Transfer files from your phone to your PC

How SendTheStuff will get files off your phone and onto a PC

SendTheStuff will skip the apps, the cable and the shared Wi-Fi. On the PC, a browser tab will show a QR code. Your phone's camera app, or Google Lens, will open it like any QR link. Then you'll pick photos from the Gallery or files from the Files app.

• Big videos, not just photos: SendTheStuff will take up to 5 GB and 1,000 files per send. That's far past Phone Link's drag-and-drop cap of 512 MB a file.
• Any brand of Android: SendTheStuff won't care whether the phone is a Pixel, a Samsung or anything else with a camera and a browser.
• Text and links too: SendTheStuff will carry up to 10,000 characters of text. An address or a link you copied on the phone will reach the PC without an email to yourself.
• Back to the phone: SendTheStuff will send from the PC to the phone as well, once both devices use the same email.
• Its own allowance: SendTheStuff will count device sends apart from link transfers, up to 5 GB in any 24 hours.

The PC won't need an app or your email just to receive. Sends will travel over the internet, so on mobile data a big video uses your data plan. An iPhone will pair the same way; see AirDrop for Windows for its other options.

Why moving one file off your phone takes so long

Plug an Android phone into a PC and, by default, it only charges. File Explorer shows none of its files until you tap the USB notification, such as "Charging this device via USB", and switch to File Transfer. Google adds a warning that catches people out: "Not all USB cables can transfer files."

The wireless routes each need setup first. Windows' own Nearby sharing works only between PCs that are running Windows, so your phone never appears in it. Quick Share needs Google's app on the PC. Phone Link needs Microsoft's Link to Windows app on the phone, though some brands build it in. Emailing a file to yourself runs into the attachment limit, 25 MB in Gmail.

Quick Share, Phone Link, a USB cable or email

These are the real options today. Each one stops somewhere:

SendTheStuff will drop the installs and the brand lists. It will need the phone's camera, a browser on each side, and your email on the phone.

Quick Share for Windows

Google's Quick Share for Windows app is the closest thing to AirDrop between Android and Windows. Google says to download it from its website, while Samsung PCs use Samsung's own Quick Share app from the Microsoft Store. It needs a 64-bit version of Windows 10 and up and a phone with Android 6.0 and up.

• Range: both devices need Bluetooth on and the same network, within 16 feet or 5 meters of each other.
• Who can see the PC: under Settings > Device visibility, choose Everyone, Contacts, Your devices or No one.
• Sending from the PC: drag a file into the app, or right-click it and pick Send with Quick Share.
• Where files land: received files go to Downloads > Quick Share on the PC.

Two catches trip people up. Google says "Do not open the app as administrator", or dragging files into it can fail. And some networks, like office Wi-Fi, don't allow device-to-device sharing. Google's fix there is to connect the PC to the phone's hotspot instead.

Phone Link on a Windows 11 PC

Phone Link comes with Windows, and pairs with Microsoft's Link to Windows app on the phone. File sharing needs a Windows 11 PC and a phone with Android 10 or later.

• Phone to PC: tap Share on the file, then Link to Windows – Send to PC, then your PC. Stay on that screen until it says Sent. Files land in Downloads\Phone Link.
• PC to phone: right-click the file and choose Share > Phone Link. It arrives in Downloads > Sent from your PC on the phone.
• Cloud files: "Only locally saved files" can be shared, Microsoft says. A file that lives only in the cloud goes across as a link.

Drag and drop is a separate Phone Link feature, for select Samsung, HONOR, OPPO, ASUS, vivo and Xiaomi devices. You open Phone screen in Phone Link and drag files between it and a folder on the PC. Each file can be up to 512 MB, with 100 files at most per drag. Microsoft also warns: "Minimizing the Phone Link app during drag and drop will cancel the transfer."

A USB cable, done right

A cable still moves a whole camera roll without touching Wi-Fi. Google's steps for a Windows PC:

1. Unlock the phone and connect it to the PC with a USB cable.
2. On the phone, tap the USB notification, such as "Charging this device via USB".
3. Choose Use USB for > File Transfer. A file transfer window opens on the PC.
4. Drag files across in either direction, then eject the phone in Windows before unplugging.

Until SendTheStuff launches

Pick the route that fits what you have.

No cable, Android phone and Windows PC on the same Wi-Fi:

1. Install Quick Share for Windows on the PC from Google's website, and set who can see it.
2. On the phone, tap Share on the file, then Quick Share, then the PC.
3. On the PC, accept the request. The file lands in Downloads > Quick Share.

Windows 11 with Phone Link already set up:

1. Tap Share on the file, then Link to Windows – Send to PC.
2. Pick your PC, and find the file in Downloads\Phone Link.

A cable to hand: follow the USB steps above.

A small file, anywhere: email it to yourself, up to 25 MB in Gmail. Past that, Gmail adds it as a Google Drive link, which uses your 15 GB of Google storage.

Where the files end up on the PC

With SendTheStuff, files will wait in the PC's browser tab with a download button. Until then, each route saves to its own folder:

• Quick Share: Downloads > Quick Share.
• Phone Link: Downloads\Phone Link, which you can change in Phone Link's settings.
• USB cable: wherever you drag them in File Explorer.
• Bluetooth: Windows asks where to save each file when it finishes.

When it doesn't work

• The PC doesn't see the phone's files over USB. Tap the USB notification, such as "Charging this device via USB", and choose File Transfer. Still nothing? "Not all USB cables can transfer files." Try another cable, then another USB port.
• Quick Share can't find the PC. Check that both devices have Bluetooth on and share one network. Google suggests bringing them within a foot, or 30 centimeters of each other.
• Quick Share works at home but not at work. Some networks, like office Wi-Fi, don't allow device-to-device sharing. Connect the PC to the phone's hotspot and try again.
• Phone Link shows a red circle when you drag. Another drag may still be running, or you've included a folder. Send fewer files, one drag at a time.
• Bluetooth from the phone doesn't arrive. On the PC, choose Receive files before the phone sends. Sending from the PC and Windows says "Bluetooth file transfer not completed"? The phone may not have been ready, so check it's paired and accepting files.