I’m trying to transfer my Spotify playlists and saved songs from my Android phone to my Mac, but I’m not sure how to do it. I want to listen offline on my Mac, but I can’t figure out the process. Can anyone guide me through the steps or suggest a workaround? I need a solution that doesn’t lose my playlists.
So here’s something that caught me off guard: you’d think that since you’ve downloaded your favorite songs on Spotify on your phone, they’d be yours to move around, right? Nope. Each Spotify app builds its own little fortress around the music files. You can’t just drag-and-drop them from Android to your Mac and expect things to play nice. Seriously, it’s like each device is its own castle, guarding the treasure with a different key.
Breaking Down the Steps (for Those Who Want to Actually Listen to Their Stuff Across Devices)
Imagine you’ve spent ages curating playlists, only to get hit with this wall when you try to transfer them. That’s where external tools come in—think of them as your personal bridge troll, but the friendly kind.
One app a lot of folks mention is MacDroid. This isn’t some niche program; it plays well with most Android brands—Samsung, LG, Moto, you name it. Got a random no-name tablet from three years ago? There’s a good chance it’ll work, dude.
Short Version: How I Made It Work
- First, install MacDroid on your Mac.
- Use a USB cable (the reliable old-school way) to hook your Android up to the Mac.
- When the app opens, pick “MTP Mode.” Click “Next,” because that’s how we roll.
- Check your phone— the pop-up should jump out with a message about file transfer. Tap that.
- Back on your computer, pick your device and smash that “Mount” button. That’s it. Now your Android is basically an external drive for your Mac—drag, drop, done.
Can’t the Official Apps Handle This? (Spoiler: No.)
If you’re hoping for some miracle update where macOS just accepts Android out of the box… keep waiting. And as for Spotify? Those downloads are encrypted more tightly than your grandma’s old family recipe box. You can’t simply shuttle the files across and expect them to play—unless you want white noise.
My Take: Why Third-Party Tools Are Basically Essential
If you’re stuck in the Apple vs. Google tug-of-war, this trick is a sanity-saver. Especially if you bounce between devices for work, school, or, let’s be honest, staying up way too late with your headphones on. Official solutions just aren’t built with this level of flexibility. At least not yet.
You’re not doing anything weird or sketchy—apps like MacDroid are made for stuff like this. If you want your tunes on both your Mac and your Android, this is the way. If anyone’s got a cleaner solution that works without installing anything extra, I’m all ears. But until then, this workaround? It just works.
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Here’s the blunt truth: you can’t literally move your saved Spotify songs from Android to Mac because the downloaded stuff is locked-down, DRM’d, and tailored for that device only. Think of it like Netflix downloads—they don’t cross over just because you have another screen. Yeah, I know, ‘ownership’ is a joke.
But you don’t need to go down the thir-party apps or USB rabbit hole just for Spotify playlists—unless you want to transfer other files from your phone to your Mac. If your end goal is listening offline on your Mac, Spotify intended this to happen in-app: log in to your account on the Mac Spotify desktop app, and then download the playlists for offline play. That downloads a new encrypted set—direct to your Mac, not a clone from your phone.
Transferring the tracks as files is a dead-end. Playlists and saved songs themselves, though, exist in your Spotify account, which syncs almost instantly. So unless you’re into pirating (which, trust me, Spotify’s not having any of that, and it’s a pain), you can forget moving those files.
@Mikeappsreviewer is spot on about not dragging & dropping Spotify music files. But for pure Spotify usage, the actual answer is way simpler: just install the official app on your Mac and redownload your playlists there for offline. No cable, no fancy tools required—unless you’re a file hoarder trying to back up music you don’t really own.
If you wanted to move other types of music (like MP3s you bought), yeah, MacDroid is awesome. But for Spotify? The ecosystem’s just walled off.
The short and not-so-sweet answer: you can’t straight-up move your saved Spotify tracks from Android to Mac. Both @mikeappsreviewer and @vrijheidsvogel covered this already: you can drag and drop all you want, but what you’ll get on your Mac is a pile of files that won’t play.
So here’s what actually works—whether or not you like it. If you just want your playlists and songs on your Mac for offline listening, log in to your Spotify account in the official Mac app. All your stuff (playlists, likes, saved songs) will sync because it’s tied to your account, not any hardware. Want to listen offline? Just hit the download button next to the playlist/album inside the Mac app. That’s the ONLY official way. Yeah, it sucks to use up data twice, but that’s their “ecosystem,” and you can’t hack around it unless you want to get real shady.
If you find a unicorn workaround for moving DRM’d Spotify music files directly between devices, congrats, but you’ll be explaining it to a judge someday because it’s strictly against Spotify’s terms.
Long story short: No, you can’t transfer Spotify downloads from Android to Mac. Yes, you can access the same playlists and re-download them for offline listening by logging in on your Mac—because it’s all account-based. Anything fancier than that is a dead end. Welcome to the walled garden—enjoy the curated playlist.