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MacDroid short-guide series

How to download videos on phone: top guide of 2024

There are so many choices on the Internet for streaming videos, but it can get overwhelming. YouTube probably has the largest overall selection, but you have to search and search. When you find the videos you really like, it would be fantastic if you could just download them and save them on your computer.

Sure, you can usually find a way to download those YouTube videos on your Macbook, but what if you’re on your phone and want to transfer videos from Android to Mac? Let’s look at how to download videos on your phone for Android devices.

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Download videos using an app

There are actually plenty of options to download videos on your phone. The official apps sometimes allow you this convenience, which is obviously the easiest way to do it. YouTube and a few other video sites allow you to do this but figuring out how can be a challenge. Let’s look at how to save YouTube videos to your phone.


Download YouTube videos

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In the US and many other countries, you’ll need to be a YouTube Premium member to do this, so make sure you are.
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Go to the video Watch page.
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Below the video, tap Download or More > Download.
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Once the video is downloaded, you’ll see Downloaded with a blue check mark below the video.

The problem with downloading YouTube videos to your phone is you might still only be able to watch it in the YouTube app. Also, the app has to check every 48 hours whether that video is still available for offline viewing. To get around that and also download videos from other sites on your phone, you need a special app.

One of these is great for Tumblr. It’s called Tumbloader, and it makes it possible to download videos straight from the Tumblr app on Android. Here’s how to do it.


Tumbloader

1
Download and install the Tumbloader app.
2
Open the official Tumblr app.
3
In the video, you want to download, tap the Share button.
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From the list, choose Tumbloader.
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After a few seconds, tap the Download button and the video will be saved to your device.

A better option might be Video Downloader. It automatically detects videos, as long as you use the app’s built-in browser. The great part is that it should work with any website, and it will download in the background.

Using Video Downloader to download videos on your phone is super easy.


Video Downloader

1
Install the Video Downloader app from the Google Play Store.
2
Browse to the website using the app’s built-in browser.
3
Tap the Download button to see what videos the app finds.
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Choose the video you want to download, then wait for it to finish.

How to download videos on your phone from the browser

You can also save videos to your Android phone using your mobile browser. Some sites will let you download directly from the page. Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/feature_films), for example, has lots of older feature films you can download straight to your phone. There are even some newer indie films on the page.

For other sites, you’d need an online downloader app. One of the best apps for saving videos to your phone is Keepvid (https://keepv.id/31/). It works with YouTube, Vimeo, Tumblr, Twitch, and dozens of others.

Keepvid will download the video and save it in a file you can play from just about anywhere. It’s also really easy to use.


Keepvid

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Either from the streaming video app or its web page, copy the URL for the video you want to download. (Hint: you can usually get this by tapping Share.)
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Go to the Keepvid site.
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Paste the URL into the search box, then press Enter.
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Choose the file format you want and tap Download.

Use MacDroid to download videos to your phone

MacDroid

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Requirements: macOS 10.15 , 20.41MB free space. Version 2.2.404 ( 12 Sep, 2024 )
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This is probably the easiest way to download videos on your phone. Just use your Mac to find and download them, then copy the videos over to your phone. This method will work great whether you’re getting the videos straight from the official site or using a video download manager.

Once you’ve got your favorite movies on your Mac, how do you download videos on your phone? You need to connect Android to Mac, and the best way to do this is using MacDroid.


MacDroid

After you’ve downloaded and installed MacDroid, here’s what you need to do to save those videos to your phone.
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Open the MacDroid app on your Mac.
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Go to "Devices" in MacDroid’s main menu.
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Connect your Android phone or tablet to your Mac using the USB cable.
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Choose ADB mode, then follow all steps to give your Mac access to your Android phone or tablet.


ADB mode

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Now you can use Finder to copy your videos from Mac to your Android phone.
If you don’t want to use ADB mode, it’s also possible to transfer videos using MTP. Here’s how that’s done.
1
Open the MacDroid app on your Mac.
2
Go to "Devices" in MacDroid’s main menu.
3
Connect your Android phone or tablet to your Mac using the USB cable.
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In the pop-up window on your Android device, choose File transfer.
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Now you’ll see your Android phone or tablet under Devices.
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Click the Mount button to open up your phone and transfer videos.


Click Mount

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Once you’re done, click the Unmount button to "eject" your Android phone or tablet safely.
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Now you know how to save YouTube videos on your phone. You’ve also seen what you need to do if you’re looking for how to download other videos on your phone. Even better, you can see how MacDroid is your best friend when it comes to getting your Mac and your Android device to work together.

MacDroid lets you copy videos to your phone, but it also does much more. You can easily transfer your photos, videos, and other folders with the help of MacDroid. You can even use your Mac to edit files directly on your phone, without having to copy them to the Mac first.

Frequently Asked Questions:


The best way to download a video on your Android phone is to use an app like MacDroid that lets you connect your phone to your computer without any barriers. You can then transfer the video from your computer to your phone. You could also use an app on your smartphone to download a video.
The easiest way to download videos to your phone is to use an app. We’ve mentioned some of the most popular smartphone apps for downloading videos above, with both free and paid apps available. If you’re wondering how to transfer videos from phone to computer, you could also download videos to your computer then transfer them to your phone using an app like MacDroid.
To download a video from a website to your phone you can use browser extensions or a smartphone app that will download the video for you. We have some great suggestions of popular apps in our article. The other way to do it is to download the video on your computer then transfer it to your phone using MacDroid.
Although some websites will let you click to download videos directly, the easiest way to download videos from the Internet to your gallery is to use a video downloader app on your smartphone. There are plenty of options listed above. You could also download the video to your Mac then transfer it to your phone using an app like MacDroid.
MacDroid

Break transfer barrier between Android and Mac

Requires macOS 10.15 or newer; compatible with all Android and MTP devices
Transfer files between Android and Mac using MacDroid.