Normally when we connect an Android smartphone or tablet to a computer, it is recognized as an external disk, so that we can easily transfer all the files from the smartphone’s folders to the PC (and vice versa), without having to do anything else. Unfortunately, sometimes the computer refuses to “see” the phone due to an imaginary driver problem, making it impossible for us to access the files stored on the portable device. If our PC buzzes with an Android device, we can solve most problems by installing the right driver. In this guide we will show you in fact how to install Android drivers on PCs with the Windows operating system, so you can connect smartphones and tablets with the green robot without problems. After installing the right driver the device will be recognized as an external storage device and we can finally move our files.
READ ALSO: Connect the Samsung Galaxy to the PC (Drivers, Kies and Programs)
How to install specific Android driver
Depending on the device in our possession, we will have to download the right USB driver, optimized for that specific manufacturer. To do this, let’s go to the third-party USB driver page, then click on the page corresponding to the manufacturer of the device in our possession (Samsung, Huawei, LG, Xiaomi, etc.).
On the page that opens, we start downloading the driver as proposed by the manufacturer, then we open the compressed archive and unpack the driver files in a folder of your choice of PC.
Note: if the manufacturer provides ready-made drivers, all we need to do is start the supplied installer, complete the installation, restart the computer and connect the smartphone or tablet to the PC.
After unpacking the driver archive, let’s try connecting the Android device via the supplied USB cable: if a driver error appears or the device is not correctly recognized, we right-click on the bottom right of the Windows Start menu, select Device management, and, in the new window, we identify the problematic Android device (it should not be difficult, since it will appear as a device accompanied by a yellow triangle).
After identifying the device, we right-click on it, select it Property, let’s get to the card Driver, and click on Update driver.
Click on the new screen Look for the driver software on the computer, click on Browse and take us to the folder where we unzipped the driver downloaded a little while ago.
After selecting the folder, we click on OK and then down on Come on. Windows will start looking for the right driver for the device and will install it completely automatically. Immediately after installation, our device will finally be accessible and we will be able to move the files without problems.
Note: after each driver installation we advise you to restart the computer, a precaution that helps in all cases where the driver is correctly installed but “locked” by the installation system.
How to install generic Android driver (for Nexus and Pixel)
If we use a Nexus smartphone or a Google Pixel or we cannot in any way download the specific driver for our device, we can install the Android USB driver released by Google itself.
To get it, let’s go to the official Google USB driver page and follow the steps already seen above to install it correctly; if we have already installed the Android Studio on our computer (we can always install it from here), we open the suite, let’s take the path Tools> SDK Manager, click on the tab SDK Tools, select the item from the list Google USB Driver and click OK.
The Android USB driver produced by Google will be added to the system; so let’s try to connect the device and check that it works correctly.
If even so the device does not work, we open the manual search for the driver, taking us to the entry Look for the driver software on the computer as seen in the previous chapter, and indicate as a folder in which to draw the driver android_sdk extras google usb_driver.
Other connection problems
Despite all the suggested suggestions, won’t my smartphone or Android tablet be accessible when connected to the computer? It may not be an Android driver issue, but a problem with the USB driver, USB ports, or faulty USB cable.
In another article, we saw what to do if Android is not recognized by the PC with a USB connection
It is important to make sure that you always have the latest drivers for USB port management, updating if necessary with a program like IObit Driver Booster.
If the problem is the specific USB port, let’s try using another port: many times the problem was not the driver but the defective port that prevented the correct connection of the Android device to the PC.
As a last resort, we try another USB cable, maybe more robust and new: even a worn and damaged cable could prevent us from viewing the Android smartphone or tablet on our PC. Some of the best USB cables can be found below:
- Micro USB Cable (1M – 2Pezzi) Rampow Data Transfer and Quick Charge (5 €)
- Micro USB Cable, Gritin (3 Pieces: 1m, 1.5m, 2m) Braided Nylon Micro USB Cable (€ 7)
- AUKEY USB 3.0 C to USB A cable, 1m of Nylon USB Type C cable (€ 8)
- RAVIAD USB cable (3 pieces, 1m 2m 3m) Nylon USB cable Type C (9 €)
Conclusions
We saw together how to properly install the USB driver for any Android smartphone or tablet, so that you can access the internal memory and transfer files from the device to the PC (and vice versa) via the included cable or with a new USB cable.
If we look for an alternative to the cables to connect the smartphone to the PC, we recommend that you read our guide on Programs to manage Android from PC and transfer data (in wifi or USB). If we connect the smartphone or tablet to the computer only to transfer data, we can also use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, as described in the guide to how to transfer files between Android phones (via Bluetooth or wifi).
