 |
Sideload Guide : Windows Vista : Cellphones : USB File Transfer
Transferring files from PC's to cellphones is a practice that has been around for several years. Some manufacturers bundle a "PC Suite" of software with their phones. Others offer a similar product as an optional extra and there are a variety of third party vendors who offer PC connectivity tools.
As a minimum you will need to find a cable that fits your cellphone.
The following notes cover USB transfer to cellphones from the major manufacturers and are based on our own testing.
You will need an appropriate version of Nokia PC Suite which you can download for free from the Nokia website. This ensures that the correct drivers for your phone are installed. The latest version of PC Suite is Vista Compatible.
Nokia PC suite comes with a range of tools, but you can ignore all of them, it's only the driver that we really need. In the majority of cases, Nokias mount as storage drives and are accessible in Windows Explorer. In this case you can simply drag and drop your downloaded video into the appropriate folder on your phone as shown below.
If you don't see you phone listed like this, you probably haven't got the software installed properly. Just being able to see the Nokia Phone Browser is not enough. When connected, your specific device will apear and you can drag your video into the phone's memory or directly to the memory card if it has one.
If you have a Verizon LG phone such as the VX8600 or similar, USB file transfer is unlikely to be possible. For these phones, memory card transfer is the only option.
As a minimum you will need to find a cable that fits your cellphone.
The following notes cover USB transfer to cellphones from the major manufacturers and are based on our own testing.
Nokia
Recent Nokia phones may appear as a storage drive when you connect them. Try connecting the phone using the cable and use Windows Explorer to see whether the phone and its contents are visible.You will need an appropriate version of Nokia PC Suite which you can download for free from the Nokia website. This ensures that the correct drivers for your phone are installed. The latest version of PC Suite is Vista Compatible.
Nokia PC suite comes with a range of tools, but you can ignore all of them, it's only the driver that we really need. In the majority of cases, Nokias mount as storage drives and are accessible in Windows Explorer. In this case you can simply drag and drop your downloaded video into the appropriate folder on your phone as shown below.
If you don't see you phone listed like this, you probably haven't got the software installed properly. Just being able to see the Nokia Phone Browser is not enough. When connected, your specific device will apear and you can drag your video into the phone's memory or directly to the memory card if it has one.
Motorola
USB file transfer on Motorola phones is often frustrating. You have to use Mobile Phone Tools which is an application that often ships with Motorola phones. This can be difficult to use and even when it works transfer speeds are quite slow. Motorola phones do not mount as storage drives so you cannot use Windows Explorer.If you can, use Bluetooth or memory cards instead.
LG
Older LG phones require proprietary software, but many new releases seem to be accessible in Windows Explorer. Its simply a case of dragging and dropping the downloaded video file into the videos folder on the phone. The image below shows the LG KG800 (the Chocolate outside the US) when mounted as a storage drive.If you have a Verizon LG phone such as the VX8600 or similar, USB file transfer is unlikely to be possible. For these phones, memory card transfer is the only option.
Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson phones are generally accessible via USB if you have a copy of "PC Suite" which is Vista-compatible and freely available from the Sony Ericsson website. Most Sony Ericsson phones are not accessible in Windows Explorer, so it is usually easiest to use PC Suite and Sony Ericsson's File Transfer tool to do the file transfer.