How to Send a Video From Android to PC

With the advancement of technology, taking video using a mobile device has become rather popular. Editing video files on a mobile device is rather cumbersome however so transferring this file to a PC becomes necessary.

In this article, we’ll show you how to send a video from Android to PC, via both online and offline methods.

Transfer via Email

Depending on the size of your video file, it may be possible to send it online via email. This method is handy if you don’t want to go through the trouble of signing up for online file storage. Most major email providers like Yahoo and Gmail have a maximum file upload limit of 25MB. If your file size is within this limit, then you can transfer it via email by doing the following:

1. Open your phone’s app browser. This can be done either by swiping up from the home page or by tapping on the menu button at the bottom of your phone screen.
   
2. Open the folder where you store your video files. You can either use your phone’s file browser or open the Gallery icon.
   
3. Locate the video file that you wish to transfer and tap and hold the file.
   
4. A popup menu should appear with a share option. This icon will look like three connected dots. Tap on Share.
   
5. A “Share via…” menu will appear with various options.
   
6. Choose the email provider of your choice. Note that you must have an email account connected to your phone otherwise no email options will appear.
   
7. If your phone asks to be allowed access tap “Yes.”
8. On the “To:” portion of the email message type in your email address. Both the “To:” and “From:” address bar can be the same address.
   
9. Fill in the “Subject:” text box and type in a short message in the email body.
   
10. Once done, tap “Send.”
    
11. It may take a while for the file to upload to your email account. Once it’s uploaded you can easily download the file to your PC.

Transfer via Google Drive

If you wish to transfer a file greater than 25MB online, you can use Google Drive for the task. Google Drive is free for anyone who has a Google Account and has a total of 15GB of free data storage. Users can pay to expand this storage up to 5TB if they want to. Uploading a file to your Google Drive is rather simple, and the steps are as follows:

1. Open the Google Drive app on your phone. If you don’t have it installed, you can download it from Google Play Store. Log in to your account, or create a new one if this is your first time using it.
   
2. Tap on the “+” icon on the lower right side of the screen.
   
3. From the popup menu, choose “Upload.”
   
4. Navigate to the file that you want to transfer. You can access your phone’s directory menu by tapping on the three lines in the upper left corner of the screen.
   
5. Tap on the file you want to upload. This will automatically initiate file uploading. Once finished, you will see the uploaded file on your Google Drive menu.
   
6. Open Google Drive on your PC.
   
7. Find the file that you uploaded from your mobile device then right-click on it.
   
8. Choose “Download” from the pop-up menu.
   

Transfer via Dropbox

Another useful app to use in transferring video from Android to PC is Dropbox. This app has a 2GB file limit for free users, but can be upgraded up to 2TB with an individual or family subscription plan. Business users can choose between 5TB or unlimited storage.

Dropbox can be handy because the mobile app can be set up to instantly sync pictures, video, and audio taken to your cloud storage. This means that all videos that you take that are within your file size limit will be automatically uploaded online and can be downloaded to your PC at any time. To set this auto-sync feature, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Dropbox app on your mobile device.
   
2. On the home screen, tap on the three lines icon in the upper left corner of the screen.
   
3. From the menu, tap “Settings.”
   
4. Tap on “Camera Uploads.”
   
5. Choose “Include videos.” Toggle the option on.
   
6. If you wish to only sync your video when Wi-Fi is available, make sure that the “Use data when offline” toggle is off. If this is on, your mobile device will access cellular data when it can’t detect a Wi-Fi signal.
   
7. Any pictures and videos you take will now upload to your Dropbox file automatically. You can download them to your PC by opening Dropbox on your computer.

If you don’t want to turn on auto-update to save on battery life, you can upload files manually by doing the following:

1. Open the Dropbox app.
   
2. On the Home screen, press “Files” on the bottom menu to navigate to your current folders and select where to upload. Alternatively, you can tap on “+” and then choose “Create new folder” to provide a new directory.
   
3. Tap on “+”.
   
4. From the popup menu choose “Upload photos or videos.”
   
5. Navigate through the available files then tap on the videos you want to upload.
   
6. Click “Upload” in the lower right corner of the screen.
   
7. Open the Dropbox app on your PC.
   
8. Right-click on the file that you want to download.
   
9. Click on “Download” from the drop-down menu.
   

Transfer via Bluetooth

If you don’t have an online connection, you can still transfer files from your mobile using a Bluetooth connection. The majority of current laptops are Bluetooth enabled, and PCs can use a Bluetooth adapter if they don’t have one built-in. To turn on Bluetooth on your PC, do the following:

1. On your PC, click on the “Start” button.
   
2. Choose the “Settings” icon.
   
3. From the settings menu, choose “Devices.”
   
4. On the left menu, click on “Bluetooth and other devices.”
   
5. Make sure that the Bluetooth toggle is on.
   
6. On your android phone, open App Menu and tap “Settings.”
   
7. Tap on Bluetooth, then choose your PC name under “Available Devices.”
   
8. A pop-up Bluetooth pairing request will appear, and tap “OK.”
   
9. Wait for the notification to appear on your PC that your mobile device wants to connect, then press on “Pair device.”
   

Once paired, you can now transfer your videos directly to your PC by doing the following:

1. On your PC, right-click on the Bluetooth icon on the taskbar and choose “Receive a File.”
   
2. On your mobile device, navigate to the file you wish to transfer.
3. Select the file and tap the “Share” at the top.
   
4. Tap on the Bluetooth Icon.
   
5. Choose your PC’s name from the “Available Devices.”
   
6. Wait for the transfer to finish. You can change the location where the file can be saved on the “File Transfer” window.
   
7. Click on “Finish.”
   

Transfer via USB Cable

If you have a USB cable that is compatible with both your mobile device and your computer, you can transfer the file via wire. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Plug the USB cable into your Android device and to your PC.
   
2. A message should appear on your mobile that it is charging. Tap on that message.
   
3. From the options, tap on “Media device” this will allow you to transfer files from your phone to your PC.
   
4. On your PC, navigate the directory folders on your phone that has the video files you wish to transfer.
   
5. Drag and drop the files onto your PC.
   

More Options

Knowing how to send a video from your Android device to a PC gives you more options for editing the file. Transferring files is also an easy way to alleviate storage problems on your mobile device which has considerably less memory than a PC.

Do you know of other ways to transfer video files from Android to a computer? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.