Looking for an easy way to transfer files between your phone and computer? Discover the convenience of Nearby Share. Effortlessly transfer files with this seamless tool. Try it today!
In August 2020, Google introduced a new feature for the Android system called “ Nearby Share, ” as the company’s response to the “Quick Send” AirDrop feature that has existed for years in Apple devices, which allows sharing and receiving photos, documents, etc., using other nearby phones and computers. Nearby Share plays the same role, but it is not limited to sharing files wirelessly between phones, but also sharing applications . Over time, the feature began to gradually reach Android phones running Android 6 and above through updates, until it is now available on nearly 3 billion phones, according to Google .
We have already explained how to use the "Nearby Share" feature to exchange files between different Android phones, but the feature no longer works only on the scale of Android smartphones, but recently Google has expanded this scope to include Windows computers. So if you want to quickly transfer any files on your Android phone to your computer, you don't need to download any additional apps. Here's how to use Nearby Share to share files between your phone and computer.
The Play Store already has hundreds of apps that allow you to easily send links, files, photos, and other things between devices. However, having a feature built into Android that does this just as well as other apps is pretty cool. The Nearby Share feature uses each of the communication technologies available on the phone, whether Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or NFC to send content, but they are not used at the same time but rather according to the file size, so that if the file is large, the feature will use Wi-Fi Direct technology. If the file size is small, you will use Bluetooth or NFC, and whether the phone is connected to the Internet or not, the feature will work without any problems, the only condition is that the devices are connected to the same router .
Note that the Windows system has a similar feature even in the name, which is Nearby Sharing , but it is limited to sharing files between computers running Windows only. As for the Nearby Share feature from Google, it can be used to share files between nearby Android phones or the phone and the computer.
All you need is an Android phone running Android 6 or higher, and a Windows 10 or higher 64-bit computer. Of course, both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are required in the computer, although this is not a problem for laptop users, but if you use a desktop computer, you may need to purchase a USB Adapter to enable wireless communication technologies. In general, if your device meets these conditions, you can start by downloading the Nearby Share Beta for Windows program , which acts as a link between your phone and computer to exchange files. As it turns out, the software is still in the development phase which means that some functions may not work properly.
After downloading the program, install it by double-clicking on the " BetterTogetherSetup " file. With the first launch of the program, you can choose to either log in with a Google account or use the program without an account. It is recommended to log in as long as you install the program on your personal computer so that the sharing process is faster, as file transfers are accepted automatically as long as both devices are linked to the same Google account, but if you choose to log in without registering, some options in the program will not be available.
After completing the registration stage, you will see the setup screen where you specify in the Visible to others as field a name for the computer, and from the Receiving menu choose who can share files with you, whether everyone (Everyone) or your contacts (Your devices) and then press "Done" to have the program ready to send or receive files. In the event that you do not do so, a warning will appear that you must activate Bluetooth and connect to the Internet on the same router that your phone is connected to.
Now go to your Android phone, where the Nearby Share feature is disabled by default and must be activated to exchange files between the phone and the computer. To do this, open the “Settings” or “Settings” application, then go to the “Google” section and click on “Devices & sharing”, then click on “Nearby Share” and make sure that the “Use Nearby Share” option is activated. Through this page, you can also set the name of the phone, which appears to nearby devices, and also specify whether you want to make the phone visible to everyone, contacts, or only your devices. You can also specify whether you want the feature to use the Internet connection in the file sharing process or not.
To share files from your Android phone with your computer, all you have to do is make sure that the Nearby Share Beta program is running on Windows. After that, go to the file on your phone, whether a photo, video, or audio clip, and press the Share button, and from the window that appears, choose the “Nearby Share” sharing method, then another window will appear showing the nearby devices, so click on the name of the computer.
A request will then be sent to the Nearby Share Beta program if there is a device trying to connect. If you run the program, details about the sender will appear with a matching PIN code displayed on the phone. All you have to do now is press "Accept" and the file will immediately be sent from the phone to the computer where it is saved in the "Downloads" folder in Windows. Note that the computer name will be saved in the Nearby Share list on your phone so that you don't need to accept the file every time, so the next share will be easier and faster.
As for sending files from the computer to the phone, the process is also easy. Just open the Nearby Share Beta program on the computer and press Select files to select files or select folders to select entire folders. You can also right-click on the file in the File Explorer tool and choose "Send with Nearby Share". Then the program will start searching for nearby phones, so select your phone from the "Nearby devices" list and click Share. On your phone, confirm the process of receiving the file to be sent immediately.
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