Question: How do I transfer photos from Razr phone to Mac OSX? I'm really looking for something free and I hope you can point me in the right direction!
Answer: Good news for Mac users - I was able to do this using my Macbook which has Bluetooth built-in, and without using any additional software (sorry Windows users - you'll have to buy third-party software to do this, which I wrote about here).
Enable Bluetooth on your phone
You'll first need to enable your phone's BlueTooth settings to make it visible to your PC or Mac, since at least on mine it shipped with Bluetooth disabled.
On a Razr phone use the following menu options to enable Bluetooth:
Settings --> Connection --> BlueTooth Link --> Setup --> Find Me
This will tell your phone to broadcast a Bluetooth signal to your laptop for about 60 seconds - plenty of time for your laptop to recognize the signal and "discover" the device.
Pair up your cell phone with your laptop
"Pairing" is another word for starting a conversation between your cell phone and your computer, with Bluetooth as the language.
For OS X on a Macbook, follow these steps:
- Open Applications --> Utilities --> Bluetooth Setup Assistant.
- Select the "Mobile Phone" device type.
- Complete the pairing process.
You can also access the Bluetooth Setup Assistant by clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen, and selecting "Set up Bluetooth Device" from the menu.
Your laptop will now be paired with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. Next, select "Browse Device" from the Bluetooth menu. Choose "Motorola Phone" from the list of Bluetooth devices.
You should see a "Browse" button that'll let you see the folders on your Razr phone. Pictures will be in the picture folder, ringtones will be in the audio folder, and videos... well, you get the idea.
Just drag and drop the photos from your phone's picture folder to your computer. Bluetooth doesn't require any wires, and has a range of about 30 feet. You can even have your phone tucked away in your briefcase or backpack, and it'll still be able to communicate with your computer.
You can also transfer photos, videos, or ringtones from your computer to your cell phone the same way - just drop them in the right folder on your phone and Bluetooth will copy them over.
Hope that helps!
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- 18093 reads
Mary Ann (not verified) Says: Tue, 2007-11-06 21:39
Got working today...thanks to your info, Rick! Really appreciate your fast response! Amazing! You made it possible for me become even geekier today! Love it!
Mary Ann
Chris (not verified) Says: Sat, 2007-12-15 00:24
Thanks greatly for the info Ricky!
Mike (not verified) Says: Sat, 2007-12-22 17:26
Guess I'm screwed. I get a message that says "The device does not have the necessary services." I have a Sanyo SCP-3200.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Sun, 2008-04-06 13:41
I'm having trouble transferring my pictures to my Mac. When I select motorola phone a message appears saying :device does not have the necessary services". What am I doing wrong?
Ricky Says: Sun, 2008-04-06 20:05
Did you enable Bluetooth on your phone?
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Mon, 2008-04-07 15:00
yes,
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Mon, 2008-04-07 15:53
yes, my phone is from verizon and I read that they block this so you can buy from them others accessories, or something like that. Is there a way to hack it?
international cell phones (not verified) Says: Fri, 2008-05-02 11:09
What I would like to see is an easy to use software to transfer contact info everytime I buy a new phone.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Wed, 2008-05-14 09:10
Yes, my phone says the same thing. Is this because i have no memory card installed? Or should it work with the phone's internal memory?
Jonathan Dobres (not verified) Says: Sun, 2008-06-08 19:16
Thanks for the tip! This is exactly what I wanted to do, and your instructions are straightforward and easy to follow. And this would've been so much harder on a PC. ;-)
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Thu, 2008-06-19 17:05
These are great instructions, but like a few other people I got the final message, "device does not have the necessary services." but I went through all the steps, both my laptop and phone were discoverable and are supposed to be able to send files via bluetooth. My laptop is the Mac OS X 10.4.11 and my phone is a verizon samsung model SCH-U900. Any advice?
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Fri, 2009-09-04 09:20
I have the same verizon phone. Were you able to resolve this issue as I'm getting the same message.
aleja (not verified) Says: Mon, 2008-10-13 10:28
I can't transfer files from my cellphone to my mac, it always appears a message saying that connection failed or something, and it also appears with other mobiles. what is wrong? both devices are visible and activated..
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Thu, 2008-11-06 09:40
Yet another person who gets the message "Device does not have the necessary services". Verizon is my carrier - so if the rumor above is true, I guess I'm being blocked too.
Katy (not verified) Says: Wed, 2009-04-29 00:11
First class instructions. I found it really helpful until I needed to transfer the piccs from the phone to the mac, needless to say all I had to do was double click the photo and not drag and drop. Thanks Ricky for saving my memories.
sue (not verified) Says: Mon, 2009-06-22 17:12
I tried and like those other people I got "device does not have necessary services" I don't see any answers on this page-is there an answer or are the pics lost forever??
Sue
jon (not verified) Says: Sat, 2009-07-18 13:29
Most phones are not set up for BT or USB computer connectivity. You should be able to mail the pictures to your email account! Takes time and uses air time but you can save pics.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Fri, 2009-08-14 19:12
You're a genius! Thank you. I took several videos tonight on my LG Versa. Fortunately, I have a MacBook. Enabled Bluetooth on my phone, and Voila! Vidos transferred and ready for YouTube!
Thanks again! Toni
Los Angeles Locksmith (not verified) Says: Sat, 2009-08-15 03:09
Nice job. I hope to give a try on vista, it may work in other way.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Mon, 2009-10-26 12:04
this doesn't work with the verizon motorola v3m. they've disabled it.
anonymous (not verified) Says: Wed, 2009-11-04 18:29
I recently bought a Verizon phone and spent a half hour on the phone with their tech support trying to get photos onto my new iMac. Bottom line is VERIZON PHONES DO NOT SUPPORT TRANSFERS TO MACS! Shades of old Microsoft thinking -- Verizon should know better. The net result of trying many different ways of getting my Mac to recognize the internal phone card was that we fried the card. Don't know why, and I was fortunate that I didn't have any photos on the card at the time (we were attempting to format "the disk" that the Mac insisted was being mounted). So be careful... I have a 30 day warranty on the card, so I will get a new one and be back to square one. I think you need to start with a USB cable that goes directly from the phone to the Mac -- I was using a card reader with the tiny card in an adapter, but that could have added to the problem. Again I say: Verizon should have a Mac transfer protocol hardwired into its phones -- no excuses Verizon!!! (probable excuse might be that they are staying way clear of anything iPhoneish!)
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