Android File Transfer Instructions for MAC (& PC File Transfer Too!)
How compatible is Android OS with PC and MAC? Believe it or not, you don't have to work for the Geek Squad at Best Buy to get music from your computer to your spiffy new Android-based DAP music player. It's not quite plug-and-play, but it's honestly not that difficult, and we're here to walk you through the process step by step.
When it comes to MAC OS, you will need to download a program called Android File Transfer to get your mac computer to talk nicely with your music player. However, on PC and Windows-based operating systems, it might as well be plug and play in some scenarios. Windows has the ability to auto-detect and install USB drivers for devices being connected for the first time to your computer. It can be as simple as plugging it in, waiting a minute, and you'll instantly be greeted by a window showing everything that is located on your music player.
Android File Transfer is a program specifically used to transfer music from your mac computer to your Android-based DAP music player or Android phone. It's one of the easiest ways to transfer photos, music, and files to your device. Now to clarify, Android File Transfer is not a PC or Windows OS program, but we'll go ahead and show you how to transfer music to your PC too while we're at it. We'll break the guide into brand-specific music players, then show you how to move music whether you have a MAC or PC. Let's get to it!
Table of Contents
Downloading & Installing Android File Transfer
And how to generally transfer music to your DAP music player
MAC OS
To install Android File Transfer on MAC, head to the following website:
[Image 1] Download the Android File Transfer file.
[Image 2] Quick instal steps.
[Image 3] Drag and drop the app into the Applications folder.
[Image 4] Security prompt notifying you that the app was downloaded fom the internet. Click Open.
[Image 5] If your DAP is not connected it wil prompt you to do so.
[Image 6] The DAP wilndow will automatically pop up allowing you to drag and drop files to it.
To install:
- Download the Android File Transfer for Mac file from the button above. [Image 1]. *Note that you'll need to be running macOS 10.7 or higher to use the app.
- Open the Android File Transfer.dmg file.
- Drag and drop the Android File Transfer app into the applications folder. [Image 3]
- Double click Android File Transfer. You'll likely be prompted that the app was downloaded from the internet as a quick security check. [Image 4]
- Click Open to continue the process.
- You'll be prompted to connect your Android device if you haven't and activated the file transfer process. [Image 5]
- Connect your DAP to your Mac via a USB cable. Android File Transfer should open automatically. Check your notifications bar and change the USB settings to File Transfer /MTP mode if it doesn't.
- In Android File Transfer, simply drag and drop the desired music/files to the DAP window and the transfer/copying process will start. [Image 6]
Windows OS
Here's how to transfer files on a Windows PC to your Android-based DAP.
To install:
- Plug in your DAP to your Windows computer.
- Windows should autodetect the connected device and install the necessary drivers to work with your system. [Image 1]
- Once the correct drivers have been installed, the device storage window/file manager will pop up, showing you the contents of your music player. [Image 2]
- In a separate window, open your music directory or the files you want to transfer to the DAP.
- Navigate to the Music folder on the music player [Image 3] and simply drag and drop the desired files and they will automatically copy to the DAP. [Image 4]
[Image 1] Plug in the DAP to your computer. it will automatically detect and install necessary device drivers.
[Image 2] The device window should pop up automatically, showing you the storage contents.
[Image 3] Navigate to the Music folder (on the DAP), where you'll transfer additional music and files.
[Image 4] Simply drag and drop files t begin the transfer/copy process.
Astell&Kern DAPs
USB Drivers
Astell&Kern uses an Android-based OS with their own proprietary user interface overlayed. Android File Transfer works natively with macOS devices with the file download and application installation process described above. For Windows OS, typically Windows will auto-install the compatible USB driver. In the event that it does not automatically install, you can download and install the correct USB driver for your Astell&Kern DAP music player at the link below:
MAC OS
[Image 1] Plug in your DAP and the device storage window will pop up.
[Image 2] Open your music library to click and drag selected folders.
[Image 3] Click and drag the selected music and drop it into the DAP storage window.
[Image 4] Click and drop and the transfer will begin.
[Image 5] After the transfer is complete you'll find your album/music show up in your DAP storage.
Steps to transfer music to your Astell&Kern DAP from macOS:
- Plug in your DAP to your computer via USB.
- Open the Android File Transfer app.
- Your device storage window should appear [Image 1].
- Open the music library you wish to transfer music from [Image 2].
- Select the folder you wish to transfer to the DAP and simply click and drag it to the Music folder in the Android File Transfer window [Image 3].
- The transfer/copying process will begin [Image 4].
- After finishing, you will see the music successfully transferred to your music player! [Image 5]
Windows OS
Most times when you plug your AK player into your computer, Windows will auto-download the latest USB drivers for your device. If it does not, then head over to the Astell&Kern support page to download the corresponding USB driver for your device HERE.
Steps to transfer music to your Astell&Kern DAP from Windows:
- Plug in your Astell&Kern DAP music player into your computer.
- The device storage window should automatically appear [Image 1].
- Navigate to where you want to copy music (for example: Internal Storage > Music) [Image 3].
- In a separate window, open your music library where you want to copy from [Image 4].
- Click and drag the selected file or folder to your DAP music location.
- The selected files will begin transferring/copying [Image 5].
- When the data transfer is complete you will see your selected music now copied to your music player!
[Image 1] When plugged in, your DAP storage window should pop up.
[Image 2] Select where you want to copy your music to. If you have an external microSD card installed in the DAP, it will also show up as a secondary hard drive location here.
[Image 3] Be sure to select the "Music" folder if wanting to copy music to the internal storage.
[Image 4] In a separate window, open you music library you want to copy music from.
[Image 5] Simply drag and drop the file or folder from your library window to the DAP window and it will start copying the data.
Note that you can install music to internal or external storage. You can either copy the music directly to the external microSD card with an adapter, or you can navigate to the external memory card directory through the DAP when plugged into the computer. As you can see from the screenshot above, the external card will show up as a secondary hard drive location under the music player.
iBasso DAPs
It's always best practice to make sure your software, firmware, and drivers are up to date when connecting your DAP to your computer. To make sure you have the latest available updates to your device, head over to the iBasso website to download the appropriate files:
MAC OS
[Image 1] Open Android File Transfer from the applications folder.
[Image 2] The iBasso internal storage directory.
[Image 3] Open your music library to easily drag and drop files to the DAP.
[Image 4] Drag and drop files and the copying process will automatically begin.
[Image 5] Once transferred, you'll see the new music under your folder.
[Image 6] Enjoy your new music!
Steps to transfer music to your iBasso DAP from macOS:
- Plug the iBasso DAP music player into your computer.
- Open Android File Transfer from your applications window [Image 1].
- The iBasso DAP storage window should appear showing the contents of your music player [Image 2].
- In a separate window, open your music library on your computer, or wherever the files you want to transfer are located [Image 3].
- Click and drag the file or folders over to the music folder in your DAP.
- Once dropped into the music folder, the transfer/copy process will begin [Image 4].
- When the transfer is complete, you will see the new music located under your music folder in the DAP storage [Images 5 & 6].
Windows OS
Steps to transfer music to your iBasso DAP from Windows:
- Plug your iBasso DAP music player into your computer.
- Windows should automatically recognize and download the driver, resulting in the device's file explorer popping up. [Image 1].
- In a separate window, bring up your music library, or where the files that you want to transfer to the music player are located [Image 2].
- Simply click and drag the files or folders to the desired location in the DAP.
- Note that you can choose to select the internal or external microSD storage to move music to if you have a card already inserted into the DAP.
- Drop the files or folders into the desired location and they will automatically begin transferring/copying [Image 3].
- Once the transfer is complete, you will be able to access your new music on your iBasso music player! [Image 4]
[Image 1] When plugging in your iBasso DAP to your computer, Windows should automatically recognize it and pop up the storage window.
[Image 2] Open your music library in a separate window to drag and drop your selected music to the DAP.
[Image 3] Drop the music into the DAP windows and the transfer should begin.
[Image 4] Once the transfer is complete, you'll see your new music located in your DAP!
Sony DAPs
(Click to expand)
[Image 1]
[Image 2]
[Image 3]
[Image 4]
[Image 5]
MAC OS
When plugging the Sony Walkman music player into your computer, make sure the DAP is set to USB data transfer. You can select this under settings in the notifications menu.
- Open the Android Transfer app which will then bring up the storage window for your DAP. [Image 1]
- In a separate window, bring up the location of the music you want to transfer over to the DAP. [Image 2]
- Simply click the file or folder and drag it over to the Music Folder on the music player and drop it in. [Image 3]
- The data transfer will begin. [Image 4]
- After the transfer is complete, you will see your music located on the DAP. [Image 5]
Windows OS
- Plug in your Sony music player to your computer. Windows will automatically detect and install the compatible driver for your device. Once the driver is installed you will see the device window pop up. If the window does not pop up automatically you can go to the drives window to see the music player there listed as a storage drive. [Image 1]
- Open the Music Folder in your DAP - this is where you'll be transferring music to. [Image 2]
- In a separate window, locate your music that you wish to copy to your music player. [Image 3]
- Simply click, drag, and drop the file/folders over to the DAP window. Your transfer will begin immediately. [Images 4 & 5]
- After the transfer is complete, your new music will appear in your DAP storage. [Image 6]
(Click to expand)
[Image 1] Your DAP should show up as a storage drive.
[Image 2] The Music Folder location in your DAP.
[Image 3] In a separate window locate your music library.
[Image 4] Click and drag the desired music over to the DAP location.
[Image 5] Drag and drop the file and the transfer will begin.
[Image 6] After the transfer you music will appear on your digital player.
[Image 1] Player settings.
[Image 2] New music list.
[Image 3] Enjoy!
- Once the music is transferred to your music player, be sure to head over to the settings in the media player on your Sony DAP. [Image 1]
- Under the settings, you'll need to update the database, which allows the Sony music player to scan the dvice to find and locate new music files and folders.
- Once the scan is complete, your new music should appear in the library. [Image 2]
- Enjoy listening to your new music! [Image 3]
Cayin DAPs
MAC OS
When plugging in your Cayin DAP to your Mac, start up Android Transfer. If you get a prompt like: "No Android device found," then be sure to take the following steps to activate your music player for USB data transfer:
- By default the Cayin DAP is set to No data transfer when plugging a cable into the USB - so that the DAP only charges when plugged in.
- From the home screen, swipe down to bring down the notifications menu. [Image 2]
- Tap on the "Charging this device via USB" notification to bring up more options. [Image 3]
- The menu for USB preferences will come up. Select "File Transfer." [Image 4]
- Once selected, the storage screen for your Cayin DAP should appear. You are now ready to transfer music.
(Image 1)
(Image 2)
(Image 3)
(Image 4)
- Once connected for USB transfer, the storage screen for your Cayin music player will appear. [Image 1]
- In a separate window, locate your music files/folders that you wish to transfer to the music player. [Image 2]
- Select the folder or file you want to copy and simply drag and drop it into the window for the music player. [Image 3]
- The data transfer window will appear showing the progress. [Image 4]
- Once the transfer is complete, you should see the files/folders appear in the window for your Cayin DAP. [Image 5]
- After you unplug your Cayin music player, open up the HiBy music app and scan for your new music. [Image 6]
- The scan option should appear immediately if you have no music on your player previously. Otherwise, click on the profile button on the top left and that will bring up the menu - see the "Music Scan" option. [Image 7]
- Once the scan is complete, you should see your newly transferred music on your DAP! [Image 8]
(Image 1)
(Image 2)
(Image 3)
(Image 4)
(Image 5)
(Click to expand)
(Image 6)
(Image 7)
(Image 8)
Windows OS
(Click to expand)
[Image 1] See the Cayin DAP icon appear as a drive once connected.
[Image 2] Click on the icon to see the Internal shared storage drive.
[Image 3] The internal folders for the Cayin music player.
[Image 4] Contents of the music folder for the DAP.
[Image 5] Open a separate window with the music you wish to transfer.
[Image 6] Click and drag the desired file
[Image 7] Drop the file/folder into the Music folder on the DAP and the transfer will begin.
[Image 8] Once the transfer is complete you'll see the new music copied to the Cayin DAP.
Steps to transfer music from you Cayin DAP from Windows:
- Plug in your music player to your PC. Windows will automatically download the compatible driver. If it does not be sure to check the USB settings for data transfer in the DAP settings. [Image 1]
- Click on the icon for your Cayin DAP and open the Internal Shared Storage folder. [Image 2]
- You'll see the music player's directory in the following screen. Click the Music folder to copy files to that location (for internal storage). You can also select the drive for the external storage if you have a microSD card installed. [Images 3 & 4]
- In a separate window, locate the music you want to copy to the DAP. Simply drag files/folders to the DAP window and drop. They will automatically start copying to the music player. [Images 5, 6, & 7]
- Once the tranfer is complete, you should see your music located on your Cayin music player! [Image 8]
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