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Android File Transfer not working on Mac Catalina Fix

Recently, I wanted to transfer a few pictures from my OnePlus5 Android device to my Mac. Like always, I connected the cable, tapped “File Transfer” option from Mobile and waited and launched Android File Transfer App from my Mac. But, unlike always when the explorer opens, I received following error:

Can’t access device storage

Make sure your device is unlocked and ‘File Transfer’ or ‘MTP’ mode is selected

This was the first time I encountered this error. Despite several plug-and-play, it didn’t work. After hours of troubleshooting, I discovered:

Android File Transfer App which ships with OnePlus (and I’ve used) is 32bit and IS NOT compatible with the Catalina OS (which I upgraded from Mojave, much later)

To reconfirm, I removed “Android File Transfer” App by moving it to the bin from the Applications folder and plugged my Android device. This time, I saw a prohibited icon.

In order to fix the issue, I did following steps and now I can transfer files.

  1. Remove the application by sending it to bin and unplug device
  2. Download the transfer app from https://www.android.com/filetransfer/ (It detects your OS)
  3. Install the downloaded .dmg (or exe if it’s Windows)
  4. Restart your machine
  5. Plug your device and from the notification tap “use this device to Transfer File”
  6. This may throw a warning about Android File Transfer being downloaded from Web. Choose to open.

Voila! It works!

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