I tried the obvious thing first, just plugging it in with the USB cable, and nothing happened. No prompt, no drive showing up, nothing. Am I missing a setting somewhere or is USB just not going to work at all here? I saw mentions of third party transfer apps, but there are so many and I don’t want to install some random software on my Mac. If anyone actually has this device and got it working, please tell me what you did!
This is normal with Android-based devices on a Mac. The TNC225R runs Android underneath, and macOS doesn’t support Android file access over USB the way Windows does. So if nothing appears when you plug it in, that doesn’t necessarily mean the device or cable is broken.
You’ll need an app to handle the connection. I’ve used MacDroid with another Android device, though not this specific model. The setup is roughly:
- Enable Developer Options by tapping the build number several times in Settings.
- Open Developer Options and enable USB Debugging.
- Connect the device to your Mac and add it in MacDroid. The prompts may vary depending on the Android version.
- Select MTP or ADB mode in MacDroid, then choose File Transfer on the device when prompted.
- Click Mount. The device’s files should then appear in Finder like a regular drive.
I can’t confirm the exact prompts for the TNC225R since I haven’t used that model, but the same general process applies to most Android devices connected to macOS.
DNT Optics also offers Android File Transfer as another option. Install it, connect the device with a USB cable, and you should be able to browse its folders and copy files.
32 Likes
Before enabling USB debugging, make sure you’re using a data-capable USB cable, since many USB cables only charge. Unlock the TNC225R after connecting it and change the USB notification from “Charging” to “File Transfer/MTP”; MacDroid should then detect it without developer mode.
The TNC225R should appear as a normal USB drive, not an Android/MTP device, so I wouldn’t enable USB debugging or install MacDroid yet. Power the scope on first, use a USB-C cable that supports data, and connect it directly rather than through a hub. Check Finder under Locations, then Disk Utility if it’s missing. If Disk Utility sees nothing, the cable or adapter is the likely problem. Once the DNT drive mounts, copy the recordings onto the Mac before opening them.
The Finder-drive advice is the wrong expectation for this model on a Mac. The TNC225R presents itself as an Android/MTP device, so it may never appear under Finder Locations or Disk Utility as ordinary external storage. DNT’s current Mac guidance calls for an Android-compatible transfer app.
Use a known data-capable USB-C cable, turn the scope on, then open MacDroid and connect in MTP mode. If the scope displays a USB choice, select File Transfer rather than Charging. USB debugging and Developer Options should not be necessary for a normal file copy. ADB mode is more complicated and adds nothing unless MTP genuinely fails.
A common annoyance is having two transfer programs competing for the same device. Completely quit Android File Transfer, OpenMTP, MacDroid, and similar utilities, then launch only the one you intend to use. Reconnect the scope after the app is open. Direct connection to the Mac is preferable, although a simple USB-A adapter is fine if your Mac lacks the matching port.
Once storage appears inside the transfer app, locate the media folders and copy the files to a local folder on your Mac. Copy rather than move, confirm that a couple of recordings play correctly, and only then delete anything from the scope. The TNC225R uses internal storage rather than a removable memory card, so pulling a card and using a reader is not an option.
Don’t start flipping on USB debugging and Developer Options just because the Mac responds with its traditional impression of a brick wall. That is unnecessary for ordinary file copying and creates another set of prompts to deal with.
The important distinction is that the TNC225R uses MTP rather than presenting its internal storage as a normal USB disk. Finder does not handle MTP by itself, so no drive under Locations is an expected result. Use one Android-compatible transfer program, connect the powered-on and unlocked scope with a data-capable cable, then choose File Transfer/MTP on the scope if the USB menu appears. Charging cables are annoyingly common, so try another known data cable before changing obscure settings.
Keep every other Android transfer utility fully closed while doing this. They can grab the connection in the background, leaving the app you are looking at claiming that no device exists. After opening your chosen transfer app, disconnect and reconnect the scope. If macOS asks for permission to access removable volumes, files, or connected accessories, allow it. Check System Settings under Privacy & Security if you dismissed that prompt earlier.
For larger recordings, prevent the scope from going to sleep and copy a few files at a time to a folder on the Mac. MTP transfers are less graceful than dragging files from an actual disk, and a sleeping or locked device can interrupt them without much explanation. Verify the copied videos before deleting anything from the scope.
If the device still fails to appear, the useful troubleshooting order is cable, direct USB port or adapter, USB mode on the scope, macOS permissions, then a different transfer app. Disk Utility is unlikely to settle the question because an MTP device is not expected to show there as a mountable drive. Only consider USB debugging or ADB after normal MTP access has genuinely failed.
Do not erase or initialize anything if macOS reports an unreadable device. The TNC225R uses MTP, so Finder is not the right test.
Power on and unlock the scope, connect it with a known data cable, then select File Transfer/MTP if that choice appears. Open only one Android transfer app and reconnect the cable after the app is running.
If it still fails, check System Information > USB on the Mac. If the scope is missing there, suspect the cable, adapter, or port. If it appears there but not in the transfer app, the USB connection works and the problem is likely the app, its permissions, or the selected USB mode.
Careful with that link @hyperlynx5919 posted for ‘Android File Transfer.’ That’s DNT’s firmware upgrade page, not the actual Android File Transfer download, and you do not want to be poking around firmware tools when all you’re trying to do is pull a few videos off. Grab Android File Transfer from Google’s own Android site instead. Beyond that, the MTP crowd here has it right, and the tip about closing every other transfer app first is the one people skip and then wonder why nothing mounts. If you’d rather not juggle apps, MacDroid works too, just don’t run it at the same time as Android File Transfer or they’ll fight over the connection.
USB works, Finder doesn’t. The scope is using MTP, so open a single Android transfer app before reconnecting the powered-on, unlocked TNC225R, then select File Transfer if that menu appears.
If this is only a one-time copy and the Mac apps keep refusing to detect it, use a Windows PC as the middleman. Windows handles MTP natively, so you can copy the recordings to a flash drive and move them to the Mac without changing developer settings.
Skip USB entirely. Connect the scope to Wi-Fi, then upload recordings to Google Drive, Dropbox, or another cloud service through its browser or Android app. Download them on your Mac afterward.
Test with one short video first. For large files, keep the scope charging and transfer in small batches. This avoids MTP, cables, permissions, and competing Mac apps. Create a seperate folder for each session so your files stay organized.