Change USB preferences

Available USB modes

File transfer: Allow all types of files to transfer from your phone to another device.

USB tethering: Share your phone's mobile data connection with another device.

MIDI: Connect electronic musical instruments.

PTP: Allow only photos to transfer from your phone to another device.

No data transfer: Charge battery over USB.

Change USB mode

The default USB mode is No data transfer, which means your connection is charging the phone only. To allow your phone to communicate across USB for anything other than charging the phone, you need to change the USB connection mode.

From the pop-up

  1. Connect your phone to another device using your USB cable.

    You'll see a pop-up that lets you choose the connection mode.

  2. Tap the mode you want to use. If you can't see the mode, tap to open the full settings screen, then select it.

From notifications

  1. With your phone connected to another device using your USB cable, swipe down from the top of the screen and look for the notification, which shows your current USB mode.
  2. Tap if needed.
  3. Tap the notification for more options.
  4. Tap the mode you want to use.

From Settings

  1. With your phone connected to another device using your USB cable, go to Settings > Connected devices > USB.
  2. Under Use USB for, select a mode.

Keep in charging mode only

If you don't want to see a pop-up with choices of USB modes when you connect your phone to a device, you can turn the pop-up off. The mode defaults to No data transfer, for charging. And to change modes, you can use the notification or Settings app.

To turn off the pop-up:

  1. With your phone connected to another device using your USB cable, go to Settings > Connected devices > USB.
  2. Turn Show pop-up to choose the desired mode off .