How to connect your Google Pixel to a computer in 2 different ways, for Mac and PC

Devon Delfino

Jul 15, 2019, 22:05 IST

How to connect your Google Pixel to a computer in 2 different ways, for Mac and PC

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
There are two primary ways to connect your Google Pixel to a computer.

You can connect your Google Pixel to a computer in two easy ways.
Your Google Pixel can connect to a computer through your Google account or a USB cable.
If you're using a USB cable, you'll have to double check that it fits both your Pixel's port and your computer's USB slot.
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Mobile phones have replaced many of the functions we used to use our laptops and desktop computers to accomplish.

But sometimes, you just want a bigger screen, or you want a keyboard instead of a touchpad. That's when you might want to connect your Google Pixel to a computer and move your files over to work on there.

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You have a couple of options for making that connection, and getting the files from your Google Pixel phone onto a computer: relying on auto-sync for your Google account, using a physical USB cable.

Here's what you need to use either of those options.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

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How to connect a Google Pixel to a computer: Google account

Your Google Pixel automatically backs up things like photos, videos and other media to your Google account. That means, to see a photo you just took with your Pixel on a desktop computer, just go to photos.google.com.

And if you were editing or viewing a document that's already uploaded to your Drive, just go into your Drive on a computer to see it.

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If your data is backed up with a Google App, you can access it from any computer with an internet connection.

If you're dealing with something that isn't already backed up to your Google account, you have the next option:

How to connect a Google Pixel to a computer: USB cable

If you're using a USB cable, you'll have to make sure that it fits both your Pixel's port (it takes USB-C) and your computer's USB slot.

For those with a Windows computer or Chromebook, plug the cable into each port, unlock your phone, and tap the "Charging this device via USB" notification. Then, under "Use USB for" tap "File Transfer."

A window for file transfers will then appear on your computer, and you can use that to drag files onto your computer. When you're done, use the "safe eject" option to ensure that your files stay intact.

If you're using a Mac, you'll have to install the Android File Transfer application before you can use this option. Once you have that installed, the steps will be the same as above.