How do I sync a music folder from PC to Android?

Transferring music between your computer and Android device allows you to access your music collection on the go. By syncing a music folder from your PC to your Android device, you can listen to your songs, albums, playlists, and more on your Android even when you don’t have access to your computer.

The process involves first connecting your Android device to your computer, locating the music folder on your PC you want to transfer over, copying the folder to your Android device storage, safely disconnecting your device from the computer, and then accessing that synced music folder directly on your Android. The methods differ slightly for Mac versus Windows computers, but the overall process is straightforward.

This guide will walk through the specific steps for syncing a local music folder from your Windows or Mac PC over to an Android smartphone or tablet. Follow along to learn how to easily access your music collection on an Android device.

Requirements

The basic requirements for syncing a music folder from a PC to an Android device are:

A Windows or Mac computer
An Android smartphone or tablet running Android 5.0 or higher

A USB cable to connect the Android device to the computer

For Mac users specifically, you’ll also need to install the Android File Transfer app on your Mac in order to transfer files between your Mac and an Android device.

Install Android File Transfer (for Mac users)

For Mac users transferring music from PC to Android, you’ll first need to download and install the Android File Transfer application. This enables file transfer between your Mac and Android device.

Go to https://www.android.com/filetransfer/ and download Android File Transfer. Once downloaded, open the .dmg file and drag Android File Transfer to your Applications folder to install it.

Now that Android File Transfer is installed, we can connect the Android device and access its files from the Mac.

Connect Android Device to Computer

To sync music from your PC to your Android device, you will need to connect the two devices using a USB cable:

Take a USB cable that came with your Android phone or tablet and plug one end into the charging port on your Android device.
Plug the other end into an available USB port on your computer. Most modern laptops and desktops have several USB ports where you can connect your phone.
Once plugged in, pull down your notification shade on your Android device and tap the notification that says “USB charging this device”. This will change it to “USB for file transfer” so you can access the files on your phone.

After a few seconds your phone should pop up on your computer as a connected drive where you can browse and manage files.

If your device does not show up on your computer, try switching to a different USB port or consult the troubleshooting steps.

Enable File Transfer Mode

To enable file transfer mode on your Android device, go into the device’s settings menu and select “Connected Devices.” Look under the USB settings for “File transfer” or “Transfer files.” Tap where it says “Charging phone” or “Charging this device” and toggle it to “Transfer files”.

Depending on your Android version, you may need to enable either MTP or PTP mode. These allow the file transfer to work between your Android device and computer:

MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) is usually available in newer Android versions and is recommended. Select this option if you see it.

PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) is an alternative option available in older Android versions. Select this if you don’t see the MTP option.

This mode ensures that your computer will be able to access the Android file system to copy files over. For more information, check out the Google Help Center documentation (https://clevelandmunicipalcourt.org/linktracker?url=https://f0no3rnr43.%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81.%D1%80%D1%84).

Locate Music Folder on PC

The first step is to open the folder on your computer that contains the music you want to transfer to your Android device. This is likely your Music library or a specific playlist folder. To find it:

Open File Explorer on your Windows PC or Finder on your Mac.
Navigate to the folder where your music files are stored. Typically this will be in your User folder under My Music or Music Library.
Right click on the folder and select “Properties.” Make note of the file path at the top of the Properties window (e.g. C:\Users\YourName\Music). You will need this later.

Once you have located the folder, leave it open. We will return to it in order to copy files in the next step.

Copy Music to Android Device

To copy music files from your PC to your Android device, you have a few options. The easiest method is to drag and drop or copy/paste the files into the correct folder on your Android.

After connecting your device to your PC and enabling file transfer mode, locate the music folder on your Android device. This may be labeled Music, Audio, or something similar. Simply open the folder and then drag and drop the music files you want to transfer from your PC into this folder.

Alternatively, you can copy the music files on your PC, open the music folder on your Android device, and paste them directly into this folder. This achieves the same thing as drag and drop.

Overall, the process of copying music from your PC onto your Android device is straightforward. As long as you have located the correct folder on your Android and have file transferring enabled, you can directly copy over any music files be they individual tracks or full albums.

Locate Synced Music on Android

Once your songs or albums have been transferred from your computer to your Android device, you can access them directly in your music apps.

Open the music app on your Android device, such as Google Play Music, Spotify, or Samsung Music. Navigate to Songs, Albums, or Folders to browse your available music. You should see the folders and files you just synced from your computer’s music folder now available within your Android music app.

If you transferred music files to a specific folder on your Android device storage, open that folder using My Files or File Manager to access the synced music files. You can play music files directly from your device storage or copy them to a music app folder to add them to your music library.

That’s it! You can now listen to and enjoy the music files from your computer on your Android device anytime.

Disconnect Device

After you have finished transferring music and files between your Android device and computer, it is important to properly eject the device before disconnecting the USB cable. Improperly disconnecting the device while it is still mounted can lead to file corruption or data loss.

To safely eject an Android device on Windows, go to the notification area in the bottom right corner of the desktop and click the “Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media” icon. A menu will pop up listing all removable devices – select your Android device from this menu to eject it. You will then see a notification that it is safe to remove the device [1].

On Mac computers, open the Android File Transfer application and click “Disconnect” in the menu bar. Your Android device will then be safely disconnected from the Mac.

Once you see the confirmation that the device has been ejected, you can unplug the USB cable and disconnect your Android device from the computer safely without risk of data loss or file corruption.

Troubleshooting Syncing Issues

If you are encountering problems syncing your music folder from a PC to an Android device, here are some solutions you can try:

Music File Not Showing Up

If the music files don’t show up in your Android’s default music player after file transfer, there are some things to check:

Make sure the music files are transferred to the root Music folder on your Android device’s internal storage or SD card.
Check that the music file formats, like MP3 and AAC, are supported by your Android device and music app.
You may need to restart your Android device or manually refresh the music library, as per this Resilio Sync forum thread.

Sync Software Doesn’t Work

If software like Spotify isn’t properly syncing your PC local files to your Android device, it could be due to a bug or policy change, as described in this Spotify community thread. You may have to use a manual file transfer method instead.