Android File Transfer Replacement for Mac, Windows & Linux
A cross-platform, private way to move files to and from your Android phone.
For more than a decade, the way most Mac owners moved files to an Android phone over USB was Google's own desktop utility, Android File Transfer — a small MTP app that opened a basic window when you plugged the phone in. In May 2024 Google discontinued Android File Transfer; its download page was retired and the tool is no longer maintained.
That left a real gap. macOS has no built-in way to read an Android phone over USB — the Finder doesn't speak MTP — so when Android File Transfer stopped working for people, there was no official replacement from Google for moving files over a cable on a Mac. Windows can see a phone as an MTP device in File Explorer, and Linux often mounts it through GVfs, but the experience is inconsistent and there's no single tool that does USB and wireless across all three desktops.
A like-for-like replacement (and then some)
Android Drop Bridge is built to fill exactly that gap. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and gives you a dual-pane file manager — your computer on one side, your phone on the other — so you can browse, copy, and move files between them.
- USB — connect over a cable and drive the phone through ADB, the same underlying Android channel developer tools use.
- Cable-free Wi-Fi — the phone hosts a PIN-secured server and the desktop app discovers it on your local network. No cable, no MTP driver.
- Dual-pane manager — breadcrumbs, search, sort, and virtualized lists that handle very large folders without choking.
Unlike the old Android File Transfer, which only ever did one-window MTP browsing over USB on a Mac, Android Drop Bridge covers all three desktop platforms and adds a wireless path.
Honest comparison: the options today
There are several ways to move Android files from a desktop now that Android File Transfer is gone. Here's a fair side-by-side — each tool is good at something different, so pick what fits your setup.
| Android Drop Bridge | OpenMTP | MacDroid | Google Quick Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | macOS only | macOS only | Windows + Android (no Mac/Linux) |
| USB transfer | Yes | Yes (MTP) | Yes (MTP / ADB) | No (wireless only) |
| Wi-Fi / wireless | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Dual-pane manager | Yes | Yes | Yes | No (send/receive only) |
| Cloud / account required | No | No | No | Needs a Google account on the phone |
| Price | Free; Pro from $19/yr or $39 one-time | Free & open source | Freemium (paid Pro) | Free |
Notes: OpenMTP is a genuinely good, free and open-source MTP browser for Mac — if all you need is USB file browsing on macOS, it's a solid choice. MacDroid is a polished freemium Mac app where two-way transfer needs the paid Pro tier. Quick Share (formerly Nearby Share) is Google's wireless transfer and works phone-to-Windows, but there's no Mac or Linux desktop app and it isn't a file manager. Details can change — check each vendor for current specifics.
How to connect
Over USB (cable)
- On the phone, enable Developer options, then turn on USB debugging.
- Plug the phone into your computer and approve the connection prompt on the phone.
- Open Android Drop Bridge on the desktop — your phone appears in the right-hand pane, ready to browse and transfer.
Cable-free over Wi-Fi
- Make sure the phone and the computer are on the same Wi-Fi network.
- In the Android Drop Bridge phone app, start the Wi-Fi server (it shows a PIN).
- The desktop app auto-discovers the phone on the network; enter the PIN once to pair, and transfer with no cable attached.
Why local, not cloud
Android Drop Bridge moves files directly between your two devices. There's no cloud upload, no account to create, and no telemetry — your files stay on your own network and never pass through a third-party server. That's the same privacy posture people liked about plugging in a cable with the old Android File Transfer, kept intact while adding the wireless option.
Learn more on the overview, or see pricing & plans.