Transfer photos from flash drive to phone

Method 1: wired connection

The simplest option is to connect the flash drive to the phone with a special cable. This feature is ed by almost all modern smartphones running Android and iPhone with iOS 13 or higher.

Android

For Android phones, you will need to buy an OTG adapter; they are inexpensive and can be purchased at any major store or online. It is also recommended to install the USB OTG Checker utility, which will check the quality of the connection.

USB OTG Checker from Google Play Store

1. 1. Make sure the target flash drive is formatted to FAT32 or exFAT, as Android doesn't work with NTFS. See also: How to Format a USB Flash Drive to FAT32
   2. Then connect the adapter to the smartphone and the unit. In some firmware with OTG , the system will immediately report the connection, while in others you will need to open the USB OTG Checker and check the status yourself.
   3. Open the file manager (even the ones that are built into the firmware will work) and go to the external media it contains; these are usually the letters USB in the name. Find the images you want, select them and copy them; In most applications, a separate button or menu item is responsible for this.
   4. Now go to the phone: its internal memory or SD card. Select a suitable directory or create a new one, go to it, tap from scratch and use the insert option.

The photos will move and can be viewed through the gallery.

iOS

This method works similarly for Apple smartphones, with two differences: the adapter looks different, and no additional software is required.

1. 1. Connect the adapter, flash drive and phone, then open la enforcement Archives on your iPhone.
   2. Call element "Examine" , then go to item "Places" , where you touch the item with the unit name.
   3. Open the catalog with photos, select the ones you need with a long touch, then do another long press. A context menu appears with the move and copy options. For the latter, click on the desired item, then return to the menu "Places" and select the option «On iPhone» , which is responsible for the internal storage of the phone. Then go to one of the directories, long tap again and select "Paste" Motion pictures follow a similar algorithm, but the destination directory is selected in a separate window: specify the position of the previous paragraph and click "Move" .

Method 2: Dedicated Lightning Drives (iPhone)

For iPhones with iOS 12 and earlier versions, the solution to this problem will be special accessories: flash drives or card readers with a Lightning connector.

To work with such peripherals, you will need to special software, which is available for free in the Apple store.

iXpand Drive, Leef iBridge, Kingston Bolt from the App Store

We will show how to work with the accessory and companion app using the Leef iBridge example.

1. 1. 1. Run the utility and its main menu, select «Transfer photos» ( «Transfer these photos» ).
      2. To move images, touch thebutton. «From iBridge to Camera Roll» and then don't forget to grant permission for access.
      3. Se will open the Directory «IBridge Photos» ; select the required images on it, then tap the button "Copy …" at the bottom of the screen.
      4. At the end of the procedure, click "Clever" .

This method is more time consuming than the OTG connection, but it is the only one available for newer iPhones.

Method 3: use a computer

Another versatile option is to use a PC as an intermediary. It is not the fastest and most convenient, but it guarantees a positive result. All the subtleties of the procedure are described in the articles below, so we recommend using them when solving the task.

Read more:
How to transfer files from a USB flash drive to a computer
How to transfer files from a computer to a phone

The phone does not recognize the USB flash drive

The most common problem that both Android smartphone and iPhone owners can face. Most of the time, this means that the drive is formatted with an incompatible file system, for example NTFS. Therefore, the solution will be to format the flash drive in FAT32 or exFAT, according to the instructions in step 1 of the "Android" option of the first method.

It will also be helpful to check the overall performance of the drive; the easiest way to do this is by using a computer to which the problem device must be connected. If the PC doesn't see it, there is a problem. Methods for their removal are described in a separate article.

Read more: What to do if the computer does not see the USB flash drive