How to Set Default USB Connection to File Transfer Mode

In the past, Android devices used to automatically mount as storage devices/file transfer once you connected them to a computer.

Your phone’s internal storage would pop up as soon as you made a USB connection and you could start transferring files immediately.

However, the later Android versions do not let this connection happen automatically for security reasons.

Once you connect your phone to a computer, it’ll in most cases say something close to “No data transfer.”

When you check your notification bar, you’ll see several choices to choose from before you are able to transfer files across the two devices.

If you always use the same computer alone and trust it with your phone data, you may want to set it to file transfer mode as the default USB connection for convenience. Here’s how to go about it.

Turn On Developer Options

To be able to set your phone’s default setting to file transfer mode—you’ll have to enable Developer options from the settings menu.

This setting is usually hidden in the About phone section if you’ve never used it before.

Devices from different manufacturers vary slightly in the settings section but it’s nothing to worry about.

Go to Settings>About phone>Software information and then tap Build number seven times in quick succession (sounds weird but this is how it should be done!).

You may need to enter your security PIN or password before enabling Developer options depending on your security settings.

Once you complete the process, you should see the prompt “You are now a developer” at the bottom of your screen. Developer options are now enabled.

Enable File Transfer Mode

The Developer options menu should be at or near the bottom of your Settings menu.

If you cannot find the menu—go to Settings>System>Advanced—you should find Developer options here.

Once you get to Developer options, scroll down until you find the Default USB configuration option and click.

You should see all the available USB connection options. Select the Transferring files or File transfer option.

Now you can leave the settings menu and plug your Android phone into your PC. After a connection has been established, your phone should connect to file transfer mode automatically.

Remember to check your phone in case it requires you to Allow access from your PC.

Wrapping Up

Setting up file transfer mode as the default connection when connecting your phone to a PC is quite simple as explained above.

Also, if you’d like other options such as USB tethering to be your default setting—the procedure is identical. All you have to do is specify the type of connection you want.