Phone Link Brings Quick File Transfer Between Windows 11 and Android; Here’s How It Works

The effort to bridge the gap between Windows and Android has been a work in progress, one that’s been ongoing for years. Last year, Googleintroduced its Nearby Share(now called Quick Share) app on Windows to enable quick file transfer between two platforms. And now, Microsoft has integrated file transfer into itsPhone Link app, allowing users to seamlesslytransfer files between Windows and Android.

After testing the feature, Microsoft’s implementationseems much better and feels faster. For starters, you can right-click on any file on your PC and click on the universal “Share” menu. It will open Windows 11’s native share sheet where you can click on “Phone Link,” and you are done. The file will be transferred right away. No need to keep your smartphone’s screen turned on or accept the file transfer request.

This hassle-free user experience is where Microsoft does better than Google. As for the file transfer speed, Phone Link took 32 seconds to transfer a 435 MB file, with a transfer speed of about 13 MB/s. To transfer the same file, Google’s Quick Share took only 12 seconds, resulting in transfer speeds of 36 MB/s.

That said, Quick Share consumes too much time in trying to discover your phone, making the whole process more tedious. It annoys me so much that I prefer sending my files using WhatsApp in most scenarios. Apart from that, Quick Share errors out often and says it can’t find your phone. That’s the reason I said that file transfer through Phone Link feels much faster because it’s so seamless.

Transfer Files from Windows to Android Using Phone Link

With that said, here’s how you can use Phone Link to transfer files between your PC and Android phone.

Transfer Files from Android to Windows Using Phone Link

I am assuming you have already set up Phone Link on your Windows PC and Link to Windows app on your Android phone. Now, follow the steps below:

So this is how you can transfer files and folders between Windows and Android using Phone Link in a jiffy. As I mentioned above, the Phone Link file transfer experience is snappy, and it works better than Quick Share. If you’re having any issues, let us know in the comments below, and we will help you solve them.

Arjun Sha

Passionate about Windows, ChromeOS, Android, security and privacy issues. Have a penchant to solve everyday computing problems.

Add new comment

Name

Email ID

Δ

01

02

03

04

05