Get your photos off your phone and onto your Mac.
Plug in your Android. See what’s new. Cross it over, verified. Nothing is deleted until it’s safe.
Pay once. No subscription, no account, works offline. macOS 14 or later.
The problem
Google discontinued Android File Transfer in 2024. Apple’s Image Capture never learned Android. What’s left is either a general file manager or a “phone suite” that wants a subscription and your email.
RollFerry does one thing: photos and videos, phone to Mac, over a cable.
Comparing options? The Android File Transfer alternative guide covers the free ones as well.
How it works
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1.Plug in.
RollFerry finds your phone and reads what’s on it. 700 photos take about five seconds.
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2.See what’s new.
Only the photos and videos that aren’t on your Mac yet, by month. Pick a month, a range, or everything.
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3.Cross.
Each file is copied, then checked byte for byte. A tick means it landed. Unplug halfway and it picks up where it stopped.
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4.Free space, if you want.
RollFerry only offers to delete photos it has verified on your Mac — and only when you ask.
Your photos stay on your Mac
RollFerry never uploads anything. Filenames, thumbnails, photos — none of it leaves this computer. There’s no account and nothing to sign in to.
It works with the network off.
Turn off Wi-Fi and every feature works the same. The only thing RollFerry ever sends is your license key.
It runs in Apple’s sandbox.
macOS restricts it to the phone and the folder you chose. It can’t read the rest of your disk.
Every copy is verified before anything is deleted.
SHA-256 on each file. If a copy is missing or changed, the original stays on your phone.
Block RollFerry in your firewall and the only thing that stops working is buying it.
Tested the hard way
In testing on a OnePlus Nord CE 2: 709 files, 9.8 GB, crossed at 35 MB/s with zero errors. Cable pulled at 121 seconds: 443 files landed, 443 verified, zero partial files. Plugged back in: the remaining 266 crossed, and the total matched to the file. On a Xiaomi Redmi 12C: 645 new items found, thumbnails and months from the phone, no code changed between the two.
What it’s for
- Your phone is full. Move a year of photos to your Mac or a drive, then free the space — knowing every file is safe.
- You’re leaving Google One or iCloud. Plain folders by year and month, on a disk you own.
- WhatsApp ate your storage. Filter to WhatsApp media, pick what’s worth keeping, cross that, delete the rest.
Works with
Any Android phone over USB in File transfer mode. Tested: OnePlus, Xiaomi. Reported working: Samsung, Pixel. iPhone: coming.
Guides by phone: Samsung Galaxy to Mac, Google Pixel to Mac, OnePlus to Mac, Xiaomi to Mac, Motorola to Mac.
Compared honestly
| Feature | Android File Transfer | OpenMTP | MacDroid | RollFerry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still maintained | Discontinued 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Photos-first (months, thumbnails, what’s new) | No | No | Not listed* | Yes |
| Verifies every copy | No | No | Not listed* | Yes |
| Safe delete (only verified files) | No | No | Not listed* | Yes |
| Resumes after unplug | No | No | Partly | Yes |
| Works offline, no account | Yes | Yes | Account for Pro | Yes |
| Price | Free | Free | $19/year or $34 lifetime (shown as a sale from $49) | $15 once |
Competitor prices and features checked October 6, 2026.
*Based on MacDroid’s website as of October 6, 2026.
More comparisons: MacDroid alternative for Mac and MacDroid vs OpenMTP.
Pricing
Was $15, now $9, once.
Launch price for the first 100 customers, then $15.
One Mac. Every 1.x update. Try free first — scanning and browsing are unlimited; buying unlocks crossing.
Buy RollFerry- Refunds: 7 days, no questions asked.
- Lost your key? Email and it’s resent.
FAQ
The questions worth asking before you trust an app with your photos, answered plainly. Anything missing, email hello@rollferry.com and I’ll answer it.
Will it delete my photos?
Only if you press "Delete … from phone" and confirm, and only for photos it has already verified on your Mac. It checks again, file by file, right before deleting anything from the phone. Copying never deletes, and anything it can’t verify stays on the phone.
What if I unplug halfway?
You lose at most the file that was mid-copy, and nothing is marked as landed until its copy is verified. Plug the phone back in and the crossing continues from where it stopped. In testing, a cable pulled at 121 seconds left 443 files landed and zero partial files.
Where do my photos go?
Wherever you choose — a folder on your Mac or an external drive. Inside it, photos are organized by year and month, by year only, or in one flat folder. Originals are copied exactly as they are on the phone, never renamed or re-encoded.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Scanning, browsing, crossing and freeing space all work the same with Wi-Fi turned off. The only online step is checking your license key when you enter it, and nothing about your photos is ever sent.
Why does macOS warn me when I open it?
RollFerry isn’t distributed through the App Store, so macOS shows a one-time warning before it opens. The Download page has the three-click fix in System Settings, and a one-line alternative for Terminal. Open the download page.
Does it work with my phone?
Any Android phone with a USB cable and File transfer mode should work. It has been tested on a OnePlus Nord CE 2 and a Xiaomi Redmi 12C. If yours misbehaves, email hello@rollferry.com — every phone that’s reported gets a fix or an honest answer.
iPhone?
Not yet — today RollFerry works with Android phones over USB. iPhone support is coming, and anyone who has bought RollFerry gets it as a 1.x update.
Wi-Fi transfer?
Not yet, and possibly never — a cable is faster and more reliable for gigabytes of video. In testing, a OnePlus crossed 9.8 GB over USB at 35 MB/s with zero errors.
Why not the App Store?
Sandboxed USB access and the App Store don’t mix well. RollFerry still runs in Apple’s sandbox, limited to the phone and the folder you chose.
Does the trial expire?
No. Scanning and browsing work forever, with no time limit and no limit on how many files you look through. Buying unlocks copying, so you see exactly what would cross before you pay.
How do I get my key?
By email, a minute after paying, and on the page checkout returns you to. Paste it into RollFerry → Settings → License. Didn’t arrive? Check spam, then email hello@rollferry.com.
New Mac, or reinstalled macOS, and it says my key is in use?
Deactivate it on the old Mac from Settings → License, then enter the key on the new one. If that Mac is gone or was wiped, email hello@rollferry.com and I’ll free the key.
Buying for a second Mac?
Each license covers one Mac, and you can move it to a new Mac by deactivating the old one. The launch price is one per customer; a second license is $15.
Refunds?
Yes — refunds are available for 7 days after purchase, no questions asked. Email hello@rollferry.com with your order number and Dodo Payments, the merchant of record, refunds you. If RollFerry doesn’t work with your phone, I’d rather refund you than argue.
Who made this?
Shivam Dabas, one person in India who got tired of Android File Transfer breaking. I build RollFerry and answer every support email myself, usually within a day: hello@rollferry.com.
Guides
One question per guide, answered in the first two sentences — including the ways that do not need RollFerry at all.
- Android File Transfer alternative for Mac (2026) Google discontinued Android File Transfer in 2024. Here is what actually works on a Mac today — the built-in way, the free way, and RollFerry.
- Google Photos storage full: move it to a drive Takeout exports the library to your Mac in archives; a cable copies the originals straight off the phone. Do the copying before you free up any space.
- Phone storage full? Move the photos to your Mac Photos and video are almost always the bulk of it. Copy them to the Mac or a drive over USB, check the copies, and only then delete from the phone.
- Transfer photos from a OnePlus phone to a Mac Set the USB mode to File transfer — OnePlus phones often revert to MIDI after a replug. Then copy from DCIM, or let RollFerry do it by month, verified.
- Transfer photos from a Google Pixel to a Mac Google Photos is the Pixel's default answer and it keeps your photos in Google's account. Over a cable you get plain folders on a disk you own.
- Android File Transfer not working on Mac? What works in 2026 Google stopped updating it in 2024 and it often can't connect on current macOS; use RollFerry for photos and videos, and OpenMTP for other files.