Why There Is No AirDrop Between Android and Mac
If you own an Android phone and a Mac, sharing a file between them feels harder than it should. On an iPhone, you would tap Share, tap AirDrop, and the photo would appear on the Mac a few seconds later. On Android, that button is missing, and the reason is simple: AirDrop is Apple’s own system, and it only works between Apple devices. Android has its own nearby sharing system, called Quick Share, but for a long time the two systems did not talk to each other at all.
That gap is slowly closing. In late 2025, Google started adding AirDrop support to Quick Share on newer phones, beginning with the Pixel 10 family and then expanding to some Samsung and other Android models. If your phone is one of the supported models, you can send a file from Android to a Mac with Quick Share almost as easily as an iPhone user sends one with AirDrop. If your phone is older, you will need one of the other methods in this guide.
The second problem is the cable. Plug an Android phone into a Windows PC and the phone shows up as a drive you can browse. Plug the same phone into a Mac and nothing useful happens, because macOS has no built-in support for MTP, the file-transfer protocol Android uses over USB. Google used to fill that gap with a small app called Android File Transfer, but Google stopped offering it in 2024, and the old version still found on download sites is an Intel build from 2018 that cannot move a file larger than 4 GB. You need a newer app, or a method that skips the cable entirely.
This guide shows you how to share files between Android and Mac with Quick Share, with a USB cable and OpenMTP, with Google Drive, with LocalSend over Wi-Fi, and with Bluetooth as a slow last resort. Every method works in both directions.
Method 1: Share Files with Quick Share
Quick Share is built into Android, so you do not need to install anything on your phone. There is no official Quick Share app for Mac from Google — Google makes a Quick Share app for Windows only — so the Mac side works differently. On a supported Android phone, Quick Share can send directly to a Mac through AirDrop. On other phones, Quick Share offers a QR code route instead, where the Mac downloads the file through a browser.
Step 1: Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both devices. On your Android phone, turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. On your Mac, turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth too, and make sure the Mac is awake and unlocked.
Step 2: Set the Mac to receive from everyone for a short time. On your Mac, open Finder, click AirDrop in the sidebar, and set “Allow me to be discovered by” to Everyone for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Select the file on your Android phone. Open the file you want to send — a photo, a video, or a document — and tap the Share icon. You can also select several files at once, then tap Share.
Step 4: Tap Quick Share and choose your Mac. In the share sheet, tap Quick Share. Your phone will look for nearby devices, and your Mac should appear in the list, usually by its computer name. Tap it to start sending.
Step 5: Accept the file on your Mac. A notification appears on your Mac asking if you want to accept the file. Click Accept, and the file is saved to your Downloads folder.
If your phone does not support sending to a Mac through AirDrop, use the QR code route instead. Select the file on your phone, tap Share, and tap Quick Share, then look for the option to share with an Apple device using a QR code. A QR code appears on your phone screen. Scan it with your Mac’s camera, or open the link it points to in a browser on your Mac, and download the file from there.
Sending files from your Mac to your Android phone
There is no Quick Share app on the Mac to send from. If your phone supports receiving from Apple devices, try AirDrop from the Mac: right-click the file in Finder, choose Share, then AirDrop, and select your phone. If it does not appear, use LocalSend or Google Drive instead.
Method 2: Transfer Files with a USB Cable and OpenMTP
A USB cable is the most reliable way to move a large file, such as a long video or a folder of photos, from an Android phone to a Mac. The catch is that macOS cannot browse Android storage on its own, so you need an app on the Mac that understands MTP. The best free option is OpenMTP, a free and open-source app for macOS with versions for both Apple silicon and Intel Macs. It shows your Mac’s folders on one side and your phone’s storage on the other, so you can drag files between them.
Use a cable that supports data transfer, not just charging. The cable that came with your phone usually works.
Step 1: Install OpenMTP on your Mac. Download OpenMTP from its official website and install it like any other Mac app. Open it once after installing, so it is ready before you plug the phone in.
Step 2: Connect your phone to your Mac with the USB cable. Plug one end into the phone and the other into the Mac. Unlock your phone — a locked phone will not show its files, even if the cable is connected properly.
Step 3: Set the phone’s USB mode to File transfer. On your phone, a notification should appear saying the phone is charging over USB, or asking what to use the USB connection for. Tap it, and choose File transfer, which may also be labelled File Transfer / Android Auto or MTP on some phones.
Step 4: Browse your phone in OpenMTP. OpenMTP should now show your phone’s storage in one pane and your Mac’s folders in the other. Your photos are usually in the DCIM folder, and downloads are in the Download folder.
Step 5: Copy the files to your Mac. Select the files or folders you want, then drag them to a folder on the Mac side of the OpenMTP window. Wait for the transfer to finish before you unplug the cable.
Sending files from your Mac to your Android phone
To send files the other way, follow the same steps, but drag in the opposite direction: pick a file or folder on the Mac side and drag it into a folder on the phone side, such as Download or DCIM.
Method 3: Share Files with Google Drive
Google Drive is the simplest method when the two devices are not in the same place, or when you want the file to stay available from anywhere. Most Android phones already have Google Drive installed, and every Google account comes with 15 GB of free storage shared across Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. The trade-off is speed: the file has to upload from one device and download to the other, so a large video takes longer than it would over Wi-Fi or a cable.
Step 1: Upload the file from your Android phone. Open the Google Drive app on your phone and tap the plus button, then tap Upload. Choose the file you want to send and wait for the upload to finish.
Step 2: Open Google Drive on your Mac. On your Mac, open a browser and go to Google Drive, then sign in with the same Google account you used on your phone.
Step 3: Find the file and download it. In Google Drive, find the file you just uploaded — it should be near the top if you sort by most recent. Right-click it, or click the three-dot menu next to it, and choose Download. The file is saved to your Mac’s Downloads folder. If you uploaded several files, select them all first, then download them together as a single zip file.
Keep an eye on your storage. If your Google account is close to the 15 GB free limit, a large video may fail to upload, or stop halfway.
Sending files from your Mac to your Android phone
To send a file from your Mac to your phone, reverse the steps: upload the file to Google Drive from your Mac, either by dragging it into the Drive website or into the Drive folder in Finder, then open the Google Drive app on your phone and tap the file to view it.
Method 4: Share Files over Wi-Fi with LocalSend
LocalSend is a free, open-source app that works like AirDrop for everyone: it runs on Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, and iOS, and it sends files directly between devices on the same Wi-Fi network. There is no account to create, no cloud upload, and no file size limit set by the app itself. The file travels straight from one device to the other over your local network, encrypted with HTTPS, so it is fast and it stays private.
Both devices need LocalSend installed, and both need to be on the same Wi-Fi network. That is the one hard requirement: if your phone is on mobile data and your Mac is on your home Wi-Fi, the two devices will not find each other.
Step 1: Install LocalSend on both devices. On your Android phone, install LocalSend from the Google Play Store. On your Mac, download it from the LocalSend website or install it from the Mac App Store. Open the app on both devices and leave it open while you transfer files.
Step 2: Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network. Check that your phone and your Mac are on the same network name. Your Mac should appear in the list of nearby devices in LocalSend on your phone.
Step 3: Select the files on your Android phone. In LocalSend on your phone, tap Send, then choose Files for documents or Media for photos and videos. Select the files you want to send.
Step 4: Choose your Mac and send. Tap your Mac’s name in the list of nearby devices. A request appears on your Mac. Click Accept, and the transfer starts. Files are saved to the Downloads folder on the Mac by default.
Step 5: Check the files arrived. When the transfer finishes, open the Downloads folder on your Mac and check that the files are there and open correctly.
Sending files from your Mac to your Android phone
To send a file from your Mac to your phone, do the same thing in reverse: open LocalSend on your Mac, drag the file into the app or use the Send screen to choose it, then click your phone’s name in the list. Accept the transfer on your phone, and the file lands in your phone’s Downloads folder.
Method 5: Bluetooth as a Slow Fallback
Bluetooth is built into both Android and macOS, and it works without Wi-Fi, without a cable, and without installing anything. That makes it useful in exactly one situation: you have a small file, no cable, and no Wi-Fi network the two devices share. For anything else, use one of the methods above, because Bluetooth is slow.
Step 1: Pair the two devices. On your Mac, open System Settings, go to Bluetooth, and make sure Bluetooth is on. On your Android phone, open Settings, go to Connected devices, tap Pair new device, and tap your Mac’s name when it appears.
Step 2: Send the file from your Android phone. Open the file on your phone, tap Share, then tap Bluetooth. Choose your Mac from the list of paired devices.
Step 3: Accept the file on your Mac. A notification appears on your Mac asking if you want to accept the file. Click Accept. The file is saved to your Downloads folder.
To send a file from your Mac to your phone, right-click the file in Finder, choose Share, then Bluetooth, and select your phone. Accept the transfer on your phone when it asks.
Common Problems and How to Fix Them
Your Mac does not appear in Quick Share. Check that your phone supports sending to a Mac: the AirDrop route only works on newer phones, starting with the Pixel 10 family and expanding to some other models.
OpenMTP does not see your phone. This almost always means the phone is still in charging-only USB mode. Unlock the phone, swipe down to see the USB notification, tap it, and choose File transfer.
LocalSend cannot find the other device. Both devices must be on the same Wi-Fi network, and LocalSend must be open on both of them. Check that your phone is not on mobile data, and that you are not on a guest Wi-Fi network that blocks devices from talking to each other.
The Google Drive upload fails or stops halfway. This usually means you have run out of Google storage, or the file is very large and your internet connection dropped. Check your storage in the Drive app, delete files you no longer need, and try again on a stable Wi-Fi connection.
The transfer is very slow. Over Wi-Fi, speed depends on your router and how far you are from it, not on your internet plan. Over Bluetooth, slow is normal — it is the limit of Bluetooth, and the fix is to use Wi-Fi or a cable instead.
The file arrived but will not open on the Mac. The file itself is probably fine, but the Mac may not have an app that opens that format. Photos and videos from Android open in Preview and QuickTime on the Mac in almost every case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use AirDrop from Android to Mac? Not directly. AirDrop is Apple’s system and only works between Apple devices. But on newer Android phones, Quick Share can send to a Mac through AirDrop, starting with the Pixel 10 family and expanding to some Samsung and other models.
Is there an official Quick Share app for Mac? No. Google makes a Quick Share app for Windows, but not for Mac. Do not download an app that claims to be Google’s Quick Share for Mac — it is not from Google.
Is Android File Transfer still available? No, not from Google. Google stopped offering Android File Transfer in 2024, and the old download now points to the Quick Share page for Windows. Use OpenMTP instead: it is free, open source, and made for current Macs.
What is the fastest way to share files between Android and Mac? For most files, a USB cable with OpenMTP is the fastest and most reliable, because it does not depend on Wi-Fi. For a few photos, Quick Share or LocalSend over Wi-Fi is just as fast in practice and needs no cable.
Do I need the internet to share files between Android and Mac? Not always. Google Drive needs the internet, and Quick Share’s QR code route needs it too, because the file goes through Google’s servers. The other methods work offline, as long as both devices are nearby.
Can I share a whole folder from Android to Mac? Yes, with a USB cable and OpenMTP you can drag a whole folder from your phone to your Mac in one go. With LocalSend you can select several files at once, though sending a folder itself is easier if you zip it first.
Where do files go when they arrive on a Mac? Files sent by Quick Share, LocalSend, and Bluetooth are saved to the Downloads folder by default. Files copied with OpenMTP go wherever you drag them to in the OpenMTP window.
Is it safe to use LocalSend and OpenMTP? Yes. Both are free and open source, which means anyone can inspect their code, and neither one asks you to create an account. OpenMTP only moves files over the cable between your phone and your Mac.
Final Thoughts
Sharing files between Android and Mac is not as smooth as sharing between two Apple devices, but it is no longer difficult either. If your phone is new enough, Quick Share to a Mac through AirDrop is the closest thing to AirDrop that Android has. If it is not, LocalSend does the same job on any phone, over your own Wi-Fi, with no account and no cloud upload in the way.
For large files, keep a USB cable and OpenMTP in mind — it is the fastest and most dependable route, and it works even when the Wi-Fi is slow or missing. For files you need from anywhere, Google Drive is still the simplest answer, and Bluetooth is there for the odd small file when nothing else is available.
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