Finding the files you’ve downloaded on your Android device is usually an easy task. The steps to finding them can vary slightly depending on what kind of device you have, but for some reason, the downloaded files tend to “disappear” sometimes.
I hit 'download' at one point and I was wondering where the file is stored.
The files are apparently there somewhere, you just have to dig into your Android device’s setting to find them. In some cases, you might need to install a file manager to help you keep those downloaded files under control. Lets’ take a look at some options.
Related: How to Change Download and App Locations on Android
Look in The Downloads Folder
Like most computer, Android does come with a “Downloads” folder to store all your downloaded files. If you’ve been using Android for years, this should be obvious to you. To access the Downloads folder, launch the default File Manager app and towards the top, you’ll see the “Download history” option.
You should now see the file you recently downloaded with date and time. If you tap on the “More” option at the top right, you can do more with your downloaded files. For example, you can clear your download history, edit, share, and sort by.
To make your downloads easier to find, you can use the “Sort by” option and organize them either by time, type, name, size, ascending or descending. Whatever works best for you.
Access the Download Folder with ES File Explorer
An app that will help you find not just your downloads but any file for that matter is ES File Explorer. When you first open the app, you’ll see your device’s Internal storage at the top left. Tap on it and either scroll until you find the Downloads folder or search for it with the search bar.
ES File Explorer will automatically show you everything you’ve downloaded.
How to Find the Downloads Folder from Your Windows Computer
If you just can’t stand how small things look on your Android device, you can always look at your downloads on your computer. Connect your Android device to your computer with a USB cable, and within a few seconds, you should see a prompt appear offering you to see the contents of the device you connected.
The next window will offer various options such as import/export (among others). Click on the one that allows you to see the contents of your Android device. Click on the Phone option and scroll down until you find the Downloads folder. Just open it and do whatever you please.
Find Your Downloads in Chrome
You downloaded an image last week, but accidentally erased it from your device. To recover that image, open up Chrome (provided Chrome is your default browser) and the second icon to the left should be an arrow pointing down. Tap on it, and all your downloads will appear.
If you want to find a specific file such as video, tap on the drop-down menu beside Downloads and tap on videos (or whatever file you’re looking for).
Find your Firefox Downloads
Firefox makes it just as easy to find your downloads. Once you have the browser open, tap on the three vertical dots at the top-right of your display. Tap on Tools and the first option on the list should be Downloads. Tap on it, and you should see all the files you’ve downloaded.
Unlike Chrome, Firefox doesn’t let you search for a specific type of file, they’re all mixed up which might make them more difficult to find.
How to Access Downloads Folder in Opera
Instead of tapping on dots to access the Downloads folder, you’ll need to tap on the Opera icon. You’ll instantly see the Downloads option, tap on it and voila! You should now see everything you’ve downloaded.
Conclusion
As you can see, your downloaded files didn’t disappear, they just went to a folder created especially for that. Regardless of what browser you use to download a file, you now know the brief steps to take to find them. How do you access your downloaded files? Leave a comment and let us know.
By default, Chrome downloads files to the “Downloads” folder in your user account. If you would rather save them to a different location, you can easily change the Chrome download folder location.
Click the Chrome menu button (three horizontal bars) in the upper-right corner of the Chrome window and select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
The “Settings” screen displays on a new tab.
Scroll down to the bottom of the “Settings” screen and click the “Show advanced settings” link.
We’re going to set up a new default folder as the location where Chrome saves downloaded files. However, you can have Chrome ask you every time to choose the download folder location. To do this, select the “Ask where to save each file before downloading” check box so there is a check mark in the box.
To change the download folder location, click “Change” to the right of the “Download location” edit box.
On the “Browse For Folder” dialog box, navigate to the folder where you want to save folders by default and click “OK”.
The path to the selected folder displays in the “Download location” edit box. This location displays in the “Save As” as the default location, if you’ve selected the “Ask where to save each file before downloading” check box. Click the “X” button on the “Settings” tab to close it.
There are additional actions you can take on downloads. To open the “Downloads” list, press “Ctrl + J” or select “Downloads” from the Chrome menu (3 horizontal bars) in the upper-right corner of the window. You can also enter “chrome://downloads” in the Omnibox (address box) and press “Enter”.
The downloaded files are listed in order of most recent to farthest back in time. To remove an item from the “Downloads” list, click the “Remove from list” link below the item.
To open the folder containing one of the downloaded files, click the “Show in folder” link below that item.
Once you have downloaded a file, you can quickly and easily move it to another location by dragging and dropping it from the “Downloads” list in Chrome to a folder in File Explorer or any other file browser you are using.
TIP: It’s a good idea to clear out your downloaded files list on occasion so finding files in the list doesn’t get too difficult.
READ NEXT
- › How to Install and Use the Tor Browser on Linux
- › How to See Which Apps Are Using Your Microphone on Windows 10
- › How to Stop Your Phone’s Charger Cables From Breaking
- › How to Enable Tamper Protection for Windows Security on Windows 10
- › How to Use the rename Command on Linux