receive files from a Mac over AirDrop through Quick Share: set Quick Share on the phone to receive from Everyone for 10 minutes, then AirDrop the songs.
Which music files will play
Copy the music files themselves. MP3, AAC and M4A, FLAC, WAV, OGG and Opus all play in Audify. WMA and APE play if the phone's own decoder supports them, which varies by brand, and DSD and MIDI files do not play. The full list of formats.
Songs downloaded inside Spotify, YouTube Music or another streaming app are protected files that only that app can open, so copying them to the phone does not make them playable. Audify plays music files you own, such as the MP3 or FLAC files on your computer; it is not a download or streaming service.
Playlists usually stay behind: Audify has no importer for playlist files such as .m3u, so plan to rebuild your playlists in Audify. How to make a playlist.
If the songs don't show up in Audify
Scan the phone. In Audify, open More → Scan Media and tap Start scan. Audify searches the phone's storage and SD card for music files, asks Android to index any it has not listed yet, and adds them to your library.
Check the length filter. Audify leaves out audio shorter than 30 seconds unless you change it, so voice notes and short clips stay out of your songs. If short tracks such as intros are missing, lower “Ignore audios less than” on the Scan Media screen; 0 turns the filter off.
Check the folder. A folder you hid in Audify stays out of the library until you unhide it in More → Hidden files. Audify also leaves out the phone's Ringtones folder, so keep songs in Music. The missing songs guide goes through every cause.
Songs showing twice? Then the file is on the phone twice, usually because a folder was copied twice, or to both the phone and the SD card. Delete the extra copy from the song's menu.
Copying music to an iPhone instead
iPhones work differently: iOS has no shared music folder, so each app keeps its own files. Audify for iPhone imports songs from Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive, and through AirDrop. How to play your own music on an iPhone.
Common questions
Can I transfer music from a PC to an Android phone without a USB cable?
Yes. On a Windows PC, Google's Quick Share app sends files to the phone over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. From any computer, you can upload the songs to Google Drive and download them in the Drive app on the phone, or copy them onto a microSD card.
Where should I put music files on my Android phone?
In the Music folder of the phone's internal storage or SD card. Android indexes audio there automatically, so Audify and other players find it. Songs in the Download folder show up in Audify too; the Ringtones folder is left out.
Why doesn't my computer see my phone?
Unlock the phone and check that File transfer is selected in the USB notification. If the phone still doesn't appear, try another cable, because not every cable carries data, then another USB port, and restart both devices.
Why don't the songs show up after copying?
Open More → Scan Media in Audify and tap Start scan: it looks for music files that Android has not listed yet. If songs are still missing, they may be shorter than the 30-second minimum, sit in a folder you hid, or be in the Ringtones folder.
Can I copy songs from Spotify or YouTube Music to my phone?
No. Songs downloaded in a streaming app are protected files that only that app can play. Audify plays music files you own, such as MP3 or FLAC files copied from your computer.
Sources
“Not all USB cables can transfer files.”Android Help, Transfer files between your computer & Android device
- Transfer files between your computer & Android device — Android Help
- Quick Share app: Android to Windows PC file transfer — Android
- Download a file (Android) — Google Drive Help
- Use USB storage devices — Files by Google Help
- Access media files from shared storage — Android Developers