- You can find downloads on Android in My Files or File Manager.
- You can find these apps in the app drawer of your Android device.
- Within My Files or File Manager, navigate to the Downloads folder to find everything you downloaded.
With all of the amazing features available on Android, like a high definition camera, apps for everything, lighting fast processing power, and so on, there is one thing that can be less than convenient: the difficulty of finding downloaded files.
It's almost as if your smartphone's downloads disappear just as soon as the transfer of data has been completed.
In fact, unless you know where to look, on some phones that's effectively what happens. So let's tell you where to look for downloads on your Android phone. It's a little place called the app drawer.
How to find downloads on your Android device
1. Open the Android app drawer by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. You can also access the app drawer by tapping its icon on the home screen.
2. Tap My Files (or File Manager).
Open your Android device's file manager app. Stefan Ionescu/Insider3. Inside the My Files app, tap Downloads.
Go to the "Downloads" folder once you open My Files. Stefan Ionescu/InsiderYou should now be able to see all of your downloads.
Steven John
Freelance Writer
Steven John is a freelance writer living near New York City by way of 12 years in Los Angeles, four in Boston, and the first 18 near DC. When not writing or spending time with his wife and kids, he can occasionally be found climbing mountains. His writing is spread across the web, and his books can be found at www.stevenjohnbooks.com.
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On your phone, you can usually find your files in the Files app
Important:
- Some of these steps work only on Android 10 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.
- Some of these steps require you to tap the screen.
- Call captioning only works on Pixel phones.
Find & open files
- Open your phone's Files app
. Learn where to find your apps.
- Your downloaded files will show.
- To open a file, tap it.
Delete files
Share, print, save to Drive & more
Share files
- Touch and hold the file.
- Tap Share .
Do other actions, like printing or adding to Google Drive
- To open a file, tap it.
- At the top right, look for more options. If needed, tap More .
Find music, movies & other content
You can download files like music, movies, or books in various apps. To find that content, go to the app where you downloaded it. For example, learn how to find videos downloaded in the Google Play Movies & TV app.
Transfer files to a computer
When you connect your phone to a computer by USB cable, open the computer's "Downloads" folder to find the files that are on your phone. Learn how to move files between your computer and your phone.
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Handling a PDF file on your mobile device can sometimes be a pain. The good news is simply opening a PDF is pretty easy. Your Android device can probably already do this, but if not, we’ll share some options.
First, there’s a good chance you already have an app on your Android device that can open PDFs. Google Drive can do it, but so can e-book readers, like the Kindle app.
To find out if you have an app that can open PDFs, just try to do so. Navigate to the file manager on your Android device and find a PDF file. Any apps that can open PDFs will appear as choices.
RELATED: How to Find Files You Downloaded on Android
Simply select one of the apps and the PDF will open.
Again, if you don’t already have an app capable of opening PDFs, there are several you can choose from. The simplest is Google PDF Viewer. It’s not really an app in the traditional sense, as you can’t open it directly. However, it will appear as an option whenever you try to open a PDF.
Files by Google is another option. This app is a full file manager with the built-in ability to open PDF files. After you install it on your device, it will also appear as an option whenever you attempt to open a PDF.
Keep in mind these apps only allow you to view PDFs. If you need a more powerful PDF tool, you’ll have to install Adobe Acrobat Reader for Android, or something similar.
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