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Help Android File Transfer (for Mac) "Could not connect to device"

lotus49

Android Expert
May 9, 2011
1,513
232
Yorkshire
I have installed Android File Transfer on my Mac but, although it recognises when the phone is connected and autostarts, I get the error message "Could not connect to device. Try connecting or restarting your device."

Connecting doesn't work (it's already connected but disconnecting and reconnecting doesn't either) and nor does restarting.

Has anyone got this to work on their S4?
 
Did everything recommended to get this to work including ALL of the above. Consistently my phone was not recognized and I gave up.

Did you just delete the app or did you use the uninstaller that came with it?

If you did just delete it. Reinstall it then use the uninstaller. Then reboot your computer. That's what I did and it FINALLY worked. Hope that works for you.
 
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Did you just delete the app or did you use the uninstaller that came with it?

If you did just delete it. Reinstall it then use the uninstaller. Then reboot your computer. That's what I did and it FINALLY worked. Hope that works for you.

I deleted the app and reinstalled and uninstalled on 2-3 different occasions. I re-booted so many times in conjunction with doing this I have a few pair of boots ;).

Unfortunately, none of this worked for me. Thanks anyway.
 
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I had this problem and spent quite a bit of time trying to sort it out. I kept uninstalling Kies via the download and restarting. In the end it worked. Don't know whether it was because I did it enough times, or that instead of restarting my mac laptop I did a complete shut down and then turned it on again. The other thing I did was that whilst I was connected to the mac I switched between the connection settings, from media to camera and then back again.... Thanks for all the advice guys.
 
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I had this problem too and fixed it after reading this thread (thanks Canesfan). Here are the steps which worked for me:

(I am running Mac)

1. To uninstall Kies, I ran the 'dmg' file which I had downloaded last week (KiesMac_2.0.0.13023_10_1.dmg) That is the same file which was used to instal Kies just a week ago.
2. chose to uninstall Kies
3. Rebooted after uninstall
4. I then plugged in my phone (Note 2) and ran Android File Transfer, and it worked! first time.
 
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I'm very grateful for this. It all works perfectly as set out - on my new Note 3. Files to and fro of all types. Reminds me of an ancient System 7 or thereabouts application called "Apple File exchange" you used to have to use to deal with loading fonts into the system.

Tested all sorts of data every which way both to/from phone and to/from MicroSD card, created my own directories on the card and everything. The Mac certainly can't read that card in a card reader.

So now how do I back up the entire phone - everything - to a Mac drive?

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My Android File Transfer was working just fine yesterday, but now it only recognizes files on my "phone" but not on my "card". When I click on the "card" tab a window pops up with a message similar to "if your device is locked, unlock and reconnect USB". My phone is unlocked and I even tried in the "debugging" mode. I have also restarted my device (MacBook Pro) several times. I am using a Galaxy S4. Help! :)
 
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My Android File Transfer was working just fine yesterday, but now it only recognizes files on my "phone" but not on my "card". When I click on the "card" tab a window pops up with a message similar to "if your device is locked, unlock and reconnect USB". My phone is unlocked and I even tried in the "debugging" mode. I have also restarted my device (MacBook Pro) several times. I am using a Galaxy S4. Help! :)

It's very flaky. Apple needs to deal with this problem.

You rebooted your Mac. Did you reboot the phone? You unplugged the cable and replugged it? The cable/plugs are undamaged? Did you remove and reseat the card?

You removed Kies, completely, right?
 
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Problem:
Android File Transfer Not Working with Samsung Device : Error message Can't access device storage : if your device's screen is locked, disconnect it's USB cable, unlock your screen, and then reconnect the USB cable.

My Fix worked on a Galaxy Tab 3

Fix:
From the home screen go to Settings / More settings / Media share / Nearby devices / File sharing. Make sure the box next to File sharing is checked. Worked for me, hope this helps.:)
 
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I used to face the same problems... I uninstalled Kies using the kies uninstaller and then tried executing the android file transfer software.. and it worked flawlessly...

Kies used to hang frequently while copying files from fone to my mac... but as mentioned in one of the threads here.. I un-installed kies and tried Android file transfer and it worked.

thanks..
 
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