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