My Galaxy S24 Ultra and Windows laptop ought to make short work of a file copy. A single large video moves along reasonably well, but a folder packed with smaller files can turn File Explorer’s progress bar into a drawn-out affair.

The cable isn’t always the problem. Android still relies on a file-transfer protocol developed when digital cameras were a much bigger deal.

MTP makes fast hardware wait for paperwork

One video sails through, smaller files queue

When you plug your Android phone into a Windows PC and select File transfer, the two devices generally communicate using Media Transfer Protocol (MTP). It has its roots in Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP), which was originally used by digital cameras, and still relies on a command-and-response system where Windows asks the phone for information or files and waits for a response.

Because of this constant back-and-forth, your computer’s File Explorer handles your phone differently than a regular flash drive. Android doesn’t just let Windows read your phone’s storage directly. Instead, Windows sees your phone as a collection of individual objects, each with its own ID and details. Every time you open a folder, Windows has to ask your phone, “What’s in here? How big is this file? What’s it named?” That extra paperwork becomes particularly noticeable when you’re dealing with lots of small files.

I tested this out on my Galaxy S24 Ultra, and the difference was night and day.

• One giant 10GB video took 7 minutes and 32 seconds to copy over to my Windows laptop.
• A folder full of small files that added up to the exact same 10GB took a whopping 38 minutes and 12 seconds.

That means it took more than five times as long to move the exact same amount of data!

The blame mostly goes to MTP’s file-by-file lag, though your phone’s internal storage and how Windows handles files play a part too. A single massive video requires very little housekeeping, while a packed folder means Windows has to make request after request, sort out details, and transfer each file one at a time.

My phone has a fast USB 3.2 port that can theoretically pump out speeds up to 5Gbps with the right cable and port. While that’s a lot of speed on paper, a faster connection can’t cut the extra work of handling every single file.

Android didn’t keep MTP for nostalgia

The flash-drive approach had strings attached

Older Android phones sometimes used USB Mass Storage, which lets a computer access the phone’s storage much like an ordinary flash drive. That sounds great in theory, but it came with a major catch. Giving the computer direct access meant unmounting that storage volume from Android, leaving apps that depended on it unable to access their files until the connection was closed. It also didn’t work well as Android moved toward using one big pool of internal memory for everything.

To fix this, Android adopted MTP. With it, your phone stays in control of its files while Windows requests access to the content Android exposes. Both sides can keep using the storage, which is a big reason Android’s compatibility guidelines favor MTP over USB Mass Storage.

MTP also explains something you may have noticed in File Explorer. Your phone shows up under This PC as a portable device, not as a regular drive with its own letter, like D: or E:. Because of that, some programs that expect a normal file path can’t work with it the same way.

You can dodge some of the waiting

Give File Explorer fewer jobs to do

The best way to speed things up depends on what’s causing the slowdown, so it’s smart to check the basics before trying anything complicated.

• Check the whole USB connection: Unlock your phone, select File transfer from the USB options, and use a cable rated for USB 3 data speeds with a compatible port on your computer. A USB-C connector alone guarantees nothing about speed, and the tiny symbols next to USB-C ports can offer useful clues.
• Bundle small files first: If you’re moving hundreds of screenshots or documents, make a ZIP file on your phone, then extract it on your PC. This gives MTP one large file to transfer instead of hundreds of smaller ones. Creating the archive takes time and temporary storage, though, and photos are usually compressed already, so don’t expect much space savings. Windows can handle ZIP files on its own, while NanaZip offers additional options.
• Try ADB if you move lots of files often: Android Debug Bridge (ADB) has commands like adb pull and adb push that give you another way to access files you’re allowed to access. You’ll need Google’s Platform Tools, and you’ll have to turn on USB debugging and approve the computer as trusted. If you don’t mind typing commands, these handy ADB commands are a good place to start. ADB transfers files through its own debugging connection rather than File Explorer’s MTP interface, although it isn’t guaranteed to be faster.
• Think about ditching the cable: Google’s Quick Share can send files between Android and Windows over your local Wi-Fi. For simple transfers, there’s a good argument for using Quick Share instead of Phone Link. Other Android-to-Windows tools like PlainApp offer different ways to access your files, but your Wi-Fi and setup will affect how well they work.

If you’ve got a really stubborn batch of files, there’s one more option: a USB-C flash drive, as long as your phone can read storage devices. Copy the files from your phone to the drive, then plug the drive into your PC. That skips the usual phone-to-Windows MTP connection. It’s an extra step, so whether it’s worth the trouble depends on how much you’re moving.

I’d settle for one uneventful file transfer

Somewhere between a fast USB port and Windows’ progress bar, moving a folder still turns into a small logistical exercise. I’d happily settle for plugging in my phone, dragging the files across, and getting on with my day. That doesn’t seem like an outrageous request.