Quick Share on Windows: What It Does and How to Use It

Quick Share for Windows is Google's free app for sending files, photos, videos and folders between an Android device and a nearby Windows PC. It was called Nearby Share until Google renamed it. It isn't the same as Nearby sharing, Microsoft's built-in Windows feature, which only sends files between Windows PCs. Neither one shares your clipboard: for copying text between phone and PC, you need Phone Link, Microsoft SwiftKey or a tool like KDE Connect.

Quick Share, Nearby sharing and Phone Link compared

What you need for Quick Share on Windows

According to Google's help page:

• PC: 64-bit Windows 10 or later. Windows on ARM devices need Windows 11 or later.
• Phone or tablet: Android 6.0 or later.
• Bluetooth turned on on both devices.
• Wi-Fi or Ethernet on the PC, with both devices on the same network.
• Distance: within about 5 meters (16 feet).
• Google Account: sign in to the Windows app to get all its options.

Google also says not to run the app as administrator. If you use a Samsung PC, install Samsung's own Quick Share app from the Microsoft Store instead.

How to set up Quick Share on your PC

1. Download Quick Share for Windows from Google's Android website and install it.
2. Open the app and sign in with your Google Account.
3. Open the app's settings and set Device visibility: Everyone, Contacts, Your devices (the devices signed in with your Google Account) or No one. Google recommends Contacts or Your devices for more private sharing.
4. Under Visible to others as, set the name people will see, and under Receiving, choose who can send to you.

Transfers between your own devices on the same Google Account are accepted automatically. Anything else asks you to accept first.

How to send files from Android to your PC

1. Make sure Quick Share is running on the PC (it can receive in the background from the system tray).
2. On the Android device, open the photo or file and tap Share, then Quick Share.
3. Tap your PC's name.
4. On the PC, select Accept in the notification if it asks. If a PIN appears, check that it matches on both devices.

Received files are saved in a Quick Share folder inside your Downloads folder.

If the notification never appears, turn off Do not disturb (or Focus) on the PC.

How to send files from your PC to Android

1. Open Quick Share on the PC.
2. Drag files into the app window, or use Select files or Select folders.
3. Choose the receiving device. If a PIN appears, check that it matches.
4. Select Share. The transfer starts when the other person accepts.

You can also right-click a file in File Explorer and choose Send with Quick Share.

On the phone, received files appear in the Files app under Downloads, in the Quick Share folder.

How Windows Nearby sharing differs

Nearby sharing is built into Windows and sends files, photos and links between PCs over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. It doesn't work with phones.

1. On each PC, open Settings > System > Nearby sharing (on Windows 10, Settings > System > Shared experiences).
2. Choose whether to share with everyone nearby or only your own devices.
3. In File Explorer, right-click a file, select Share and choose the other PC.
4. On the receiving PC, select Save or Save & open.

You can change where received files go under Save files I receive to. Microsoft notes that sharing with everyone nearby makes your PC's Bluetooth name and address visible to nearby devices.

What Quick Share doesn't do

• Sync your clipboard. Google's Windows help page covers files, not copied text. To copy and paste between Android and Windows, use Phone Link's cross-device copy and paste on a supported phone, the Microsoft SwiftKey cloud clipboard, or KDE Connect clipboard sync.
• Work with iPhone from Windows. The Windows app exchanges files with Android devices. For iPhone, see how to copy and paste between iPhone and a Windows PC or use a cross-platform tool such as LocalSend.
• Keep a history. Each transfer is a one-off. Received files stay in Downloads until you move them.

LocalSend vs Edge Drop explains the difference between tools that move files between devices and tools that organise what you've copied on one PC. If you'd rather host the transfer yourself, Cliff Drop, QRDrop and Flitdrop are self-hosted options.

After the file arrives

Once a photo or document lands in Downloads, you'll usually copy it into an email, a chat or a document. If you do that a lot, a clipboard manager that keeps copied files can help. Edge Drop, the clipboard shelf made by the team behind this site, keeps files you copy in File Explorer on a shelf at the screen edge so you can drag them into other apps later; see how to drag an item out of Edge Drop into any app.

FAQ

Is Quick Share the same as Nearby Share?

Yes. Quick Share is the new name for Google's Nearby Share, and some devices still show the old name. It's different from Microsoft's Nearby sharing in Windows.

Is Quick Share for Windows safe?

Google says shared files are encrypted and that incoming files from other people need your approval. For privacy, set visibility to Contacts or Your devices rather than Everyone.

Why can't my phone find my PC?

Check that Bluetooth is on for both devices, that they're on the same network and within about 5 meters, and that the PC's visibility isn't set to No one. Google also notes that PCs without Bluetooth Low Energy extended advertising support may be harder to find on some networks.

Related reading

• LocalSend vs Edge Drop: Share Across Devices or Stage on PC
• Phone Link Copy and Paste Not Working? How to Fix It
• Sync Your Clipboard Between Android and Windows With KDE Connect
• Android vs Windows Clipboard History: Key Differences

Sources

• Share files between Android and Windows with Quick Share (Google Android Help) — requirements, visibility, sending, receiving and download folder.
• Use Quick Share on your Android device (Google Android Help) — sending from Android, former Nearby Share name, received-file folder.
• Quick Share with Windows PC (Android) — download page.
• Share things with nearby devices in Windows (Microsoft Support) — Nearby sharing setup and limits.
• Seamlessly transfer content between your devices (Microsoft Support) — Phone Link cross-device copy and paste.
• LocalSend — open-source local network file sharing.

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