How to transfer files from a PC to your phone without a USB cable

The quickest wireless route depends on your phone. With an Android phone, install Google's Quick Share for Windows or use Microsoft's Phone Link, then right-click a file and send it; both use your local Wi-Fi and are much faster than Bluetooth. With an iPhone, Windows has no AirDrop equivalent built in, so use a free local-network app such as LocalSend, iCloud Drive, or a browser-to-browser transfer. Email and cloud drives work for anything, on any network, but are capped by size and upload speed. Bluetooth is a fallback for a few small files only.

Which method fits

Android phones

Quick Share for Windows

Google's Quick Share app brings the Android "nearby share" experience to Windows. It needs a 64-bit PC running Windows 10 or later (Windows 11 on Arm-based PCs) and a phone on Android 6.0 or later. Samsung PC owners are directed to Samsung's own Quick Share app in the Microsoft Store instead.

1. Download Quick Share for Windows from android.com and open it. Do not run it as administrator.
2. Turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on both devices, connect them to the same network, and keep them within about 5 metres.
3. On the PC, right-click a file and choose Send with Quick Share, or drag files into the app window.
4. Pick your phone from the list, check the PIN if one appears, and accept on the phone.

If your phone does not appear, open Quick Share on the phone and check Device visibility. "Your devices" only works when both are signed into the same Google account; "Everyone" is the fallback, but switch it back afterwards.

Phone Link

Phone Link comes with Windows 11 and pairs with the Link to Windows app on Android. Once linked, sharing from PC to phone takes two clicks:

1. Right-click the file in File Explorer and choose Share.
2. Select Phone Link in the share window. The file is saved on the phone in Downloads > Sent from your PC.

This requires Android 10 or later and recent versions of both apps. Only files stored locally can be sent; a file that lives only in OneDrive will be shared as a link. On selected Samsung, HONOR, OPPO, ASUS, vivo and Xiaomi phones, Phone Link also supports dragging files onto the mirrored phone screen, limited to 100 files at a time and 512 MB per file, and minimising the Phone Link window cancels the transfer.

LocalSend

LocalSend is a free, open-source app for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS that sends files over your local network without an account or an internet connection. Install it on both devices, make sure they are on the same Wi-Fi, choose the files on the PC, and tap the phone's name. It is a good choice if you also want to move files between an Android phone and an iPhone, or if you prefer not to sign into a Google account.

iPhone

The iPhone is harder because Apple keeps AirDrop to its own devices and does not accept Bluetooth file transfers from Windows. These are the options that actually work:

• LocalSend. Same steps as above; on the iPhone, received files go to the app and can be saved to Files or Photos.
• iCloud Drive. Install iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store, sign in, and iCloud Drive appears in File Explorer. Copy a file into it and it shows up in the Files app on the iPhone once it syncs. Alternatively, upload through icloud.com in any browser. Both count against your iCloud storage, which is 5 GB on the free tier.
• OneDrive or Google Drive. Upload on the PC, open the app on the iPhone, and download or mark the file as available offline.
• Phone Link. Microsoft began testing file sharing between iPhone and Windows through Phone Link with Windows Insiders in December 2024 (it needs iOS 16 or later and the Link to Windows app on the iPhone). If your Phone Link offers it, right-click a file, choose Share and pick your phone; if not, use one of the methods above.
• Browser transfer. See below; it is often the least effort for a one-off file.

If the same files also need to reach an Android phone, our iPhone to Android guide covers the cross-platform options.

Methods that work for both

Email to yourself

It is universal and needs nothing new, but it stops at about 20 to 25 MB per message after encoding, and every file goes through your mail provider. Fine for a PDF or a handful of photos; useless for a video. See email attachment size limits by provider for the exact numbers.

Cloud drives

Best when you want the file available on several devices or for later, or when the PC and phone are in different places. The downside is that every byte is uploaded and then downloaded, so a 2 GB file on a 20 Mbps upload connection takes over 13 minutes before the phone can even start downloading. The transfer time calculator will estimate it for your connection.

Browser-to-browser (peer-to-peer)

A web-based peer-to-peer transfer needs no app on either side. With TransferFiles.net, open the site on the PC, choose the files, and send the link to the phone or type the short code (like ABCD-1234) on the phone, then tap Connect. The data goes directly between the two browsers over an encrypted WebRTC connection, and it is not uploaded to or stored on a server; on very restrictive networks it may pass through an encrypted relay. Files arrive in Downloads on Android and in the Files app on iPhone. Keep both screens on until it completes, since there is no resume, and be aware that mobile browsers hold the incoming file in memory before saving, so multi-gigabyte files can fail on phones with little RAM. For how this works under the hood, see peer-to-peer file sharing explained.

Bluetooth: works, but plan for the wait

On Windows 11, pair the phone first, then go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Devices, choose Send or receive files via Bluetooth under Related settings, click Send files, pick the phone and the file, and accept on the phone. This works with most Android phones.

The problem is speed. Bluetooth file transfer typically manages around 1.5 Mbps in practice, roughly 190 KB per second, even though the radio's theoretical maximum is higher.

Use Bluetooth when there is no Wi-Fi and no data, and the files are small. For anything else, a Wi-Fi based method is far quicker.

If the transfer will not start

• Device not found: check both are on the same Wi-Fi network, not one on a guest network or a phone hotspot that isolates clients. Office and hotel networks often block device-to-device traffic.
• Firewall prompt dismissed: on first run, apps like LocalSend and Quick Share ask Windows to allow network access. If you clicked Cancel, allow the app in Windows Security > Firewall & network protection.
• Phone went to sleep: most transfers pause or fail when the screen locks. Keep it awake and plugged in for large files.
• VPN active: a VPN on the PC or phone can hide the devices from each other on the local network. Pause it for the transfer.
• Not enough space: check free storage on the phone before sending large videos.

Sources

• Google: Share files between Android and Windows with Quick Share
• Microsoft Support: Seamlessly transfer content between your devices (Phone Link)
• PCWorld: iPhone file sharing in Phone Link for Windows Insiders
• LocalSend
• Microsoft Support: Send and receive files over Bluetooth in Windows
• Plugable: Transferring files via Bluetooth on Windows
• Apple Support: iCloud storage and Mail limits