How to Connect Huawei to PC - Complete Guide. If you own an Android smartphone or tablet made by Huawei and want a way to connect Huawei to your PC, you should use HiSuite. You can use it to do things like browse and import files from your smartphone, as well as send messages, take screenshots, or backup your Android smartphone, all from the comfort of your Windows PC. Let's see how to configure HiSuite and use it to connect Huawei to the PC.
NOTE: : This guide was created using a computer with Windows 10 and a Huawei P20 smartphone with Android 9 Pie. The HiSuite apps for Windows and Android should work similarly on all Windows computers and Huawei smartphones and tablets.
Using HiSuite versus other methods to connect Huawei to a Windows 10 PC
HiSuite is the Huawei solution to connect Huawei to your Windows PC. It's a combination of two apps - one for Windows and another for Android. The apps are designed to connect via a USB cable. Note that we have found numerous references to a WiFi connection via HiSuite, but they seem to point to older versions of the app. After connecting your smartphone to your Windows computer, you can perform the following tasks:
- Overview, import and export of contacts, messages, images, videos and files.
- View and uninstall apps on your Huawei device.
- Synchronize your contacts and calendar with Microsoft Outlook.
- Cast the Huawei smartphone screen to your Windows computer.
- Take screenshots of the smartphone screen.
- Back up your Huawei smartphone to your computer and restore from it.
- Update the software of your Huawei smartphone.
- Run System Restore on a smartphone that cannot be turned on.
These features are accessible through three different areas of the interface:
- The buttons on the image of your Huawei smartphone.
- My Device - which has several icons that act as shortcuts.
- The buttons at the bottom of the HiSuite app.
HiSuite's user interface can be a bit confusing, especially since the image buttons on the smartphone screen don't appear unless you hover over them. Once you get used to the interface, it becomes easy, but we wish Huawei had a better design.
Connect Huawei to PC, install HiSuite on your Windows computer
HiSuite starts the installation with a Windows app developed by Huawei to integrate its devices (smartphones and tablets) with Windows computers. In your web browser, go to the HiSuite support page and download the installation file. Run the installation file in Windows, called HiSuite_ [version_number] .exe, and follow the installation wizard without connecting Huawei to the PC yet.
To make sure you have the latest version of the HiSuite app for Windows, click or tap the app name in the lower left corner, written in lowercase letters. If you find a new version available, press the Update button. After downloading and installing the new version, you are ready to connect Huawei to your Windows PC.
Install and activate HiSuite on your Huawei device
Open HiSuite and connect your Huawei smartphone to the Windows computer using a USB cable. The Huawei smartphone needs a couple of adjustments. The first is to allow HiSuite to connect to your smartphone. Huawei has introduced a particular setting for HiSuite in its Android implementation. The message on the screen is quite explicit about what you need to do: “Go to Settings and enter HDB in the search box and tap Allow HiSuite to use HDB”.
Open Settings on your Huawei smartphone, search for “HDB” and make sure that the setting “Allow HiSuite to use HDB” is activated. The full access path in Settings is: “Security and privacy → Other (SIM lock, device administrators) → Allow HiSuite to use HDB“.
If the smartphone does not appear in HiSuite in future connections, please disable the HDB setting and enable again. If the HiSuite app is not already installed on your Android smartphone, the Windows app will ask you to do so.
After installing the Android app (it may take a few minutes depending on your device and internet connection), you will receive a new message on your smartphone. We recommend that you check “Always allow HiSuite connection from this computer” to avoid this prompt in the future. Press OK.
We are done with the software installations and can proceed with the use of the application.
Use HiSuite to overview, import and export contacts, messages, images, videos and files
The HiSuite app has an area called My Device which allows the transfer of contacts, messages, images and videos to and from Windows 10 computers and Android smartphones. The main screen of the Windows app lists the number of items found on the smartphone from each category in a separate tab. Click or tap one of the cards to open its screen. When you can click or tap My Device, the last used area in the current HiSuite session opens.
HiSuite allows you to view, manage and transfer information between your Windows computer and Huawei device for contacts, messages, pictures, videos and files. Use the navigation area on the left side to switch between the categories of information.
When you use My Device in HiSuite to manage transfers between your Windows computer and your Huawei smartphone or tablet, HiSuite displays the following action buttons:
- Import: Get information from your Windows computer and store it on the Huawei device.
- Export: Get information from the Huawei device and store it on your Windows computer.
- Delete: Selected entries are deleted from the Huawei device.
- Refresh: Refresh the list of items in HiSuite with the latest information from the Huawei device.
- New: only available for Messages, allows you to create and send a new SMS message from HiSuite in Windows.
Note that although HiSuite lists all the contacts of the Huawei smartphone, it can only manage the contacts stored on the SIM card and in the internal memory of the smartphone. Cannot manage contacts stored in your Google account or social media apps. These contacts are neither visible nor managed in HiSuite.
In the navigation area it is possible to open a File Manager that allows the transfer and management of files on the smartphone. In the File Manager, you get additional buttons for Copy, Paste, and New Folder, which work the same way as File Explorer in Windows.
Use HiSuite to uninstall apps from your Huawei smartphone
The list of apps installed on the smartphone is also visible in HiSuite. The only operation you can do in the HiSuite app is uninstall them (you get buttons only for Uninstall and Update). The advantage of using HiSuite is that you can uninstall a large number of apps with a single action. If you want to clean up the apps menu on your Huawei device, HiSuite allows you to review and uninstall apps from the comfort of the Windows screen.
Use HiSuite to sync your Huawei smartphone with Microsoft Outlook
The last two options in My Device allow Microsoft Outlook to be synchronized with the Huawei smartphone (contacts and calendar). It can be especially useful for corporate settings where Outlook remains the dominant email client.
In the navigation area on the left side of the screen, there is an Outlook group with two possible selections below: Synchronize contacts and Synchronize calendar. On the right side of the screen, you can see the number of entries (contacts or calendar appointments) on the Huawei device and in Outlook. Below, you have a Sync button that syncs either Contacts or Calendar, depending on what you've selected in the left navigation bar.
Use HiSuite to mirror your screen and take screenshots of the Huawei smartphone on your Windows computer
At the bottom of the Huawei device image, present in the HiSuite Home tab, there are four action buttons for Show, Refresh, Screenshot and Open.
When you press Show, the image of Huawei devices switches to full screen in Windows. You can view, change orientation, freeze or take screenshots while the session is running. The Refresh button refreshes the image on the screen. It is done automatically by HiSuite, but you have to wait a few seconds. The Screenshot button has a small arrow to the right that allows you to take screenshots of the Huawei device to the clipboard or files stored on your Windows computer. The Open button opens the folder on your Windows computer where the screenshots are stored.
Connect Huawei to your PC to backup, restore, update or restore your Huawei smartphone
The lower area of the main screen in HiSuite contains four other action buttons: backup, restore, update and system restore.
Backup and restore works on the following data from the Huawei device: Contacts, Messages, Call log, Notes, Recordings, Calendar, Pictures, Music, Videos, Documents, Apps and data and System settings. In the case of Contacts, Pictures, Music, Apps and data and System settings, it is possible to refine the selection on individual elements. For security reasons, you can encrypt your backups and protect them with a password. Backup and restore are performed using a folder on the Windows computer.
The Update button checks the latest firmware available for your Huawei device using your Windows computer's Internet connection. If a newer version is available, you can download and install it using HiSuite.
System recovery is an intervention action in the event of a problem on your Huawei device. If you are unable to turn on the device, you can connect it to your Windows computer and try to reset it using this HiSuite feature.
