indefinite sync pending when trying to copy files from Windows 10 to phone storage

Question

I plugged my USB-C cable from my phone to my laptop. My phone has Android 13, and my laptop has Windows 10. I use file explorer to view the internal storage on my phone, and drag and drop a file from my pc to my phone. This has always worked, but this time it is stuck indefinitely on sync pending.

I searched the issue and did all I could find to do, but the issue still isn't resolved. Since it was a cloud file on my computer, I have tried downloading it to my laptop and then transferring it. I tried deleting the Office Document cache. I made sure there is enough space in my internal storage - there is. I searched for hidden files and didn't see any.

I'm not quite sure what else to do. Can anyone help?

Answer 1

Hello,

If this is an operation that previously worked, please cancel the transfer once, then reconnect the cable or restart Windows before trying again.

If your Android device supports all Phone Link features, you can drag and drop or copy and paste files from the Windows File Explorer to the internal storage of your Android device using Phone Link.

However, some settings on the Windows side are also required. In that case, please refer to the “Cross-device copy and paste” section in the support article below.

Seamlessly transfer content between your devices

Answer 2

The behavior described matches a known limitation when transferring cloud-backed files and when using drag and drop between devices.

Key points and steps to resolve:

1. Ensure the file is fully local on the PC
   • Only locally saved files can be reliably shared between devices. When a file is still cloud-only, transfers may hang or only share a link instead of the actual file.
   • Save or download the file so it is fully stored on the PC (not just a cloud placeholder) before attempting to copy it to the phone.
2. Avoid using drag and drop for this scenario
   • Drag-and-drop file transfer between devices (PC ↔ Android) has specific limitations and can fail or show blocking indicators when:
     • Another drag-and-drop transfer is already in progress.
     • The item being transferred is not supported (e.g., a folder instead of a file, or too many files at once).
   • Instead of drag and drop from File Explorer into the phone view, use:
     • Standard copy/paste (Ctrl+C on the file in PC storage → Ctrl+V into the phone’s internal storage folder), or
     • A dedicated sharing mechanism such as Phone Link’s file sharing (see below).
3. Use Phone Link file sharing (recommended alternative) If the Android device is connected via Phone Link and Link to Windows, files can be shared more reliably:
   1. On the PC, right-click the file and select Share.
   2. In the share window, choose Phone Link.
   3. File sharing will start to the connected Android device.
   4. Ensure Windows notifications for Phone Link are enabled to monitor progress.
   5. On the phone, a Link to Windows notification will appear; tapping it opens the file manager to the received file.
   6. Files arrive under Downloads → Sent from your PC.
   • Note: Only locally saved files are actually transferred; for cloud-stored files, only links to the cloud locations are shared.
4. Check for drag-and-drop limitations When using Phone Link drag and drop (if that is being used instead of USB MTP):
   • Only one drag-and-drop operation can run at a time.
   • The transfer will fail if:
     • Any dragged item is a folder (not a file), or
     • Attempting to drag 100 or more files at once.
   • Minimizing the Phone Link app during drag and drop cancels the transfer; keep the window open.

If the transfer continues to hang on “sync pending” over USB after confirming the file is fully local and using copy/paste instead of drag and drop, using Phone Link’s file sharing is the supported workaround for Windows 10 and Android 10+.

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References:

• Seamlessly transfer content between your devices