How do I stream music from OneDrive to my Android?
Streaming music from the cloud to your mobile device is a convenient way to access your music library from anywhere. With OneDrive and an Android device, you can easily stream songs and playlists stored in your OneDrive cloud storage. This allows you to listen to your music collection without taking up storage space on your phone.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the steps to set up OneDrive music streaming on an Android device. We’ll cover downloading the OneDrive app, linking your account, enabling music streaming, accessing your music library, streaming songs, creating playlists, and using offline access. With just a few quick settings adjustments, you can be listening to your cloud music library on your Android phone or tablet.
Prerequisites
To stream music from OneDrive to an Android device, there are a few prerequisites you’ll need:
- A OneDrive account – You’ll need a OneDrive account to store your music in the cloud. You can sign up for a free account at onedrive.com.
- An Android device – Your Android phone or tablet will be used for streaming the music. Any modern Android device should work.
- Music files uploaded to OneDrive – You’ll want to upload your music library to OneDrive before you can stream it. This can be done on your computer through the OneDrive desktop app or web interface.
Once you meet these prerequisites, you’ll be ready to link your OneDrive account and start streaming music on your Android device.
Install OneDrive App
The first step is to install the official OneDrive app on your Android device. Here’s how:
- Open the Play Store app on your Android device.
- Search for “OneDrive” in the Play Store search bar.
- Tap the result for the official OneDrive app published by Microsoft Corporation.
- Tap “Install” to download and install the OneDrive app on your device. [1]
Once installed, you will find the OneDrive app icon on your Android device’s app drawer or home screen.
Link Your OneDrive Account
To link your OneDrive account and access your music files, you will need to open the OneDrive app and sign in with your Microsoft or OneDrive credentials.
Open the OneDrive app on your Android device. The OneDrive app icon looks like a blue box with a white cloud and arrow. You can find it on your home screen, app drawer, or by searching.
Once the app is launched, tap the Sign In button. Enter the email address and password associated with your OneDrive or Microsoft account. This is likely the same account you use for Outlook, Office apps, Windows, Xbox, and other Microsoft services. Tap the arrow or button to complete signing in.
OneDrive will take a moment to sync your account and files. Once it finishes, you will have access to all your OneDrive content through the Android app.
Enable Music Streaming
One of the key steps to stream music from OneDrive to your Android device is to enable music streaming in the OneDrive app. Here’s how to do it:
Open the OneDrive app on your Android device and tap on the ≡ menu icon in the top left corner. This will open the side menu.
Tap on ‘Settings’ in the side menu.
Scroll down and find the ‘Stream music files’ option. Tap on the toggle switch next to it to enable music streaming.
That’s it! Toggling this on allows the OneDrive app to stream your music files instead of having to download them to your device first. This saves storage space on your Android device.
With music streaming enabled, you can now go to your OneDrive music library and tap on a song to instantly start streaming it (cite: https://example.com). The rest of the steps below will go over how to access your music library and playlists.
Navigate to Music Library
To access your music library stored in OneDrive, you first need to open the OneDrive app on your Android device. You can find the OneDrive app on your home screen or app drawer.
Once you launch the OneDrive app, you will see various menu options across the top. Select the “Music” option to navigate directly to your OneDrive music library. This will display all of the music files and folders you have stored in OneDrive.
If you have a lot of files and folders in your OneDrive, you may find it easier to tap the menu button in the top-left corner first. This will open a sidebar menu where Music will also be listed as a top-level option. Tap Music here to quickly jump to your music library.
Now you will have access to all of your music stored in OneDrive right from the Android app. You can browse songs, albums, artists and playlists just as you would in a dedicated music player app.
Stream a Song
Once you have the OneDrive app installed and set up, streaming music from your OneDrive is easy. Simply open the OneDrive app and navigate to the Music folder where your songs are stored. Tap on a song to start streaming it. The song will begin playing through your Android device’s default music player.
You can use the playback controls like pause, skip track, adjust volume etc. just as you would with a regular music player app. The OneDrive app essentially streams the music files directly from OneDrive allowing you to access your cloud music collection anywhere.
One advantage of streaming via the OneDrive app rather than downloading is that it saves storage space on your device. The streaming is optimized to work well even with lower bandwidth connections. Overall, the OneDrive app provides a seamless way to access your personal music library in the cloud.
Create Playlists
Once your music library is set up in the OneDrive app, you can easily create custom playlists. This allows you to organize and group songs together for different activities or moods.
To create a new playlist:
- Open the OneDrive app and navigate to your Music folder.
- Tap the + icon in the top right corner.
- Name your new playlist.
You can now add songs to the playlist by tapping the checkbox next to each track you want to include. Your selections will be added to the new playlist.
Playlists make it easy to mix up your music experience. With just a tap, you can shuffle songs from a playlist perfectly suited for working out or relaxing.
Offline Access
One of the most useful features of the OneDrive music player on Android is the ability to save songs for offline listening.1 This allows you to download music from OneDrive when connected to WiFi or mobile data, and then listen to it later without an internet connection.
To save a song for offline access, simply open the song in the OneDrive music player app. Tap the cloud icon next to the track name – this will download the song to your device’s local storage. The cloud icon will change to indicate the track is now available offline.
Downloaded songs can be played from the OneDrive music player app anytime, even without an active internet connection. This makes it easy to listen to your music library on planes, subways, or other places where you may not have mobile data or WiFi access. Just be sure to connect periodically to re-sync your offline music library.
Enabling offline access is a great way to conserve mobile data usage while still enjoying your full OneDrive music collection on an Android device.
1 https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/how-do-i-listen-to-my-music-files-using-a-music/81b7d34e-e042-4004-b2e6-d5270359bded
Conclusion
In summary, streaming music from OneDrive to your Android device involves a few simple steps. First, you need to install the OneDrive app and link your account. Then enable the music streaming option in OneDrive settings. You can browse and stream songs directly in the OneDrive music library. Playlists can also be created for easy access to your favorite tracks.
While OneDrive offers convenient music streaming for your personal collection, services like Spotify and Pandora provide access to a much broader catalog of songs and customized listening experiences. However, for accessing your own uploaded music across devices, OneDrive integration is seamless and effective.
