Smartphones have evolved to the extent that they tin hands replace our PCs for mean solar day-to-day tasks such as email, video streaming, and web browsing. Regardless of your primary device, sooner or later, you volition demand to share files from your phone to a PC or vice-versa.

There are plenty of different ways to share files from a PC to your Android telephone, only the best method depends on the amount of data you demand to transfer. Let'southward await at how y'all tin can easily share files from a PC to an Android mobile phone.

ane. Transfer Files From Laptop to Phone Using a USB Cable

If you lot take to transfer many files between your Android telephone and PC, you should opt for the oldest and nearly reliable transfer method. It'south even so quick and easy to share files from a phone to a laptop, as long as you've got a compatible cable on hand. Plug your charging cable into the PC and connect it with your telephone.

Once you lot've got it set up, exercise the following on Windows or a Chromebook:

  1. Connect your phone.
  2. Tap on the notification Android shows labeled Charging this device via USB.
  3. Nether USB settings, set Utilize USB for to Transferring files or File transfer.

That'southward information technology. A file transfer window will open up on your estimator, showing your telephone (and SD card if you've got one). So you tin can start copying your files across.

The instructions are almost the same on a Mac, but you will demand to install the Android File Transfer software commencement.

This method is suitable for copying large amounts of information. Attempt information technology when y'all want to transfer some movies or your entire music collection. It makes it easy to motility files to your phone's SD carte du jour as well.

The Google account you've fix on your phone gives you access to 15GB of deject storage space through Google Drive. This gives you a user-friendly way to move files between your laptop and phone.

You lot demand to install the Google Drive app on your laptop. If yous'd rather, you can use Dropbox or Microsoft's OneDrive, as they all piece of work pretty much the same mode.

When yous gear up up Google Bulldoze, you need to sign in showtime. And then select Back up all file types and click Adjacent.

back up all file types

On the adjacent screen, choose Advanced Settings at the bottom. Select Sync My Drive to this computer, and then click OK.

This creates a Google Bulldoze folder on your estimator. Everything in this folder will sync to and from your Drive account. And so to upload files to your telephone, just move them into the Bulldoze folder. Open the app on your phone, and they'll be there after syncing.

The primary caveat to recollect here is that the files shown in your Bulldoze app are not stored on your phone. If you try to open one, it needs to download first—a gigantic file can take a big seize with teeth out of your monthly data assart.

To get around this, yous have two options for downloading the files you need to your phone. Select a file, and from the card, choose either:

  • Make available offline. This downloads the file for you to view offline within Drive. Whatever changes y'all make to it volition sync next time you become online.
  • Download. This saves a new copy of the file to your Downloads folder, and you tin can open it in any uniform app. However, any edits you make won't sync—you lot need to re-upload the file to your Drive account.
download google drive files

A lack of free space is the main limitation of this solution. Y'all can always set an extra account, though, and it is possible to transfer files from ane Google Drive account to another.

Download: Google Bulldoze for Desktop (Free)

Emailing files to ourselves is hardly the most efficient way of moving data from a laptop to a phone, but we've all done it at once or another. It works for quick sharing of files when y'all tin can't utilize any of the other methods.

WeTransfer lets you send up to 2GB of files through email

You're limited to 25MB attachments in Gmail. If you lot need something larger, check out WeTransfer. That allows y'all to ship files up to 2GB for costless, with no registration.

Enter your electronic mail accost on the website, then drag your files into the browser window and send. You'll then receive an email on your phone with a link to the files you may download. For security, files are encrypted and erased afterwards vii days. You'll need a Pro membership if you wish to erase your files sooner or continue them up for longer.

Alternatively, some other easy way to transfer files between your Android device and PC is to apply WhatsApp Spider web. This is an excellent way to quickly share images, documents, or even videos if you have a fast internet connection.

I popular method to sharing files with WhatsApp is to make a new WhatsApp group with just 1 contact and remove them as soon as y'all create the group. Now that you lot're the merely participant, you can use this conversation to transport and receive files from either device privately.

To send files from your PC, you will first have to log in to WhatsApp Spider web from your PC and upload the required files in the newly created group chat.

5. How to Transfer Files From Laptop to Mobile Wirelessly

You can share files between your phone and your laptop wirelessly, using either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Using Bluetooth

When you lot've got a few smaller files you need to move to your phone, Bluetooth is an first-class way to go. It'southward pretty easy, too, once you've got it fix.

set up bluetooth device on Windows 10

To transport a file over Bluetooth from your Windows 10 laptop to your phone, you lot first need to pair the ii devices. Go to Settings > Devices and hit the toggle to plow on Bluetooth. Make sure information technology's also enabled on your phone.

Now go to Add together Bluetooth or other device > Bluetooth to showtime scanning. After a short delay, your telephone will show upward. Select information technology, and so click Connect on your PC and Pair on your phone to complete the procedure.

To share a file over Bluetooth, go to Settings > Devices > Ship or receive files via Bluetooth > Send files. Then choose the file you want to share.

transfer files over bluetooth

For other platforms, the names of the menu options will be unlike, but the procedure is the same. Outset, you need to pair, and then yous tin can share.

Bluetooth is slower than some of the other methods we've listed, and information technology's best for smaller files and casual use.

Using Wi-Fi

When you demand to regularly move large amounts of data to your phone, you cannot beat Wi-Fi. As long as you connect your telephone and laptop to the same Wi-Fi network, you can move files chop-chop and deeply.

To copy files over Wi-Fi, yous need a particular app on your telephone merely nothing extra on your laptop. We recommend Portal by Pushbullet, which is free and requires no signup. It works with whatsoever platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, or Chrome Os. Download and install the Android app from the Google Play Shop to begin.

Next, open a spider web browser on your laptop or desktop and go to the Portal by Pushbullet website, where you'll see a unique QR code. You demand to scan this QR lawmaking from the app on your phone.

Scan QR code to start sharing files

Now open up Portal on your phone and tap Scan. When the camera launches, point it at the QR code to scan information technology. This establishes a direct wireless connection betwixt your phone and desktop or laptop. Information technology's only temporary, so next time y'all run the app, yous'll need to browse the QR code over again to pair it.

Use Pushbullet Portal to send files

Finally, drag your files into the browser window, and they will instantly brainstorm uploading to your phone.

Past default, Portal places images and music into your phone's Photos and Music folders. Everything else goes into the Portal folder. You tin leave them there and access them through the Portal app, or you can use a file managers to move the files to whatsoever other binder (and even to your SD card).

Portal is extremely user-friendly considering y'all don't need to install it on your laptop.

Download: Portal by Pushbullet (Free)

More than Means to Move Your Information

There are more than methods to move files between devices. Yous tin employ your SD card or a USB flash bulldoze with an On-The-Go cablevision if your phone supports them. Or for ultra-techie solutions, try using FTP with the Wi-Fi FTP Server app, or fifty-fifty utilizing Network Attached Storage (NAS). With this option, you share a single hard drive with all the devices continued to your network.

For most people, the five methods outlined above are the best ways to movement data from your laptop to your Android telephone. Some are better for speedily sharing small files, and some excel at moving huge amounts of data. If you want to transfer large amounts of information, we recommend using a USB cable to transfer data. Otherwise, information technology is ameliorate to apply wireless sharing methods.

What Is Wi-Fi Direct? Wireless File Transfer Method Faster Than Bluetooth

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Almost The Author

Andy Betts (215 Manufactures Published)

Andy is a freelance author and inferior editor for Android at MUO. He's been writing about consumer tech since the early on 2000s for a wide range of publications, and has a passion for all things mobile.

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