Cross-platform
Transfer files between any two devices, from the browser
AirDrop stops at the edge of Apple. Quick Share wants both ends to be the right kind of Android or a Windows app. Bluetooth is too slow for anything real, and a cable is never in the room when you need it. A browser is on every device you own.
Short answer
How do I transfer files between a phone and a computer without a cable?
Open the same page in a browser on both devices. Create a 6-digit code on one, type it into the other, approve the connection, then drag the file in. It transfers directly over your local network when both devices share a Wi-Fi, encrypted end to end, with no app to install on either side.
Connect two devices
Share the code; the other person enters it to connect
Open this page on the other device too — any modern browser will do.
How it works
- 1
Open the page on both devices
Nothing to install, no store listing, no permissions dialog. On a phone, add it to the home screen if you do this often.
- 2
Type the six digits
Create the code on one device, enter it on the other. Typing six digits on a phone keyboard is faster than pairing anything.
- 3
Send in either direction
Once connected, both sides can add files. Phone to laptop and laptop to phone are the same connection — no need to start over to send something back.
Where the built-in option runs out
| Combination | The built-in answer | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone → Mac | AirDrop | Works well — until the other device is not an Apple one |
| iPhone → Windows PC | None | A cable and a desktop app, or a cloud round trip |
| Android → iPhone | None | Different ecosystems; usually ends up in a chat app that re-compresses it |
| Android → Windows PC | Quick Share, Phone Link | Requires the right pairing and an app installed on the PC |
| Android → Android (different brands) | Quick Share | Brand-specific transfer tools often do not talk to each other |
| Any → a computer that is not yours | None | You are not going to install anything on a borrowed machine |
Every one of those gaps has the same shape: the transfer is fine, the pairing is the problem. A browser sidesteps it, because both devices already have one and neither has to be enrolled in anything.
On the same Wi-Fi, the file never leaves the room
When both devices are on the same network, the connection is made over local addresses and the data goes phone → router → laptop. It does not travel to the internet and back, so the speed is your Wi-Fi’s speed, not your broadband plan’s.
Across different networks — your phone on mobile data, your laptop at home — it still connects directly, just over the internet, and the ceiling becomes the slower side’s upload.
Practical notes per device
- iPhone and iPad: works in Safari and other browsers. Keep the tab in the foreground — iOS aggressively suspends background tabs, which interrupts a transfer.
- iOS storage headroom: a browser on iOS is given far less room than one on a desktop, so multi-gigabyte transfers are more comfortable when at least one side is a computer.
- Android: Chrome, Edge and Firefox all work. Received files land in your normal Downloads folder.
- Windows, macOS, Linux: any current Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. Drag files straight onto the page.
- Borrowed or public computers: nothing is installed and nothing is left behind — closing the tab ends the session and discards the keys.
Frequently asked questions
Do both devices have to be on the same Wi-Fi?
No, but it helps. Same network means local-speed transfer and no internet round trip. On different networks it still connects directly, limited by the slower side’s upload bandwidth.
Do I need to install an app on my phone?
No. It runs in the browser on both ends. If you use it regularly, add it to your home screen — it will open like an app, but nothing is installed.
Can I send photos from an iPhone to a Windows PC without a cable?
Yes, and without re-compressing them. Open the page on both, connect with the code, and select the photos. They transfer as the original files rather than the re-encoded versions chat apps produce.
Does this work between Android and iPhone?
Yes. Neither device needs to be in the other’s ecosystem, because the connection is negotiated by two browsers rather than by the operating systems.
Will it work on my office or campus network?
Sometimes. Networks that isolate clients or block direct connections will stop it, and there is no relay fallback. A phone hotspot with both devices joined to it always works.
Is the transfer encrypted on my local network too?
Yes. The end-to-end encryption is independent of the path — the same AES-256-GCM applies whether the data crosses a router in your living room or half the internet.
Connect the two devices in front of you
Open this page on the other one, create a code, type six digits. That is the whole pairing process.
Start a transfer