How do I move a bunch of photos and videos that are precious to me from multiple phones into 1 Usb drive?

Discussion & Solutions
1

Ive tried mega’s, online file sharing, and just direct where I just connect my phone to my laptop. The last one worked very well but takes a long time when moving file to file and not directly on the usb.

2 Likes
2

Maybe LocalSend will work for you.

2 Likes
3

:camera_with_flash: All your phones’ photos onto one USB stick — the stick goes into the phone, no laptop, minutes not hours

  📱 Android ────────── USB-C ──────────▶ 💾 stick        ~6 min per 10 GB
  🍎 iPhone 15+ ─────── USB-C ──────────▶ 💾 stick        ~6 min per 10 GB
  📱📱📱 many phones ── Wi-Fi ─▶ 💻 laptop ─▶ 💾 stick   2 GB in 80 seconds

One thing first, once: plug the stick into a laptop → right-click it → Format → exFAT → Start. Ten seconds. Skip it and any video over 4 GB silently refuses to copy.

:mobile_phone: Android — stick into the phone

  • plug the stick into the charging port (a $5 USB-C adapter when the stick is the wide shape)
  • tap the USB available notice → Allow
  • open Files by Google → Browse → Images
  • tap ⋮ → Select → Select all
  • tap ⋮ → Copy to → your stick → Copy here
  • do the same for Videos
  • pull down the notice bar → Eject

Done when the copy bar finishes and the stick shows the same number of items as the gallery.

Samsung — one button instead:

  • Settings → search Smart Switch → open it
  • tap the SD-card icon top right
  • Back up to → SD card or USB storage
  • tick Photos and Videos → Back up

:red_apple: iPhone 15 or newer — stick into the phone

  • first: Settings → your name → iCloud → Photos → Download and Keep Originals — wait on Wi-Fi
  • plug a USB-C stick into the bottom
  • open Photos → Select → drag across everything
  • tap Share → Export Unmodified Original
  • tap your stick → Save

Done when Files → your stick shows the photos.

Older iPhone with the wide charging port — send it to any Android that holds the stick:

  • install LocalSend on the iPhone and on the Android, same Wi-Fi
  • Android: plug the stick in → LocalSend → Settings → Receive → Destination → the stick
  • iPhone: Photos → Select All → Share → LocalSend → the Android’s name
  • Android: Accept

Apple’s own route is a $39 Lightning camera adapter with the charger plugged into its side port.

:mobile_phone::mobile_phone::mobile_phone: Many phones at once — one laptop, everybody sends

  • stick into the laptop
  • install LocalSend on the laptop and on every phone, same Wi-Fi
  • laptop: Settings → Destination → Change → the stick → new folder → Select Folder
  • laptop: Advanced settings → Encryption OFF — this alone makes it 15× faster
  • laptop: Quick Save ON
  • every phone: Send → Media → Select all → tap the laptop’s name — all at the same time
  • wait until each phone says Finished

Done when each phone’s folder on the stick matches its gallery count.

:white_check_mark: Before you delete anything on a phone

  • count — open the stick’s folder, press Ctrl+A, read the item count at the bottom; it equals the gallery
  • prove — TeraCopy (free) → right-click the folder → TeraCopy → tick Verify → Copy; every file shows a double checkmark

:wrench: The other cases — open the one that is yours

💻 Laptop + cable was slow — make it fast without typing anything
  • phone: Files by Google → Browse → Internal storage
  • tap ⋮ next to DCIM → Compress → name it → Compress
  • plug the phone into the laptop → pull down the notice → File transfer
  • laptop: drag the one .zip onto the stick
  • right-click it → Extract All → the stick

One big file crosses at full speed. Ten thousand small ones crawl at 1 MB/s — that was the slowness.

⚡ Fastest of all — 8.4 GB in 4 minutes with Google's free tool
  • laptop: download Platform-Tools → unzip → open the platform-tools folder
  • phone: Settings → About phone → tap Build number 7 times
  • Settings → System → Developer options → USB debugging ON
  • plug in → tick Always allow → Allow
  • in the folder: Shift + right-click → Open in Terminal
  • type adb pull -a /sdcard/DCIM E:\Phone1 (E: = the stick) → Enter
  • same line again with /sdcard/Pictures, /sdcard/Movies, /sdcard/Download
  • after: Developer options → Revoke USB debugging authorizations
🩹 Broken screen or dead touch — the photos still come out
  • the Platform-Tools folder from the drawer above, plus scrcpy unzipped next to it
  • plug the phone in
  • run scrcpy --otg — the laptop mouse now drives the phone
  • click Always allow → Allow on the phone’s screen shown on the laptop
  • type adb pull /sdcard/DCIM E:\Phone3 → Enter
🧬 Same photo on five phones — keep it once
  • download Czkawka (free) → open it
  • Duplicate Files
  • Add Directory → each phone’s folder on the stick
  • right-click the folder with your best copies → Mark as Reference Path
  • Scan → Select → All → Delete
💬 WhatsApp, Telegram, screenshots — photos outside the camera roll

Copy these folders too, same way as the camera roll:

  • DCIM/Screenshots
  • Pictures · Movies · Download
  • Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Images and WhatsApp Video
  • Telegram/Telegram Images and Telegram Video

Sending a photo to yourself on WhatsApp shrinks it 20× and strips the date. Paperclip → Document keeps it whole.

🏠 No laptop, no adapter, the whole house — the router is the stick
  • stick into the router’s USB port
  • phone browser → tplinkwifi.net / router.asus.com / routerlogin.net → log in
  • USB → turn on Samba (Asus: Network Place) → Save
  • Android: Cx File Explorer → Network → New Location → SMB → the router address → OK → Local → hold DCIM → Copy → Network → the share → Paste
  • iPhone: Files → ⋯ → Connect to Server → smb:// + the router address → then Photos → Select → Share → Save to Files → the share

Slow — leave it overnight with the screen awake.

🗓️ Are the dates still right?
  • right-click any photo on the stick → Properties → Details → Date taken
  • that is the real date — ignore Date modified

:inbox_tray: Start now: format the stick, plug it into the first phone, tick the boxes.

1 Like