How to transfer a file via wi. How to transfer files over Wi-Fi
We live in the era of wireless technology and connecting Android phones and tablets to a PC via USB is already becoming obsolete. More and more people are abandoning various wires in favor of Wi-Fi, thanks to which you can easily transfer files from your computer to Android and vice versa.
We have already written about how you can connect your gadget to a PC in the article: and also in the instructions:. This method will be a little more complicated, but more universal.
You don’t need to install anything on your computer - everything is implemented using standard Windows capabilities, and for Android you will have to install one single application - an FTP server. I recommend the free and simple My FTP Server. In this instruction we will use this particular program.
Creating an FTP server on Android
1. Open My FTP Server on your device and go to settings by clicking on the corresponding icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
2. Create a username and password. The rest of the data can be left unchanged.
3. Save the settings by clicking on the floppy disk image in the upper right corner.
4. In the main program window, click “Start Server”.
The “Server Status” item will light up green with the inscription “ON”.
Connecting PC to Android via Wi-Fi
1. Open File Explorer on your PC and go to the Computer section.
2. Right-click on an empty space and select “Add a new item to the network environment.”
4. In the new window, enter the network address that is listed in My FTP Server.
6. Then enter a name for the network connection. You can leave the server IP.
7. At the end, a notification will appear indicating the successful completion of the Add Network Location Wizard. Click Next.
8. Now a new item will appear in the “Computer” section - your network location.
9. When opening for the first time, enter the password for the server that you set in My FTP Server.
As you can see, everything is quite simple. You can easily view files on your device, delete them, download them to your computer, etc.
More experienced users can use an FTP client instead of creating a network environment. The best and also free, in my opinion, is Filezilla.
In the article we will also tell you how to transfer files via Wi-Fi not only between smartphones, but also show a universal way to transfer files via Wi-Fi from a smartphone to a computer.
Activating WI-FI
First you need to activate the wi-fi connection in your phone's settings.
- Go to settings
- Click on the slider opposite the item wi-fi(in older versions of Android there will be a checkbox instead of a slider)
There is no need to connect to the network; file transfer works without the Internet.
Transfer a file using WI-FI Direct
This method works without installing additional software, but I was only able to successfully transfer files between two Samsung devices; nothing worked with an LG smartphone. It apparently also depends on what this technology is used for in a particular smartphone. Below is a screenshot from the help for an LG phone, applicable for this function.
On the contrary, there were no problems with Samsung devices
- Go to settings and on the wi fi tab look for Wi-FI Direct. The location of the button may differ for different models of smartphones and tablets; in this case, you must refer to the instructions for your device.
- Next, you need to pair the two devices between which you plan to transfer files.
- Transferring files is similar to exchanging data via Bluetooth; there should be no difficulties.
- You can see how it works in the video under the spoiler.
How it works?
SHAREit is a universal application for sharing files via wi fi, which works equally well not only on Android, but also on iOS, Windows, WinPhone and MacOS.
- Install SHAREit on your smartphone
The latest versions of the application can be found at.
- We launch SHAREit on both devices between which we plan to exchange files.
- On one of them, click “Send” and select the file that we will transfer.
You can transfer any files, including applications installed on your smartphone (Android only)
- On the second device, click “Receive”
- In the center of the screen you will see the picture assigned to your device. The exact same image will appear on the transmitting smartphone.
- To start transferring files, you must click on the icon.
Share files with PC
The process of transferring files between a smartphone and a computer is practically no different from exchanging files between two smartphones.
- On PC, install and run the application
- On the sending device, click “Send” and select the “Connect to PC” mode.
- In the notifications that appear, click “OK” and the file transfer will begin.
Android has built-in tools for distributing mobile traffic via a Wi-Fi adapter. Setting them up is straightforward, so you don't need any special skills or apps to share Wi-Fi from an Android phone or Android tablet.
Setting up modem mode
If you know how to distribute the Internet from a PC to Android, you will quickly understand the technology that makes it possible to distribute the Internet from Android to other devices. In the case of a computer, a router is used to which a cable is connected. After a short setup, the router begins to distribute Wi-Fi indoors, so that a laptop, personal computer (with a wireless adapter), tablet and phone can access the Internet without a wired connection.
In the case of distributing the Internet from a tablet or Android phone, a router is not needed. Its functions are performed by a built-in Wi-Fi adapter, which, after turning on the modem mode, begins to send mobile traffic. To understand how to distribute WiFi from Android to a laptop and other devices, let's look at how to enable modem mode using the TouchWiz shell from Samsung as an example:
Please note: when tethering mode is enabled, the smartphone cannot use Wi-Fi to access the Internet. The adapter begins to work as a router, and access to the network can only be obtained through mobile traffic. After turning on mobile traffic, you can assume that the Wi-Fi network is distributed throughout the room. from any device with a Wi-Fi adapter (tablet, laptop, PC):
In the settings of the phone from which Wi-Fi is distributed, a notification will appear indicating who is connected to the network. If you see that another device that you did not connect yourself is using the point, block access for it and change the password in the network settings. To stop distributing traffic, just turn off modem mode or turn off mobile Internet on your phone.
Other ways to distribute mobile traffic
Information on how to distribute Wi-Fi from an Android phone will not help only if the other device does not have a wireless network adapter. This primarily applies to PCs, which are usually connected to the router via a wired connection. This drawback can be eliminated in two ways:
- Buy an external adapter, and then the information on how to distribute WiFi will become relevant again.
- Use a different connection type.
The second method is supported by the fact that the Android settings have the necessary tools to establish a different type of connection - a Bluetooth modem and a UBS modem. When using the first technology, you need to have a Bluetooth adapter on your PC, and to operate a USB modem you only need a cable and a free USB port.
There are no significant differences in setting up the connection from Wi-Fi distribution. To establish a connection via Bluetooth:
- Turn on mobile internet on your phone.
- Open settings, go to the “More” section (“Other networks”).
- Select "Modem Mode". Click on the “Bluetooth modem” item.
To connect to the Internet on a PC, you need to enable searching and adding a new device via Bluetooth. When the phone is found, a window with an 8-digit access code will appear on the screen, and Android OS will prompt you to pair the devices. After pairing, open the “Devices and Printers” settings section on your computer, right-click on the phone icon and select connection via an access point.
Bluetooth modem shows the slowest data transfer speed, so it is recommended to use a USB connection instead.
- Enable mobile traffic on Android.
- Go to the network settings and select the “USB modem” mode.
- Go to the control panel and find the local network connection in the list of connections. Right-click on it and select Enable.
Whatever you say, wired connections between computer and mobile devices, even with the creation of local networks, are disappearing into oblivion. This is understandable, because to establish a connection you will not always be able to carry the appropriate cord or even several different cables with you. That is why today wireless technologies are increasingly used for data exchange, in particular, file transfer via WiFi, despite even the lower speed when compared with wired connections. Read on to learn how such operations are performed and what is needed for this.
Transferring files over WiFi: basic options
To begin with, we should consider the basic actions that are supposed to be performed to exchange data between different devices, without delving too much into the technical details of the processes taking place.
In general, modern technologies allow you to use WiFi file transfer from computer to computer, mobile device, or even set-top boxes or panels in several basic ways:
- opening shared files and folders directly on the device with the ability to copy the necessary data, as is done on a regular local network;
- sending and receiving information using a direct connection between devices via WiFi, similar to what is provided when using Bluetooth-based connections.
The first method is more suitable in cases where computers are involved in the data exchange process, and the other two are most often used for mobile gadgets, although if you install the appropriate software and meet certain conditions, they are equally suitable for the same laptops. As is already clear, the main condition for using any of the described options is the presence of a working WiFi wireless communication module on the device. We do not consider connections to television panels based on LAN technologies, since this is a separate conversation.
So, first, let's look at transferring files via WiFi between computers. Initially, we assume that the router is configured correctly. For convenience, you can create a VPN server on one of the terminals, but this is not a prerequisite. It will be enough that both computer terminals, laptops or mobile devices can connect to the existing connection. To exchange data, you just need to enable device detection on the network and set shared access to the necessary disks, files and folders. Of course, in the literal sense this cannot be called file transfer over WiFi, but this option is the simplest.
To set options, you must enter the network connections section and use the advanced settings settings. In the new window, you should enable the items to enable network discovery of devices and enable file and folder sharing.
For ease of connection, you can disable password protection. But that is not all.
Sharing files and directories
Despite the fact that sharing seems to be activated in the network settings, file transfer via WiFi remains unavailable. Why? Yes, only because it is necessary to indicate which folders or files will be available for viewing from other computers or mobile gadgets. To set these options, you should use the properties section, which is called up on the selected directory or file through the RMB menu on the corresponding tab, and then set the access options by clicking the advanced options button (rather than the usual opening).
The main setting here is to set permissions to perform certain actions for all users.
If we talk about setting up shared access, it should be noted that you can also use the creation of a home group for this. In this case, files and folders will be accessible only to devices included in it.
The setup is made from the same network management section, but in this case the operating system will generate a password that will be used to gain access to the open resources of the first PC from other devices. Now, if you want, on another PC in the same “Explorer” you can select to connect a network drive, after which all available networks and connected devices will be displayed in the list. By selecting the desired resource and entering the access password, you can work with them as with regular sections.
Using Wi-Fi Direct
Finally, a few words about direct data transfer. Without going into technical details of the functioning of Wi-Fi Direct protocols, we can only note that using such a connection allows you to do without a router. Typically, this type of data exchange is used in mobile devices running Android operating systems. Activation of the mode, if it is supported, of course, is done in the WiFi section with a selection of additional parameters, both on the transmitting and receiving device. When you long press on the file, the sending menu will be displayed, which will be carried out after searching and selecting the device to be synchronized. In practice, however, this does not always work (mostly only on Samsung gadgets). But for devices from other manufacturers, you can use additional software utilities.
Required Software
For example, a very interesting application that has the highest data transfer speed without any restrictions on file size is the ShareIt utility. It simply generates an access point on the basis of which synchronization and transmission are performed. No less popular programs include WiFiShooT, SuperBeam, etc. But keeping an app with just one function is sometimes unprofitable.
Therefore, you can use the universal X-Plore client, which performs both the role of a file manager and the role of organizer of an access point for connecting via Wi-Fi.
As is already clear, there is no need to install a similar application on computers for transferring files over WiFi. In such situations, you can get by using Windows operating systems.
Let's say you need to transfer files from your phone to your computer or vice versa. What will you do? Find a USB cable, crawl under the table, looking for a connector on the computer (if you have a laptop, you don’t need to climb anywhere. But there may not be any free connectors, as often happens with me), then, on the third try, insert the cable into the computer , open the folder and wait for the files to be transferred. Do you know how I do it? I just transfer files from my phone via WiFi.
UPD April 28, 2018:
There is a better way. Install this program, click on the three dots and select “Connect to computer” from the menu. Click “Start”. In the computer explorer, type the address that the program displayed.
In order to transfer files over the network, you must first configure it. This is done once.
First of all, go to the control panel, then to “Network and Sharing Center”, then, on the left, click on “Change advanced sharing settings”.
Make sure sharing and discovery is enabled:
In addition, depending on which network you have assigned to you, we check the remaining two groups:
Then create a folder in a location convenient for you, right-click and select “Properties”, go to the access tab and first click on “Sharing”
In the window that opens, select “All” and click “Add”
We see the result, click “Done”
Now go to the “Advanced settings” section, make sure that the checkbox at the top is checked, click “Permissions” and set full access. Click on “OK”, then again, then on “Close”.
This completes the computer setup. We download a file manager onto the phone that can work over the network. I use ES File Explorer.
Open it, swipe from the left edge and go to the “Network” section
Click on “Scan”. Depending on the version or theme installed in the application, the location of the element may change. Look for the radar icon.
We wait until the phone finds available devices and select the one you need.
We see a list of folders available for writing, go to the desired one. Then, by swiping to the right, you can return to the phone’s file system and, as in any file manager, simply copy the necessary files or folders and, swiping again to return to the folder on the computer, paste them, or vice versa: take the files from the folder to your telephone.
