Link your Android device to a Windows server securely.
Link your Android device to a Windows server securely.
This should work as a hardware and software task. You’ll need a USB C Ethernet adapter to connect your Pixel phone securely. Then install an app that can access the SMB share on your Windows server—likely something like File Explorer or a dedicated file manager. Since you’re not familiar with moving drives outside Windows, stick to native tools and ensure the server credentials are correctly entered. Be cautious about compatibility if you plan to use Linux later.
Are you connected to the server on the university network or at your home? If the server is accessible, or if you have a laptop that can link back, the easiest way would be to plug the phone into the computer via USB and manually transfer the DCIM folder occasionally.
Server is located on the university network. This means I’ll need to connect manually. Right now I’m testing this, but I’d prefer to transfer data directly from my phone to the server for efficiency.
It seems you're suggesting syncthing. Would you like more information about it?
I rely on CX File Explorer on my Android device, which lets me connect the NAS SMB share as a network site. This makes it easy to transfer files between my phone and the server manually. Of course, this isn’t fully automated—so for automatic backups you’ll need another solution. It’s handy for moving files I might want to keep offline on my phone, such as music or EPUB books, back and forth. My server uses TrueNAS instead of Windows, but I believe any SMB share should function similarly.