Smartphones are our portable window to the world. Thanks to technological advancements, we can access the internet with it, talk to friends - domestic and abroad, play games with them, and even become our office away from work.

However, there will come a time when something happens to these devices that we must back them up to our computers. These events range from the mundane such as having a technician repair it due to a broken screen or faulty hardware to more serious ones, such as a hack.

For this article, let's talk about how to back up Android phones to a computer through a USB cable and even wirelessly.

How To Back Up An Android Phone With A USB Cable

There are many ways to back up an Android phone, thanks to Google's AndroidOS being versatile enough to handle multiple methods. People normally think that backing up an Android phone would require a USB cable - a thought not entirely wrong as it is the most common backup method. 

However, thanks to the previously mentioned technological advancements, people can now back up their phones online or even to their PC through a wireless connection. Cloud Sevices like Google Drive, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure are also good options, though their free use comes with limited storage space - a commodity sorely needed if you have a packed phone.

Let's start with the most common method: backing up an Android phone through a USB cable. According to Airdroid, this backup method is ideal if an Android phone user's primary objective is to transfer photos, videos, and documents to their computer. 

To do so, Android users need to get a hold of a properly functioning USB cable that fits their phone's port. Most phones nowadays require a USB-C cable, usually included in the phone's box on purchase.

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Once that's done, they can plug the cable into their phone and computer to establish a connection and follow the following steps:

1. Pull down the phone's notification panel and tap on "Charging This Device via USB" notification. Doing so will make a pop-up message appear.
2. From the pop-up message, go to the "Use USB to" or "Use USB For" and select "transfer Files or File Transfer." A notification will appear on the computer the phone is connected to.
3. Click on the notification to get a pop-up message and then click on "Open Device To View Files" option.
4. Find the files you wish to back up to your computer and copy and paste them from your phone's storage to your computer's.

How To Back Up An Android Phone Wirelessly

As previously mentioned, backing up an Android phone is also possible through a wireless connection like Wi-Fi, though you'd probably need a third-party app like Feem to complete the process, per Wondershare.

To back up an Android phone through Wi-Fi, follow these steps:

1. Set your Android device as a mobile hotspot and then connect your computer with this connection.
2. Log into the third-party file transfer app of your choice.
3. Select your PC as the destination device and Click on "Send File." After which, browse for the file you want to send and then click "Send."

Using this method may cost you money, but thankfully, Bluetooth is another way to back up Android phones wirelessly. However, this method comes with a super slow transfer speed, per Android Police.

 To do so, Android phone users should follow these instructions:

1. Enable Bluetooth on your phone and PC. 
2. Click on "Add Bluetooth or other device" on the Bluetooth settings window and search for your phone. Once located, select your phone to pair your PC with it.
3. Check if the pin that appears on the computer is the same as on your phone. If it matches, click "yes" on your computer.
4. Locate the file you want to transfer; tap the "Share" icon and select "Bluetooth.
5. Right-click on the Bluetooth icon on your computer's taskbar and click "Receive a file" and then select your phone to begin the transfer process. The file is normally saved to your "My Documents" folder, but it can be changed to your preference.

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