How Do I Get Music On My Phone?

[gdgbb]

First off, I'm not a phone or computer tech in any way and can only do, and only want to do, the basics that I need a phone for, calls and messages.  I would, however, like to get music on my Android phone but need pointing in the right direction.  I have some music on my computer but when I copied it to the phone it couldn't play it.  That music had been copied from CDs to my laptop.

 

I don't want to download something that I know nothing about that might cause problems on the phone such as viruses.  Hopefully there is an app that lets me search for what I want preferably free but paying isn't an issue if that's a better way to go.  Any suggestions?

[JaseTheBass]

Strange - The Google Play Music app that you might already have (if not, get it from the Play Store) will play virtually anything. If it doesn't, I'd say you didn't actually copy music files over.

[Halfaboy]

Could you please inform me on how to actually copy files from a harddisk to my phone ?

[tutsiwarrior]

^^^yeah...this was a question that I had...I am a new 'smartfone' user and have a new zenfone and have discovered that a bunch of 'apps' are required to transfer files (music, etc) from my laptop to the phone...this is ridiculous as with an old nokia keypad dumbfone you simply plug it in (USB) to the laptop and the device appears in the laptop windows file explorer as another drive, drag and drop and etc...

 

'smart' phones are a trick on dumbfone users...

 

(tutsi takes cover)

[BrainLife]

Several ways here explained:

 

https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/1101500?hl=en

Edited November 29, 2016 by BrainLife

[Cheops]

Depending on what music you would like to play you could consider Spotify or Deezer etc. 

 

Of course you will need Internet for these streaming services, but mobile Internet is very cheap in Thailand.

[Bredbury Blue]

Use a cable to plug your phone in to one of the ports of your computer that you'd plug a thumb drive in to.

Go to Explorer on your computer (where you see C drive, D drive, etc) and wait for computer find your phone.

If its a samsung phone, open the phone drive on your computer and look for a folder called Music. Copy and paste music files from computer to Music folder.

Open the music playing app on your phone and it should detect and play the files in the Music folder.

[tutsiwarrior]

20 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Use a cable to plug your phone in to one of the ports of your computer that you'd plug a thumb drive in to.

Go to Explorer on your computer (where you see C drive, D drive, etc) and wait for computer find your phone.

If its a samsung phone, open the phone drive on your computer and look for a folder called Music. Copy and paste music files from computer to Music folder.

Open the music playing app on your phone and it should detect and play the files in the Music folder.

 

this doesn't happen...like I said previously when I plug my new android phone into my computer there is no indication of it's existence in the file explorer...

 

the ASUS tech support folks referred me to various 'apps'...sheesh, if they can't get that one basic item right what's the point?

 

it's funny as when I go to unplug I check for the permissive in the lower right hand corner of the tool bar and the phone appears there: ' eject ASUS...'...but not in the file explorer...and that doesn't help me much...

 

 

[anfh]

You need to check some basic things, what format are you copying the music from CD to computer ?  It should really be in MP3 format as this is smallest file size etc. 

CD format is WAV, if you are copying this format it is unlikely to play on your phone ( the files will also take up a lot of space) 

 

if you sue a USB lead to your phone , you should be able to transfer using simple " copy and paste "  technique.

 

does your phone have an SD memory card slot ?

 

if so, I would suggest copying music direct to a card and using this in you phone for music only. Again, copying music to the card is easily done using " copy and paste ".

 

 

[gdgbb]

23 hours ago, JaseTheBass said:

Strange - The Google Play Music app that you might already have (if not, get it from the Play Store) will play virtually anything. If it doesn't, I'd say you didn't actually copy music files over.

Thanks, downloading that now.

[gdgbb]

56 minutes ago, Cheops said:

Depending on what music you would like to play you could consider Spotify or Deezer etc. 

 

Of course you will need Internet for these streaming services, but mobile Internet is very cheap in Thailand.

Thanks.  Got internet access.

[tutsiwarrior]

4 minutes ago, anfh said:

You need to check some basic things, what format are you copying the music from CD to computer ?  It should really be in MP3 format as this is smallest file size etc. 

CD format is WAV, if you are copying this format it is unlikely to play on your phone ( the files will also take up a lot of space) 

 

if you sue a USB lead to your phone , you should be able to transfer using simple " copy and paste "  technique.

 

does your phone have an SD memory card slot ?

 

if so, I would suggest copying music direct to a card and using this in you phone for music only. Again, copying music to the card is easily done using " copy and paste ".

 

 

 

yeah...I ended up removing the SD card from the phone and inserting it into the laptop to transfer the files...but, what I'm sayin' is that you shouldn't havta do that, that it should be auto available in the file explorer on plug in to the laptop...it's all 'apps, apps...thousands of apps...' total BS...

[gdgbb]

47 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Use a cable to plug your phone in to one of the ports of your computer that you'd plug a thumb drive in to.

Go to Explorer on your computer (where you see C drive, D drive, etc) and wait for computer find your phone.

If its a samsung phone, open the phone drive on your computer and look for a folder called Music. Copy and paste music files from computer to Music folder.

Open the music playing app on your phone and it should detect and play the files in the Music folder.

Thanks, it's not a Samsung but I'm trying everyone's suggestions.

[gdgbb]

16 minutes ago, anfh said:

You need to check some basic things, what format are you copying the music from CD to computer ?  It should really be in MP3 format as this is smallest file size etc. 

CD format is WAV, if you are copying this format it is unlikely to play on your phone ( the files will also take up a lot of space) 

 

if you sue a USB lead to your phone , you should be able to transfer using simple " copy and paste "  technique.

 

does your phone have an SD memory card slot ?

 

if so, I would suggest copying music direct to a card and using this in you phone for music only. Again, copying music to the card is easily done using " copy and paste ".

The music on my computer was copied directly from CDs playing through the laptop.  No idea what format.

I tried copying using the USB lead, the phone does have an SD card installed.

Thanks for your advice but "simple copying and pasting direct to the card" is not so simple for someone who doesn't know how to do it! 

[dddave]

I'd suggest those unfamiliar with loading music onto their Android phones to check "YouTube"

and see if there are any tutorials specific to your model phone showing how it is done.

Indeed, it can be tricky.  Most Android phones require you to enable "USB Debugging" in the settings menu under "Developer Options" however that option now seems to be hidden in Android 5.0 and later.

As another suggested, it is easier to copy music directly from your computer to a Micro SD memory card.  Many laptops now have a card slot that makes this easy but if your laptop does not have one, card readers that plug into your USB port are sold at most tech accessory stores.

If you have Win-7 or higher, it's just a case of dragging your music file to the memory card and dropping it in. 

[RichCor]

Suggestion: try searching YouTube to learn how to do a given task. At least seeing the video you'll know what you may be in for.

 

For MUSIC, you have the option of LIVE STREAMING it over WiFi or Mobile Internet via Music App or Youtube (this can really eat up your battery but can provide a broader selection of music), or actually copying select music files from your PC to your phone's memory and play them using a built-in music player or downloaded app (this option can save battery as it doesn't rely on a constant Internet connection). 

 

On Android phones the USB charging port is multi-tasking, but mostly it's in Charging Mode. If you want your phone to emulate a USB Memory Stick to transfer data to the phone then you'll need to enable MTP mode (the phone sometimes prompts you, if not then see your manufacturer's instruction, usually posted on their website). Enabling this option is sometimes a different process for each manufacturer, model, or current version of operating system. Again, see available instructions.

 

Given how complicated copying files, or even accessing them given new security restrictions, I tend to just download AirDroid and transfer the files over the WiFi connection using my browser pointed to the phone IP address.

[gdgbb]

26 minutes ago, gdgbb said:

The music on my computer was copied directly from CDs playing through the laptop.  No idea what format.

I tried copying using the USB lead, the phone does have an SD card installed.

Thanks for your advice but "simple copying and pasting direct to the card" is not so simple for someone who doesn't know how to do it! 

Just tried doing it again and got the music to the phone's SD card but when I try to play it I get a message "cannot play, file format not supported"

 

1 minute ago, dddave said:

I'd suggest those unfamiliar with loading music onto their Android phones to check "YouTube"

and see if there are any tutorials specific to your model phone showing how it is done.

Indeed, it can be tricky.  Most Android phones require you to enable "USB Debugging" in the settings menu under "Developer Options" however that option now seems to be hidden in Android 5.0 and later.

As another suggested, it is easier to copy music directly from your computer to a Micro SD memory card.  Many laptops now have a card slot that makes this easy but if your laptop does not have one, card readers that plug into your USB port are sold at most tech accessory stores.

If you have Win-7 or higher, it's just a case of dragging your music file to the memory card and dropping it in. 

I've had a look at YouTube but none of the presenters inspire any confidence and how do I know that I'm not going to be downloading someone's suggestion of a dodgy app?  That's what I want to avoid.

[dddave]

9 minutes ago, RichCor said:

Given how complicated copying files, or even accessing them given new security restrictions, I tend to just download AirDroid and transfer the files over the WiFi connection using my browser pointed to the phone IP address.

RC,

Interesting suggestion.  Do you put the AirDroid app on both the phone and the computer or just the phone?

[gdgbb]

I didn't realise it would be so difficult, looks like I going to remain music-less.  

 

I just wonder how all these people I see and hear listening to phone music manage it, surely everyone is not paying $10+ every month to Spotify?

 

Thanks for everyone's input anyway.

[Farma]

@tutsiwarrior

I think your problem is the usb cable. If it isn't a USB Data cable the computer won't recognise your phone. They look the same as a normal USB cable but have that little extra capability.

 

I have no problems downloading internet music free and copying it to my android using a USB data cable. It plays on the basic Samsung music app that came with the phone. I also find VLC player is a good app for other media files.

 

I've noticed a lot of Thais use JOOX for free music streaming and saving. I haven't used it myself.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Farma
extra info

[Tigger01]

I use an APP called Videoder which I have found to be great and free. You can download music only or video's and watch them/listen whenever..

[RichCor]

40 minutes ago, dddave said:

RC,

Interesting suggestion.  Do you put the AirDroid app on both the phone and the computer or just the phone?

 

The app just runs on your phone, it provided remote access via IP address or AirDroid account. 

 

 

[Deepinthailand]

Another way is to use your SD card to hold the music on. buy and sd card of you haven't got one and a sd USB stick  (basically you put the sd card into the USB stick and plug it into your computer) Copy music onto sd card put sd card back into phone and open google play music or any other music app you have on phone. and away you go. saves using your phone memory.

You can also copy onto sd card when you plug your phone into computer if it's inserted it should ask you were you want to copy music to select SD card.

[Brock]

The music will need to be in the MP3 format to play on your Android phone. So you need to convert the music from you cd to .mp3, windows media player can do this if you look at the settings.

 

When you connect the phone to your computer vis USB, you may need to open your phone, there may be a prompt to allow USB connection.

[malt25]

Why not take your new toy, smart phone, to where you bought it. Or, a larger phone reseller where a staff member might speak reasonable English. Ask for a tutorial & while they are at it, get them to load your music.

When I first came to LOS I was same as you, absolutely NO idea about such stuff. Went to a large AIS dealer & had them connect internet to my phone & at the same time give me a demo. Now have a bluetooth radio in my car & listen to radio from all over the world driving.

Don't give up, you'll really appreciate all the effort once you are all hooked up.

Good luck.

[Wazza1]

On 28/11/2016 at 5:21 PM, Halfaboy said:

Could you please inform me on how to actually copy files from a harddisk to my phone ?

 

To do his you will need 6 bottles of beer, a piece of rope, 4 sticks of chilli wors and a hammer. You will need to put them on a computer then use iTunes, if you have trouble drink the beer, eat the chilli wors, smash the phone with the hammer and hang yourself with the rope.

[drgoon]

Please tell us what brand and model phone you have. It may help us to assist you further.

 

Some phones require you to go into..

Settings and find Developer Options

go to..

USB Debugging and check the box to Allow debug mode when USB is connected.

 

As others have posted previously you should be able to play most files if you have the right app loaded on your phone.

 

However, some phones have their own idiosyncrasies and may need the files converted to .mp3 before transferring to the phone storage or memory card.

 

Stick with it. This is good stuff to learn... keeps the brain active.

 

[mutha289]

I have a Samsung android and have noticed that the cord that I use to connect it to my computer makes a big difference. If I use the cheap one I bought at the discount store the phone will not charge nearly as quickly as it normally should and my computer will not recognize that the phone is connected to it. When I use the cord that came with the phone then the computer has no problems recognizing when the phone is connected. Point being, make sure you are using original equipment when trying to transfer files to or from your phone. Otherwise you will need to pull your memory card from your phone and transfer files directly to it, which you mentioned you resorted to.

[Confuscious]

22 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

 

this doesn't happen...like I said previously when I plug my new android phone into my computer there is no indication of it's existence in the file explorer...

 

the ASUS tech support folks referred me to various 'apps'...sheesh, if they can't get that one basic item right what's the point?

 

it's funny as when I go to unplug I check for the permissive in the lower right hand corner of the tool bar and the phone appears there: ' eject ASUS...'...but not in the file explorer...and that doesn't help me much...

 

 

 

When you connect your phone with the computer trough an USB cable, your handphone will select HOW you want to use the connection.

 

If you chose for "only charging", no drive will show up in your computer.

You need to chose "Media Device" or "Extra harddisk".

You should also know that some phone models (eg. OPPO and LENOVO) require their own software to connect them with your computer.
 

If you want to be able to communicate between the phone and your computer without worries, install MOBOGENIE.
This application shows your phone whenever you connect it without the extra menus and let you copy everything you want from your computer to your phone and vice-versa.

HTH

 

 

[tutsiwarrior]

47 minutes ago, Confuscious said:

 

When you connect your phone with the computer trough an USB cable, your handphone will select HOW you want to use the connection.

 

If you chose for "only charging", no drive will show up in your computer.

You need to chose "Media Device" or "Extra harddisk".

You should also know that some phone models (eg. OPPO and LENOVO) require their own software to connect them with your computer.
 

If you want to be able to communicate between the phone and your computer without worries, install MOBOGENIE.
This application shows your phone whenever you connect it without the extra menus and let you copy everything you want from your computer to your phone and vice-versa.

HTH

 

 

 

 

thanks for your advice...which mobogenie app do I need for file transfers form PC to handset?

 

but see...this is what I'm talkin' about...when you plug the phone into the PC the device should be auto detected by the explorer without any stupid 'apps' or selecting the purpose for the plug in and etc...if a dumb phone can do this what's wrong with goddam 'smartphones'?

 

like the old miner said in Treasure of the sierra madre: dumber than the dumbest jackass...

 

mighty tempted to go back to a keypad handset but need to give it a chance first...there are other features that make smartphones useful...