How to Move and Copy Files on Samsung Galaxy S21

This post will walk you through moving or transferring files between different folders on the Galaxy S21 using the One UI/Android 12 move and copy commands. Read on to learn how to move and copy files on Samsung Galaxy S21 and make your mobile content a little more organized.

Need help organizing content on your new Samsung Galaxy S21 smartphone? If so, then this post will help you get started.

Android 12 File Transfer

Just like computers, modern smartphones already support file management commands including the widely used copy and paste. That said, you can move files from one folder to another or create a duplicate of that file and save it as back up in a separate folder or directory.

Such commands are also present on the latest Samsung Galaxy devices, including the S21 series.

To execute this commands, you will need to use the preloaded File Manager or My files app on your Galaxy S21.

Android 12 Move/Copy Commands

Transferring photos, videos and documents on your Samsung Galaxy S21 from one folder to another can be carried out using the built-in file transfer feature.

Internal file transfers on the Galaxy S21 can be done using the Move and Copy commands.

Moving file denotes that the file will be removed from the source directory/folder and then transferred to the target location/folder.

Copying a file on the other hand means creating a duplicate of the original file on the target directory/folder. This command is often used when creating a backup of a file.

The execution of these file transfer commands on the Galaxy S21 slightly varies but the steps are fairly easy.

Easy Steps to Move and Copy Files on Samsung Galaxy S21

The following steps are also applicable when moving or copying files between folders on other Samsung Galaxy devices with the same One UI/Android (12) version with the Galaxy S21 series.

A. Moving a File Between Folders on Samsung Galaxy S21

Follow these steps to move files from the current folder/directory to a new location/folder in the phone’s internal storage.

Step 1: Go to the Home screen or Apps viewer and then tap My Files. If you don’t see the My files app icon, locate the Samsung folder icon and then tap on it to view all Samsung-related apps including My Files.

Step 2: While on the My Files app, navigate to the Storage section and then tap Internal storage. Another menu will launch, prompting a list of built-in directories or folders including DCIM, Downloads for downloaded content, Movies, Music for audio files and Pictures for images. Each of these directories contain relevant folders and files.

Step 3: Select the directory/folder where the desired file is stored. Example, images, videos, audio, documents and more. For this guide, let’s just use the DCIM folder to access all saved images in the system. All contents inside the selected directory/folder will show up on the next screen.

Step 4: While in the selected directory/folder, tap the triple-dot icon on the top-rightmost corner.

Step 5: Select Edit from the side menu items. All files will then switch to Edit mode.

Step 6: Tap to select the file(s) that you’d like to move from the current directory/folder. A selected file will have a check mark on the radio button before it. Multiple file selection is allowed.

Step 7: After selecting files, tap Move at the bottom-leftmost corner.

Step 8: Select/specify the target/destination folder. You may have to tap the Back key to return to the Internal storage menu where the target directory is located.

Step 9: Once you’re inside the target directory or destination folder, tap Move here at the bottom-rightmost corner.

That should move the selected files from the previous location to the newly selected folder/directory.

Repeat the same steps to move other files from a certain folder to a different location.

B. Copying a File Between Folders on Samsung Galaxy S21

Follow these steps to copy files from a built-in folder and create a duplicate of these files to another folder or directory on the phone storage.

Step 4: While in the selected directory/folder, tap the triple-dot icon on the top-rightmost corner.

Step 5: Select Edit from the side menu items. All files will then switch to Edit mode.

Step 7: After selecting files, tap Copy at the bottom of the screen, right next to the Move command.

Step 8: Select/specify the target/destination folder. You may have to tap the Back key to return to the Internal storage menu where the target directory is located.

Step 9: Once you’re inside the target directory or destination folder, tap Copy here at the bottom-rightmost corner of the screen.

A duplicate of the selected files from the previous location will then be created and added into the newly selected folder/directory. You can make use of these duplicate files as backup files in case the original files get corrupted or deleted from the original location accidentally.

To copy other files from any of the built-in storage directories on your device, just repeat the same steps.

Cannot Move or Copy Files between built-in folders on your Samsung Galaxy S21?

In case you would bump into some issue when attempting to move or copy files between built-in folders, just reboot or soft reset your phone.

Oftentimes, errant cache and random app glitches are causing conflicts to other system functions and thus, rebooting the system would be necessary.

Also ensure that your phone software is up-to-date. This is imperative to ensure optimum system performance.

Alternatively, you can try creating a new custom folder where you can use as target or destination location for the selected content.

Transferring Files from Samsung Galaxy S21 5g to a Computer

If internal file transfer doesn’t work for you, then you may go for external transfer instead. Modern Android devices like the Galaxy S21 already support external file transfer methods.

Thus, you can now copy or move files from your phone to other compatible devices like a Windows computer.

To do this, you will need to enable USB debugging on your smartphone so it can be recognized and accessed by the computer over a USB connection.

USB debugging is among the advanced hidden features that can be accessed through the Developer options menu. It’s a secret menu that contains more advanced features that are specifically intended for software development and app debugging.

In order to access and activate the USB debugging mode, you will need to unlock the Samsung Galaxy S21 Developer options beforehand.

Once you’ve got the USB debugging mode enabled, you should be all set to connect your phone to a computer’s USB port and begin moving or copying content.

And that’s all about moving and copying files from one folder to another on a Samsung Galaxy S21 5g smartphone.