How to Transfer Files from a PC to an Android Phone

Sending from the PC to the phone raises two questions the other direction does not: will the phone have room, and where will the file end up? The methods below all keep the original file.

1. On the Android phone, open sharelargefilesfree.com/send-via-wifi in Chrome and keep the screen on.
2. On the PC, open the same page in Edge, Chrome or Firefox. The phone appears with a name, an animal avatar and details such as "Android · Chrome".
3. Click the phone, then choose files or drag them from File Explorer onto it.
4. On the phone, tap Accept and keep Chrome in front until it finishes.
5. Open Files by Google (or My Files on Samsung) and tap Downloads to find them.

The files go straight from the PC to the phone over an encrypted connection and are never stored on a server. There is no size or file count limit, so the only real limit is free space on the phone: check Settings > Storage before sending a large movie. If the phone does not appear, use the 6-digit code or QR code, or create a private room. The same page works the other way round too; see Android to PC.

1. Connect the phone with a data cable, unlock it, tap the USB notification and choose File transfer.
2. In File Explorer, open the phone under This PC, then Internal shared storage.
3. Drag files into the folder that matches what they are: Download for documents, Movies for videos, Music for songs, Pictures for images.
4. Wait for Windows to finish copying before unplugging.

Where you put a file matters. Videos in Movies and images in Pictures or DCIM show up in Google Photos or Gallery (in Google Photos, sometimes under Collections > On this device). A file in Download appears in the Files app but may not show in your photo library. If your phone has a microSD card, it appears as a second storage entry you can copy to instead.

Quick Share for Windows is Google's free app for Windows 10 and 11. With it installed, right-click a file in File Explorer and choose Send with Quick Share, or drag files into the app, then pick your phone. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi must be on and the phone unlocked. If the phone is signed in to a different Google account, tap Accept on it. Files are saved to the phone's Download folder, often in a Quick Share subfolder.

Phone Link is more limited from PC to phone. Dragging a file from the PC onto the phone window only works on supported phones, mainly recent Samsung and some HONOR models, and Microsoft limits how many files and how much data go in one batch. On other phones Phone Link can show photos and messages but cannot push files. Use it for a quick document, not a film.

• Files by Google: tap Downloads on the home screen, or Browse > Internal storage > Download.
• Samsung My Files: tap Downloads, or Internal storage > Download.
• Chrome: the menu has a Downloads list for files received in the browser.
• To see a video in your gallery: in the Files app, long-press it, choose Move to and pick Movies or DCIM.
• APK files: tapping one asks you to allow installs from the Files app. Only install apps you trust.

For a few big files when both devices are at home, Send via Wi-Fi is the simplest: no app, no account and no size limit. For loading a whole music or movie library, use the cable so you can choose exact folders. If you send from PC to phone every day, install Quick Share for Windows. If the phone is not near the PC, upload on the homepage (up to 20 GB) and open the link or the QR code on the phone; it lasts 1 day.

Sending to an iPhone instead? See PC to iPhone.

Share Large Files Free is independent and is not affiliated with Google, Microsoft, Samsung or HONOR. Android, Quick Share and Files by Google are trademarks of Google LLC; Windows and Phone Link are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

• "Not enough space" or a transfer stops near the end. Free space on the phone first; a 4 GB film needs a bit more than 4 GB free.
• Windows says the file is too large for the destination. This happens with some older microSD cards formatted as FAT32, which cannot hold a single file over 4 GB. Copy to internal storage instead.
• The phone does not appear in the browser. Keep Chrome open and in front on the phone, and check both are on the same network. On guest Wi-Fi, use the code or a hotspot.
• The transfer stops when the screen turns off. Android may pause Chrome in the background. Keep the screen on until it finishes.
• A video copied over USB is missing from Gallery. It is probably in Download. Move it to Movies or DCIM, or open it from the Files app.