How do I transfer music from Android to Windows 10?

Transferring music between devices is a common task for many people. With the rise of streaming services and digital music, most people today have music libraries stored across multiple devices. Two of the most popular platforms for music are Android devices like smartphones and tablets, and Windows 10 computers.

Android and Windows 10 allow you to store music locally on the device. Often people will have music downloads or ripped CD collections on one device they want to access on the other. Transferring this music between an Android device and Windows 10 computer is straightforward, but does require a few steps.

This guide will walk through the complete process for transferring music files from an Android device to a Windows 10 PC. With the right cables and software setup, you can easily copy all your music from Android over to Windows so you can access it from both devices.

Prerequisites

To transfer music from Android to Windows 10, you will need:

An Android device with music files stored on it. Common Android music file formats include MP3, M4A, FLAC, MIDI, and OGG among others (https://developer.android.com/media/platform/supported-formats). For best sound quality, FLAC and WAV files are recommended, though they take up more storage space.
A Windows 10 PC to transfer the music files to. Both computers need to be connected to each other.

On the Android Device

To transfer music files from an Android device to a Windows 10 computer, you first need to locate where your music is stored on the Android device. Here are a few places to check:

Internal Storage – Most Android devices store downloaded music in the internal storage by default. Open the Files app on your device and look in the Music folder. You may also find music downloads in the Downloads folder.

SD Card – If you have an SD card inserted in your Android device, downloaded music may be stored there instead of internal storage. Open the Files app and navigate to the SD card, then look in folders like Music, Downloads, etc.

Third-Party Apps – If you use apps like Spotify, YouTube Music, etc. to stream music, you’ll find the downloaded music files within the app or the app’s designated folder. For example, Spotify stores downloads in a folder called Spotify inside internal storage.

Once you’ve located the music files, you can proceed with connecting your Android device to the Windows 10 PC to transfer them over.

Connect Android to Windows

To transfer music from your Android device to your Windows 10 PC, you first need to connect the two devices. The easiest way is to use a USB cable:

First, connect your Android device to your Windows PC using a USB cable. Plug one end into your phone or tablet, and plug the other end into a USB port on your computer.

Once connected via USB, you need to enable file transfer mode on your Android device. Swipe down from the top of the screen to open Quick Settings and tap the “Charging this device via USB” notification. Then select File Transfer from the options.

This will allow your Windows PC to access and view files stored on your Android device when connected over USB. With your phone or tablet connected in file transfer mode, you can now copy over music files to your Windows 10 computer.

Access Android Files on Windows

Once you have connected your Android device to your Windows PC via USB, you can access the files on your Android device through File Explorer on Windows. To open File Explorer, click on the folder icon in your taskbar or press Win + E on your keyboard ^[1].

In the left panel of File Explorer, you should see your connected Android device listed under “This PC”. Click on the Android device to browse the folders and files stored on it ^[2]. You may need to navigate into folders like DCIM and Music to find specific files like photos and audio files.

Once you have located the files you want to transfer in File Explorer, you can copy and paste them to a folder on your Windows PC just like any other files.

Copy Music Files

To copy your music files from your Android device to your Windows PC, first navigate to the folder where your music files are stored on your Android device. The default location for music files on most Android devices is in the Music folder in your device’s internal storage.

On your Android device, open the Files or My Files app and navigate to the Music folder.

Long press on the music files and folders you want to transfer and select Copy from the menu. This will copy the selected files to your device’s clipboard.

Now that the files are copied, you can paste them to your Windows PC in the next step.

Sources:

[1] https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/topic/seamlessly-transfer-content-between-your-devices-8a0ead3c-2f15-1338-66ca-70cf4ae81fcb

[2] https://support.google.com/android/answer/9064445?hl=en

Paste Music Files on Windows

Once you have copied the music files from your Android device, you can paste them into the desired folder on your Windows 10 computer. Here are the steps:

First, open the destination folder on your Windows 10 computer where you want to transfer the music files. This can be a folder like Music, a specific artist folder, a playlists folder, etc. Navigate to this location in File Explorer.

Next, open the Android file transfer window if it is not still open. You should see the music files you copied displayed here. Select those files and right click. Choose “Copy” from the menu.

Back in the open destination folder on your Windows computer, right click and select “Paste”. This will paste the copied music files into this folder.

Alternatively, you can simply drag and drop the music files from the Android file transfer window directly into the destination folder on your Windows computer.

Once the music files are pasted into the destination folder, you have successfully transferred them from your Android device to your Windows 10 computer.

Safely Disconnect the Android Device

Once you have finished transferring all your music files from your Android device to your Windows 10 computer, you will want to safely disconnect your device. Improperly disconnecting the Android device could lead to data loss or corruption.

To safely remove the Android device on Windows 10 or 11:

Click on the “Show hidden icons” arrow in the taskbar.
Right click on the “Safely remove hardware and eject media” icon.
Select your Android device from the menu.

A message will appear saying it is safe to remove the device.

You can now safely unplug the USB cable connecting your Android device to your Windows computer. As recommended by Microsoft, “Don’t disconnect the device while files are still transferring. Wait until the transfer is complete to prevent losing or damaging files” [1].

Once disconnected, your Android device will no longer show up as a drive on your Windows computer.

Locate Transferred Music

With the music files now saved to a folder on your Windows 10 device, the transferred music can be easily located and accessed. The music files will be in the folder location you selected when pasting them from the Android device.^[1]

To find the music files, open File Explorer and navigate to the folder you pasted them into. The folder will contain all the music files transferred from your Android device. Double click on a music file to play it and confirm transfer was successful.

With the music now saved locally on your Windows 10 device, you have full access to the transferred music files. You can add them to your Windows Media Player library or any other music app. The music transfers off the Android device losslessly, retaining the original quality.

[1] https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-do-i-transfer-music-files-from-my-computer-to/348a7ee6-a313-4314-b7b7-33fe7c8b49ca

Summary

To summarize, transferring music from an Android device to a Windows 10 computer involves a few key steps:

First, connect the Android device to the Windows computer using a USB cable and enable USB file transfer mode on the Android. Then access the Android files from the Windows File Explorer.

Navigate to the music files on the Android, select them, and copy them. Then paste the music files into the desired folder location on the Windows computer. Finally, safely disconnect the Android device.

The main steps covered were connecting the devices, accessing the Android files, copying the music files, pasting them on Windows, and disconnecting the Android. Following this process allows you to seamlessly transfer music from an Android device to a Windows 10 computer.