How do you guys transfer files between Android and PC?

[kklokreach]

Hi all,

First off sorry if this is the wrong place - wasn't sure if this was supposed to be phones or apps.

My question is fairly simple - how on earth do you wirelessly (and seamlessly) transfer files between PC and android? In my case I have a samsung s9 and I have to take pictures when I am out surveying at work and then bring them back to the computer to write my report. I for the life of me can not get the stupid photos over to my work computer without a cable (and I just broke my last other cable that's not my bedside charging cable). I know that there are plenty of 3rd party apps out there that can do it (not as seamlessly as I would like but they work) but my problem is, is that I need to transfer them to my work laptop and that computer is locked down and the network settings are locked down (I have a NAS that I built that I normally use to transfer between my phone and personal computer but can't do that here) and I can not install any other software without admin credentials which I don't have (and my company IT guy isn't willing to do due to company policy, etc. etc.). Is there any native way to do so? I have tried bluetooth and for some reason it will not connect on the phone end and when I try the link to windows/phone app on the PC, after I scan the QR code it just sits there and doesn't do anything - both on my work and personal PC's. Has anyone found a way? I am SO FRUSTRATED. Thanks

[WhitetailAni]

When my cable doesn't work, I usually email them to myself. It takes a bit but it works.

[kklokreach]

1 minute ago, FakeKGB said:

When my cable doesn't work, I usually email them to myself. It takes a bit but it works.

I've tried that, but with the amount of photos that I take for my daily surveys (~50 most days) email just isn't really feasible.

[IkeaGnome]

Why not transfer them to a micro USB and then use that to plug into the computer to transfer them?

[PorkishPig]

12 minutes ago, kklokreach said:

Is there any native way to do so? I have tried bluetooth and for some reason it will not connect on the phone end and when I try the link to windows/phone app on the PC, after I scan the QR code it just sits there and doesn't do anything - both on my work and personal PC's. Has anyone found a way? I am SO FRUSTRATED. Thanks

Native? No. Here are some third party options I can think of:

• Snapdrop - Transfer files between devices on your local network.
• Autosync for Google Drive - Automatically sync device folders to Google Drive.
• AirDroid + AirDroid Web - Remote access to device folders. Not free and has transfer quotas.

[kklokreach]

1 minute ago, IkeaGnome said:

Why not transfer them to a micro USB and then use that to plug into the computer to transfer them?

I don't actually happen to have one of those. Is a hardware connection (cable/usb/sd card) your main method of file transfer? 

[IkeaGnome]

3 minutes ago, kklokreach said:

I don't actually happen to have one of those. Is a hardware connection (cable/usb/sd card) your main method of file transfer? 

Yeah, hardware is what I use.

One of these could solve your problem for pretty cheap. Yeah, you'd have to have something to open the port every day, but if you just kept the little pin thing for removing SIM cards in your desk it could be problem solved.

[kklokreach]

1 minute ago, PorkishPig said:

Native? No. Here are some third party options I can think of:

• Snapdrop - Transfer files between devices on your local network.
• Autosync for Google Drive - Automatically sync device folders to Google Drive.
• AirDroid + AirDroid Web - Remote access to device folders. Not free and has transfer quotas.

Oh my god I didn't know about snapdrop, that's amazing thank you!

 

Now mainly as a curiosity, how does the majority of the android community solve this problem, hardware? 3rd party software apps? Homebrew? Just wanted to know cuz it felt like I was banging my head against the wall when asking google.

[kklokreach]

Just now, IkeaGnome said:

Yeah, hardware is what I use.

One of these could solve your problem for pretty cheap. Yeah, you'd have to have something to open the port every day, but if you just kept the little pin thing for removing SIM cards in your desk it could be problem solved.

Gotcha, I've never preferred a hardware connection for workflow purposes, but I'll keep that solution in mind - thanks!

[PorkishPig]

20 minutes ago, kklokreach said:

Now mainly as a curiosity, how does the majority of the android community solve this problem, hardware? 3rd party software apps? Homebrew? Just wanted to know cuz it felt like I was banging my head against the wall when asking google.

Personally, I use Google Drive for small one-off file transfers and Google Photos for images. If I need to transfer files in bulk, I use FX File Explorer (Cx File Explorer is better supported nowadays) to transfer files to an SMB share on my local machine.

[kklokreach]

7 minutes ago, PorkishPig said:

Personally, I use Google Drive for small one-off file transfers and Google Photos for images. If I need to transfer files in bulk, I use FX File Explorer (Cx File Explorer is better supported nowadays) to transfer files to an SMB share on my local machine.

Interesting, I've never liked using google drive or google photos, I also prefer to use an SMB share to transfer files on my personal PC - just can't on my work PC due to them locking down the network.

[LogicalDrm]

I don't really move files on or off the phone, so when I do, I use cable. For tablet, I move media files and books on it. For that I use Resilio Sync and have set of folders. It works mainly over local network.

[Tamilmani]

14 hours ago, kklokreach said:

Hi all,

First off sorry if this is the wrong place - wasn't sure if this was supposed to be phones or apps.

My question is fairly simple - how on earth do you wirelessly (and seamlessly) transfer files between PC and android? In my case I have a samsung s9 and I have to take pictures when I am out surveying at work and then bring them back to the computer to write my report. I for the life of me can not get the stupid photos over to my work computer without a cable (and I just broke my last other cable that's not my bedside charging cable). I know that there are plenty of 3rd party apps out there that can do it (not as seamlessly as I would like but they work) but my problem is, is that I need to transfer them to my work laptop and that computer is locked down and the network settings are locked down (I have a NAS that I built that I normally use to transfer between my phone and personal computer but can't do that here) and I can not install any other software without admin credentials which I don't have (and my company IT guy isn't willing to do due to company policy, etc. etc.). Is there any native way to do so? I have tried bluetooth and for some reason it will not connect on the phone end and when I try the link to windows/phone app on the PC, after I scan the QR code it just sits there and doesn't do anything - both on my work and personal PC's. Has anyone found a way? I am SO FRUSTRATED. Thanks

Just download the app WEBPC SUITE APK from web, install it, and there you go.

 

You can send the files to you pc, or you can send to your android mobile.

[dizmo]

If it's part of your job, and you do it every day, invest in a WiFi HDD.

[Tamilmani]

Also you can use wifi ftp server app in android playstore to connect with your computer 

[Mnky313]

I use a SMB server I have, (btw if anyone is interested the ONLY SMB client I could find that properly supports SMBv3 with Encryption on Android is Android Samba Client by Google but they removed it from the play store.... So you need to track down the apk from somewhere online)
I just have it mapped on all my devices

If it's a large file I'll usually plug my phone in to the computer and just copy it that way.

I've been trying to find a way to copy text between devices easily but so far alt-c and usually just discord DMing my alt works.

And as mentioned for recurring copies (like syncing my password database file, music, and pictures) I use Resilio Sync.