It may be trickier than you think to locate downloaded files on an Android or iOS device. Smartphones, no matter how good they are, may easily become little more than electronic briefcases. It has all the applications you could ever need, plus a plethora of material such as images, videos, files, and more. Although it’s a breeze to save an image or a menu on your phone, it’s quite a challenge to locate the files you installed. When there are a lot of folders, it could be difficult to locate a specific file.
Don’t worry! This guide will show you where to find downloaded files on Google Pixel and Samsung phones, as well as iPhones and Android phones. We will show you where to find the media you downloaded and how to get to the files.
How to find downloaded files on an iPhone
To find your downloaded files on an iPhone, open the Files app. You can store anything in a file, from pictures to saved GarageBand songs. You’ll likely find something you downloaded before there. How to do it:
Step 1: Press Files on the home screen.
Step 2: It will likely show you a bunch of groups. Click Browse to see more about your items and where they are.
Step 3: In Browse, go to Locations, and you’ll see a list of choices.
Step 4: Click on iCloud Drive.
Step 5: On the next screen, tap Downloads.
When you use a browser other than Safari on your iPhone, it might save somewhere else. If that’s the case, go back to Browse and choose on my iPhone > Browser name. This is where you should find your downloads. Most likely, the picture you want to find is in your Photos app.
If you still can’t find what you need, tap the search bar and type in the name of the file you saved. If you can’t remember the full name, you can type the first few letters, and the app will offer possible matches.
Methods for retrieving Android phone downloads
On an Android phone, you can find your downloads by following a general set of steps. Some names or places may be slightly different. First, try these steps. If that doesn’t work, keep reading for special steps for Samsung and Google Pixel phones.
Step 1: open up your app drawer.
Step 2: On your phone, open the file manager. It will have a name like Downloads, File Manager, or My Files.
Step 3: Choose the Downloads folder.
You will be able to see your Downloads folder after going to Internal storage if you can’t see it otherwise. You can also use the search bar to find the file you want quickly or to see if you put it in the wrong area by accident.
How to find downloaded files on Samsung phones
The same idea works for Samsung iPhones, but the names are a little different.
Step 1: Get the app drawer open, then hit the “My Files” icon. To access the files on some phones, open the Samsung folder and navigate to the folder containing your files.
Step 2: go to Categories and click on Downloads.
Step 3: The My Files app also has other groups that split files into types. These are Installation files, Videos, Audio, Documents, and Images. If you can’t find your file(s) in the Downloads area, try these other ones. The app box also has a Search field that you can use to find a specific download.
How to find downloaded files on Google Pixel phones
You can use these steps on any Android phone to use Google’s Files app. If you don’t like the files app that came with your phone, you can get Google’s Files app and use that instead.
Step 1: Open the list of apps and tap on Files.
Step 2: If it’s not already open, choose Browse. Then, pick the Downloads page.
Step 3: You can change between Gallery and List views on the Downloads screen. A three-dot “More” icon is next to this button. It opens a drop-down menu with the choices “Sort by” and “Select all.”
Step 4: Some Google Pixel owners have said in online forums that they can’t find downloaded pictures or files in the Files app. This usually happens because of a rights issue that happens when you use the Google app to download pictures.
Step 5: To fix it, go to Settings > Apps > Files by Google > Permissions.
Step 6: Next, make sure that users can see photos and movies. The downloaded files will still be sent to a different system directory if it isn’t.
Remember to check for downloads in third-party apps.
When you download files from an app, they might end up in the home folder of that app instead of the Downloads folder. One well-known example of this is Netflix.
Step 1: Open the Netflix app to see what downloads you have.
Step 2: In the bottom right area, tap the Downloads button. To get rid of a Netflix download, tap the underlined button and then tap Delete download.
This also works for other apps on your iPhone or Android phone. In the event that you downloaded a file using a specific app, try looking for the file within that app. If you still can’t find the file in the standard download area, try this method.
