There are various ways you can copy data from Xiaomi or Redmi phone to Mac or the other way around. You can connect your phone to Mac via USB and directly copy data between them. If your Mac does not have a USB port, you can use a wireless transfer app to share files. In an earlier article, we discussed how you can use Shareit app to transfer files between mobile phone and PC. In fact, this method can also apply to Mac computers. Just download the free file transfer which is cross-platform onto your Mac, you can then use it to transfer files between Android/iOS devices and your Mac wirelessly over Wi-Fi or hotspot. Today, we will introduce another easy way to send files from Xiaomi to Mac or from Mac to Xiaomi phone through the Xiaomi phone FTP server, a built-in feature in Mi File Manager app.
It is wireless, safe and fast. You just need to connect both Mi phone and Mac to the same Wi-Fi network, then turn on this FTP option on the phone, and connect to the FTP server from Finder on Mac.
Enable FTP server on Xiaomi phone
Open the Mi File Manager app on Xiaomi or Redmi mobile. Switch to the Categories tab. Tap FTP > Start server, you will then get the FTP server address with port number.
Connect to FTP server from Mac
On your Mac, launch Finder, click Go >> Connect to server…, the Connect to Server dialogue appears. Type in the Xiaomi & Redmi FTP server address with port number, then click the Connect button to access FTP server from Mac.
Upload and download files to/from Xiaomi phone
You can easily browse to folders on your Mi phone from Mac through FTP. Drag and drop files and folders to copy them from Xiaomi phone to Mac. However you can’t copy files from Mac to Xiaomi phone. If you like to send files from Mac to Xiaomi phone through FTP, you need to use a professional FTP client. There are several free FTP options you may consider. FileZilla is one of the best open source FTP solutions. You can download the free FTP tool and use it to connect to your Xiaomi phone or other FTP servers.
FTP transfer vs SMB transfer
On Mac, you can find the File sharing through SMB. Turn on this feature on Mac, then use a file manager app, notably the ES files manager, to access Mac file sharing from Xiaomi phone and copy files over. This is just another file transfer solution between Mi phone and Mac. A great alternative to FTP transfer.