Can't get your Android phone to connect to your computer? This can happen for many reasons, including an incorrect connection mode or a lack of proper drivers. The smallest of issues can prevent your PC from detecting your device.

If you have no clue what's causing this problem, walk through the below methods one by one. Each tip resolves a certain problem with your phone not connecting to your PC or Mac, so keep trying them until it's solved.

1. Check the USB Connection Mode on Your Phone (Windows/Mac)

Your Android device offers several connectivity modes when linking your phone to your computer. Each mode has a different purpose, and some could cause your phone not to show up on your computer. By default, your phone might not connect to your PC, and will only be charging.

Changing the connection mode on your phone can get your computer to recognize it. Here's how to do that:

  1. Connect your phone to your computer using a USB cable.
  2. Pull down the notification bar, and you should see an Android system entry that shows the current connection mode.
  3. Tap the connection mode item to open the USB Preferences page.
  4. Select Transferring files (your phone may label the option differently, like File transfer).

Once you do this, your phone should appear as a storage drive in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac). Now you can start copying files to and from your device.

2. Update the MTP USB Drivers on Your Computer (Windows)

If you're looking to use your phone as a media device on your computer, you need to enable the MTP mode on your phone. This requires that you have MTP drivers installed and updated on your Windows PC.

windows update drivers mtp usb device

Most computers have those drivers installed already. If they're outdated, you can easily update them using the Device Manager:

  1. Connect your phone to your computer using a USB cable.
  2. Press the Windows key + X and click Device Manager.
  3. Double-click Portable Devices to expand it. Find your Android device, right-click it, and choose Update driver.
  4. Select Browse my computer for drivers.
  5. Click Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
  6. Select MTP USB Device and click Next.

Once the drivers are updated, your phone should work as a media device.

3. Reinstall the Android Device Driver (Windows)

Another driver you might need to look at in the Device Manager is the Android Device Driver. Unlike the MTP Driver, which controls media storage, the device driver ensures your phone can talk to your computer. If the driver is out of date, it can prevent your phone from showing up on your PC.

If you have successfully updated the MTP driver (as shown above) you won't usually need to update the device driver. But if the MTP update fails, try reinstalling the device driver first.

Your phone needs to be plugged into your computer via USB before you can uninstall the driver. Even if your phone doesn't connect, the device should still be visible to the system. Your PC will also need a working Internet connection.

  1. Open the Device Manager and find your Android device in the list. It will usually be under Portable Devices.
  2. Right-click on the name of your phone and, instead of updating the driver as for the MTP, select Uninstall Device.
    driver options in Windows device manager
  3. Disconnect your phone from your PC and restart both.

When you reconnect your phone and PC, Windows should automatically detect it and install the latest device drivers.

4. Use the Android File Transfer Utility (Mac)

Unlike Windows, you can't directly transfer files from Android to a Mac. You need to first install a utility on your Mac that acts as a bridge between your Mac and your Android device.

android file transfer tool

This utility is called Android File Transfer, which you can download from the official Android website:

  1. Grab the Android File Transfer tool from the Android website.
  2. Launch the downloaded file and drag the tool to your Applications folder.
  3. Double-click on the tool in your Applications folder (or search for it using Spotlight with Cmd + Space) to launch it.
  4. Plug your Android phone into your computer using a USB cable.
  5. Your phone should appear in the newly installed tool.

Once you see your phone, you can start moving your files as you please.

5. Enable USB Debugging on Your Phone (Windows)

The USB Debugging option on your Android phone is an advanced feature mainly used by app developers. It allows a device to communicate directly, through a USB connection, with the Android SDK installed on a computer.

When USB Debugging is enabled, it completes a series of troubleshooting checks on the connection status to ensure the phone and computer can communicate properly.

You'll need to enable the Developer options on your Android device before you can access USB Debugging.

  1. Open the Developer options and scroll down to the Debugging section.
  2. Tap the USB Debugging option and confirm you want to enable the feature.
  3. Restart your phone to ensure that debugging is working correctly and nothing interferes with the process.

6. Uninstall Other Android Connectivity Tools (Windows/Mac)

Some phone manufacturers offer their own connectivity solutions, such as Samsung SideSync. These tools sometimes interfere with the standard Android connection methods; such conflicts can cause your computer not to recognize your phone at all.

If you have any of these tools installed, try removing them from your computer to avoid conflicts. Once that's done, reconnect your phone to your computer and see if it works as normal.

7. Run Windows Device Troubleshooter (Windows)

Windows 10 and 11 come with several troubleshooters to help you find and fix issues with various facets. Thankfully, one of these is to troubleshoot external devices like your Android phone. You can enlist the help of this tool to fix connection issues and get your phone to show up on your machine. While it's not always perfect, it's worth a try.

Microsoft hid the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter on Windows 10 and Windows 11, but it's still accessible via the command line:

  1. Search for Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
  2. Enter the following command: msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic.
  3. You'll see the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter. Click Next to let the tool detect issues with your devices. When it's done, it will offer methods to fix the detected issues.
windows hardware and devices troubleshooter

8. Use a Different USB Port and USB Cable (Windows/Mac)

If you've run through the above and still have an issue, perhaps the USB port or cable that you're using is defective or damaged. This will prevent your computer from recognizing your device.

Luckily, most computers have multiple USB ports. Try another port on your machine to see if your phone connects. You should also connect using a different USB cable and see if that makes your computer recognize your device.

9. Update Your Operating System Version (Mac)

On Windows, you can connect your Android phone regardless of your operating system's version. However, on Macs, older macOS versions can have issues with Android connections.

update macos version

Therefore, you should update your macOS version when you run into connection issues between your phone and computer. You can do this as follows:

  1. Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner and choose System Settings.
  2. Click General > Software Update to update your Mac's software.
  3. If a macOS update is available, download and install it on your machine, then try the connection again.

Bonus Tip: Use an Alternate File Transfer Method

If your phone doesn't connect, regardless of what you try, you might want to use some alternate methods to transfer files from Android to your computer. This way, you can at least get your files moving until your connection issue is resolved.

Keep Your Android and Computer Connected

At first, it might seem like your computer is never going to recognize your device. However, with the methods above, you should successfully get your computer to mount your phone and let you move files between them.

Don't forget that you can also transfer files the opposite way, from your PC or laptop to your phone. If you run into trouble with that too, some of the above tips will help you out.