How to transfer Data Between Windows Phone and Computer

Move music, photos, and videos between my computer and my phone

There are all sorts of ways to get your music, photos, videos, and ringtones between your phone and your computer using the cloud, but sometimes the fastest way is the old-fashioned way—plugging your phone into your computer and using an app. To be more precise, a Windows Phone app for your computer. These apps also make it easy to figure out what to remove if you're running out of storage space on your phone.

The app you'll use depends on the kind of computer you have, and what you'd like to do. If you have Windows 7 or Windows 8, just plug your phone into your computer with a cable, and your computer will tell you how to get the right app. If you have Windows Vista or Windows XP, you'll need to use Windows Explorer to copy things between your phone and computer. If you use a Mac, go to the App store and search for the Windows Phone app.

Which apps work on which computers?

	Windows Phone app	Windows Phone app for desktop	Windows Phone app for Mac	Windows Explorer
Windows 8
Windows 8 RT
Windows 7
Windows Vista/XP
Mac

What can I do with the app?

	Windows Phone app	Windows Phone app for desktop	Windows Phone app for Mac	Windows Explorer
Automatically copy photos and videos to your computer when you plug in your phone
Move music, photos, videos, and ringtones between your phone and your computer
Sync music, photos, videos, and ringtones between your phone and your computer
Sync with iTunes
Copy documents between your phone and your computer
Keep track of how much available space you have on your phone
Move music, photos, videos, and ringtones between your phone and your SD card

Notes

• If you use a password to lock your phone, you'll need to unlock your phone before you can use these apps and Windows Explorer.
• The Windows Phone app for desktop (Beta version) is not available in all markets.
• Some protected (DRM) media files can't be copied or synced between your PC and your Windows Phone.