Copy music files from PC to Pixel

[keffey]

I just received the Pixel from Verizon Wireless. I want to copy music files (MP3s) from my Windows 10 laptop to the Pixel Music folder. I connected the Pixel to my laptop with the supplied USB cable. USB drivers installed on the laptop as expected. The phone displays in Windows File Explorer as expected. However when I click on the Pixel icon there are no folders or files displayed under it. It is simply empty.

I want to copy the MP3 files to the Music folder on the Pixel, but no folders display. I tried copying the files to the empty space under the Pixel icon, but that did not work. I message box displayed - "Cannot copy item. The device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected". I keep the Pixel unlocked while I attempt the transfer. What is the issue?

 

[jj14x]

When you connect your phone to your PC, look in the notification bar of your phone - you should see the USB mode - you will need to change it to allow file transfers. Once you do that, your PC should show the folders under the pixel.

Or, you can try apps like portal - if your phone and PC are on the same network, Portal will let you transfer files from your PC to your phone over Wifi. No complicated setup - and it is fast.

 

[keffey]

View attachment 111498

When you connect your phone to your PC, look in the notification bar of your phone - you should see the USB mode - you will need to change it to allow file transfers. Once you do that, your PC should show the folders under the pixel.
Or, you can try apps like portal - if your phone and PC are on the same network, Portal will let you transfer files from your PC to your phone over Wifi. No complicated setup - and it is fast.

Hi jj14x,
Thanks for replying. I do not see anything in the phone's notification bar. I know what you are referring to and I have seen it when connecting older Android phones to my laptop when it had Win7. But I do not see it now when I connect the Pixel to my Win10 laptop via USB. I'll look into "Portal", but I should be able to do this with a USB cable.

I didn't mention this in my initial post, but when I plug in the USB cable Windows launches an application that asks what I want to do. I selected Phone Companion and I was prompted to log into my Microsoft account. I think the goal is to add Pixel as a device to my account. That seems overly complex and unnecessary. Maybe it's a security thing that is new with Win10. I didn't complete the process.

 

[jj14x]

Phone companion - that's microsoft's solution for the sync. I have never used that
Try enabling developer options, and then look at the first entry (select USB configuration) - set that to MTP.

To enable dev options,

1. Go to “Settings” and tap on “About Device” located at the end.
2. In “About Device”, scroll down to the end and you will see “Build number” option.
3. Tap on “Build number” option 7 times and you will be notified that the developer options are enabled.

 

[keffey]

I turned on Developer Options and checked USB Configuration. It was set to MTP. But I still was not able to copy files. I turned on USB debugging and then finally an Android notification displayed. I set the Android notification to file transfer and then the folders became visible on the laptop. I successfully transferred the files. That great. Thank you, jj14x.

General comment: This process seems more complex than with older versions of Android. I don't recall having to activate developer options and turn on USB debugging to simply copy files via USB cables. Does Google expect us to buy there music streaming service and use our precious data plan to stream music rather than copy music files to the phone and play them locally?

 

[jj14x]

Weird that the transfer didn't work without USB debugging. On mine, I know I never turned on USB debugging (though I did turn on Dev options) - and it worked.
To be honest, the only time I connect my phone to my PC using a cable is to flash a factory image. Other than that, I just use portal if I have to transfer a large file (or use Google Drive or OneDrive or just Email for smaller files).

My guess is that Google does expect us to use their cloud/streaming services. They probably don't really care whether you use your mobile data connection, or your WiFi - that's probably why they allow you to cache the music to your phone ('make available offline' feature). If you subscribe to youtube red, it even lets you download videos to your phone.