File transfer guides
Practical, no-nonsense guides for getting files from one device to another — across operating systems, without cables, accounts, or upload limits. Each one is written to solve a real situation, and most take a couple of minutes to act on.
Getting files between devices
- How to transfer files between your phone and computer — the general method for iPhone to Windows, Android to Mac, and every other combination, with no cable and no cloud account.
- iPhone to Windows PC without iTunes — the awkward pairing, solved: HEIC photos, Live Photos, HEVC video, and why the cable shows you so little.
- Android to iPhone, and back — AirDrop and Quick Share both stop at the platform border. Here is what works across it without recompressing your video.
Large files
- How to send large files without uploading them — why upload limits exist, and how to move multi-gigabyte files without waiting for an upload to finish.
- Sending large video files without losing quality — how big 4K footage really is, why messaging apps wreck it, and how to move the original intact.
Speed, privacy and problems
- Why is my file transfer so slow? — direct versus relayed connections, why two devices in the same room can still crawl, and how to force the fast path.
- Is browser file transfer safe? — what is encrypted, what the server can see, what a relay can see, and where the real risks actually are.
- File transfer not working? — symptom-by-symptom fixes for transfers that stall, downloads that never save, and QR codes that will not scan.
- Sharing files without an account or app — the fastest way to send a file when you do not want to install or sign in to anything.
Where to start
If you just want to move a file right now, you do not need any of these — open the site on both devices and follow the prompts. Come back when something behaves unexpectedly.
If you are deciding whether this approach suits you at all, the two most useful reads are the security explanation and the comparison with WeTransfer, AirDrop and Send Anywhere. The short version: a direct browser transfer is the right tool when both people are available at the same time and the file matters enough that you do not want a copy sitting on someone else's server. It is the wrong tool when the recipient will collect the file tomorrow — that needs storage, and storage means a service that keeps a copy.
For the mechanics of how the connection is actually made, see how ShareBetweenDevices works.