How to Send Files from Phone to Computer Without a Cable: 6 Easy Ways

You have a photo, a PDF or a document on your phone and you need it on a computer or laptop. Everyone has to do this sometimes. What if you have no cable, or the PC does not recognise your phone?

Here are 6 ways, from the simplest to the fastest one for shops.

• 1. USB cable
• 2. Bluetooth
• 3. Quick Share (Android to Windows)
• 4. Microsoft Phone Link
• 5. Google Drive or email
• 6. QR code (at a shop or cyber café)
• Which method should you use?
• Do you run a shop?

1. USB cable#

Connect the phone to the computer with a cable. On an Android phone, pull down the notification bar, tap "Charging this device via USB" and choose File transfer. Then open This PC on the computer and your phone will appear there.

Best for: lots of photos or large videos. Downside: you need a cable, and sometimes the PC does not recognise the phone.

2. Bluetooth#

1. On the computer, open Settings → Bluetooth & devices and turn Bluetooth on.
2. Open "Send or receive files via Bluetooth" and choose Receive files.
3. On the phone, open the file, tap Share → Bluetooth and pick your computer.

Best for: one or two small files when there is no internet. Downside: very slow, and you have to pair devices every time.

3. Quick Share (Android to Windows)#

After installing Google's Quick Share app on Windows, you can send files from an Android phone straight to the PC, like phone to phone. Both devices need to be nearby or on the same Wi-Fi.

Best for: your own phone and laptop at home. Downside: does not work with iPhones, and the PC needs the app.

4. Microsoft Phone Link#

Phone Link comes with Windows 10 and 11. After linking your Android phone with the "Link to Windows" app, your phone's photos show up on the PC.

Best for: your own phone, for everyday photos. Downside: the first setup takes a while, and it is not meant for other people's phones.

5. Google Drive or email#

Upload the file to Google Drive and download it on the computer from drive.google.com, or email the file to yourself. You can also send it to the "Message yourself" chat on WhatsApp and pick it up from WhatsApp Web.

Best for: your own computer. Downside: on someone else's computer, such as a cyber café PC, you have to log in to your Google or WhatsApp account, which is not safe. Here is why.

6. QR code (at a shop or cyber café)#

If you are at a shop, this is the easiest way: scan the QR code on the counter with your phone camera, choose your file on the page that opens and tap "Send to Shop PC". The file goes straight to the shop's computer.

• No app, no login, no cable.
• Works on Android and iPhone.
• You do not have to give the shop your number or email.

Step by step, screen by screen: how to send files to a shop by scanning a QR code.

Which method should you use?#

Do you run a shop?#

If you run a cyber café, photocopy or print shop, save your customers from all of the above. Send2PC gives your shop its own QR code, and customers' files arrive straight in a folder on your PC.