Steps
- 1
Use USB, ideally Advanced USB
On our test phone, over USB 2.0, a 1 GB file copied off the phone at about 38 MB/s with Advanced USB. Over Wi-Fi the same phone read at 3 to 4 MB/s.
- 2
Open DCIM › Camera in Finder
Videos from the camera app are named VID_ or PXL_ followed by the date, next to the photos.
- 3
Copy, then edit
Drag the videos to a folder on the Mac before opening them in iMovie or Final Cut Pro. Editing apps read files many times; a local copy is faster and safe if the cable comes out.
If the cable comes out
PortLine keeps a staged copy of every file it sends to the phone, and resumes an interrupted copy once the phone is back. In our tests, with USB debugging switched off mid-copy, each copy finished 18 to 38 seconds after the phone returned, with every byte verified.
Check free space first
Set how much free space to keep on the phone and on the Mac in PortLine's settings. A copy that would go below it is refused before a byte moves, with the figures, instead of failing halfway.
Cables and ports matter
Use the cable that came with the phone or another one rated for data. Many phones, including our test phone, use USB 2.0 for data, so a faster cable won't help them; a hub or a long adapter chain can slow any phone down.
Questions
Why is my video copy slow over Wi-Fi?
A phone uploads over Wi-Fi far more slowly than it downloads, and power saving adds delays when the screen is off. For large videos, use USB.