Android Phone - transfer pics, songs and data to PC

02.21.15: Android phones have wi-fi apps for wireless transfer of data to/from phone/PC. 

Here is a recap of the three approaches:

Using a micro SDcard (simplest, if your phone has one)

  1. Turn off your phone and take out the microSD card.
  2. Put the micro SDcard in the SDcard holder and place in the PC slot and use Microsoft Explorer to move the data to your PC.

Using the phone's USB cable (fastest approach) 

1. When you attach the USB cable to phone and PC, the first pic appears in Settings, to show your PC can now see your phone. 
2. Click on the "Connected as a media device" and the second screen appears where you need to select MTP instead of PTP (to ensure all phone files are visible).  
3. As per the third picture, using your PC File Explorer, the phone's internal storage will appear on your PC as an "phone" drive. 
If you also have a microSD card installed in your phone, this will show up as "card" drive.

 4. You can now drag and drop files directly to/from your phone/PC. You can also create or delete files and folders on your phone. 

 5. When you have finished moving files, unplug the USB cable. 

Using a wi-fi app for wireless transfer (slowest)

1. For this example, we will use the wifi file transfer app on Google Play.

2. To wireless connect the phone to the PC, start the app and then press the "start" button (see picture left). Then enter the address indicated into the address bar on the PC.

3. A browser screen will appear (pictured on left) with instructions on how to transfer to/from the phone. 

d. Unfortunately, only the phone's internal storage area can be accessed. An attached SDcard cannot be viewed.

4. The connection will remain until you click the app's "stop" button.

Problems with using an SDcard with Android 4.4.2 (or higher)

Google has decided the user cannot manage an SDcard effectively and has taken over control of its access.
The user is not able to select the SDcard for downloads or any data placement by an app.
So, moving data between the phone and the SDcard is really restricted.
You are able to move data using a file manager Android app (10 best file manager apps). I find File Manager HD to be very good.
Using the SDcard as backup is very effective use of the SDcard ... if you don't lose your phone.
I also use the SDcard to backup important PC files or as a transport mechanism for sharing files with others.

Android Phone - Managing Data Usage

15.04.24: For those who have an Android cell phone.

Rogers has various data usage plans. Mine is 1gb. To enlarge this total is quite expensive at Rogers. Data usage occurs when Wi-Fi is not connected.

If you go to Settings - Connections - Data Usage, you can see the amount of data being used during your billing cycle (total and for each app).

In the Data Usage section, at any time during the billing cycle, you can:

1.Turn off data for your phone (no internet connection without wifi)

2. Turn off data for specific apps 

3. Set a phone limit (and enable a warning before the limit) before phone data usage is disabled.

My billing date is the 7th of the month.

The first pic is my data usage as of the 24th of this month.
You may notice I have checked Mobile Data and Set mobile data limit. This will ensure I am advised when data usage reaches the monthly warning limit and the total monthly limit.


The second pic shows what apps are using the most data. As you can see, i inadvertently updated my apps without wifi connection (wifi would have used my Internet unlimited data usage plan).

If you click on an app, another window opens and allows to to Restrict background data (disable data usage when wifi not available). 

I will now change the setting for Google Play Store to restrict background data. This will mean no apps updates will occur unless wifi is connected.

With these controls, you are able to manage your costs and determine where the problems occur ... and not be forced into a more expensive Rogers smartphone monthly plan.

Android Phone - Voice Control is helpful

02.21.15: This tip is for Android phone users only.

Have you tried Voice Control?

It is very helpful for hand free use of the phone.

There are four optional areas to be voice controlled:

1. Incoming Calls - "answer" or "reject"

2. Alarm - "stop" or "snooze"

3. Camera - "capture" or "shoot"

4. Music - "next", "previous", "play", "pause", "volume up" and "volume down"

I find this very useful when not holding my phone. 

Camera use this way enables easier picture taking, especially when using one hand.

I play music while doing carpentry on my children's homes. Being able to manage the play without having to pick up the phone is very helpful.

The enable voice control, go to Settings and then Controls and then enable Voice Control. Clicking on the Voice Control words enables you to see the screen pictured here, to manage which features to enable. 

Android Phone - Swype - A very useful app

02.21.15 - This tip is for Android phone users only.

Have you tried the Swype app instead of tapping the letters for texts or emails?

I have been using it for a while. It is the second android app I have purchased.

Instead of tapping, just drag any finger from letter to letter.

I am a quite fast one finger key board user but this is a lot faster and accurate.

It really does work for any keyboard operations.

Android Phone - main screen fixed icons

02.21.15 This tip is for Android phones only.

Have you not been able to change one of the five fixed app icons on the bottom of the main screen?

They cannot be held-dragged like other icons.

1. click the apps icon (bottom right app) to take you to your inventory of apps.
2. click the menu button (bottom left).
3. select "edit"
4. hold the icon you want to remove and then drag it to the upper screen.
5. hold the icon you want to include and drag it