Move your Video between phone and computer

Your download is an ordinary video file (MP4), so any phone or computer can play it. Here is how to get it onto the device you want to watch on.

On this page

The easiest way: nothing to move

  • Download it straight onto the device you want it on. Open iOwnDigital on that phone or computer, sign in, open the video and press Download. This uses one of your three downloads.
  • Or simply stream it. Any device you have approved can watch the video whenever you like, as often as you like, without downloading anything.
  • Moving a file you have already downloaded is handy when you would rather keep your downloads, or the other device has a poor connection. The steps below show how.

My Library

Moving a file you already have

A video is a large file, often several gigabytes. Keep both devices charging, check there is room on the one receiving it, and wait until the copy has finished before you unplug anything.

iPhone and Mac

AirDrop

  1. Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both, and keep them close to each other.
  2. From the Mac: in Finder, Control-click the video, choose Share, then AirDrop, and pick your iPhone.
  3. On the iPhone, tap Accept if it asks. The video appears in the Photos app.
  4. From the iPhone: open the video in Photos or Files, tap the Share button, tap AirDrop and pick your Mac. On the Mac it lands in the Downloads folder.

iCloud Drive and the Files app

  1. On the Mac, open Finder and drag the video into iCloud Drive in the sidebar. Wait until it has finished uploading.
  2. On the iPhone, open the Files app, tap Browse, then iCloud Drive, and find the video.
  3. Tap the video to download it and play it.
  4. The other way works the same: on the iPhone, tap Share, then Save to Files, and choose iCloud Drive. Then find it in iCloud Drive in Finder on the Mac.

Free iCloud storage is 5 GB, which a video can fill on its own. If it does not fit, use AirDrop.

iPhone and Windows

The Apple Devices app, with a USB cable

  1. On the PC (Windows 10 or later), install Apple Devices from the Microsoft Store.
  2. On the iPhone, install a video player that can take files from a computer, for example VLC for Mobile (free on the App Store).
  3. Connect the iPhone to the PC with a USB cable. Unlock the iPhone, and tap Trust if it asks.
  4. In Apple Devices, select your iPhone in the sidebar, then select Files. The apps that can take files are listed.
  5. Drag the video from File Explorer onto the player (VLC) in that list. It is copied straight away.
  6. On the iPhone, open that player to watch the video.

To copy a video from the iPhone to the PC, select the player in the same Files list, select the video, click Save and choose a folder.

iCloud for Windows

  1. On the PC, install iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store and sign in with your Apple Account.
  2. Turn on iCloud Drive in it. An iCloud Drive folder appears in File Explorer.
  3. Copy the video into that folder and wait until it has finished uploading.
  4. On the iPhone, open the Files app, tap Browse, then iCloud Drive, and tap the video.

Free iCloud storage is 5 GB, which a video can fill on its own.

Android and Windows

A USB cable (File transfer)

  1. Unlock the phone and connect it to the PC with a USB cable.
  2. On the phone, tap the "Charging this device via USB" notification.
  3. Under "Use USB for", choose File transfer.
  4. On the PC, a window for the phone opens in File Explorer. Drag the video into the phone's Movies or Download folder (or from the phone onto the PC).
  5. When it has finished, eject the phone in Windows, then unplug the cable.

Some phones word these slightly differently, for example "Transferring files".

Quick Share

  1. On the PC (64-bit Windows 10 or later), install Quick Share for Windows from Google's website (android.com/quickshare). On a Samsung PC, use Samsung's Quick Share from the Microsoft Store.
  2. Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both, connect them to the same network, and keep them close.
  3. From the PC: open Quick Share, drag the video into its window, and pick your phone. Accept on the phone.
  4. From the phone: open the video in the Files app, tap Share, then Quick Share, and pick the PC. Accept on the PC.

Google Drive

  1. On the PC, go to drive.google.com, sign in, and drag the video into the page. Wait until it has finished uploading.
  2. On the phone, open the Google Drive app and find the video.
  3. Tap the three dots next to it, then Download. It is saved in the phone's Download folder.

Free Google storage is 15 GB, shared with Gmail and Google Photos.

Android and Mac

Google Drive

  1. On the Mac, go to drive.google.com, sign in, and drag the video into the page. Wait until it has finished uploading.
  2. On the phone, open the Google Drive app and find the video.
  3. Tap the three dots next to it, then Download. It is saved in the phone's Download folder.

The other way works the same: upload from the Drive app on the phone, then download it from drive.google.com on the Mac.

A USB transfer app, such as OpenMTP

  1. A Mac cannot open an Android phone over USB by itself, and Google's old Android File Transfer app is no longer supported. Install a transfer app instead, for example OpenMTP (free, openmtp.ganeshrvel.com).
  2. Unlock the phone and connect it to the Mac with a USB cable. In the phone's USB notification, choose File transfer.
  3. Open OpenMTP. The Mac is on the left and the phone on the right: drag the video across, either way.

Only one app can use the phone's USB connection at a time, so close any other phone app on the Mac first.

These steps follow Apple's and Google's own help pages (checked 30 September 2026). Menus can change a little between versions.

Stuck? Write to us and we will help: support@iowndigital.com