How To Share Files Between Windows and Android Wirelessly

Need to grab a file on your PC to put on your Android device? Now with the latest version of ES File Explorer, you can do it over your WiFi network.

If you need to access a file on your PC and put it on your Android device, you can do it by connecting a USB cable. An example for this would be adding your videos to the Kindle Fire. But if you want an easier way, with the latest version of ES File Explorer (free) you can do it over your WiFi network.

Share Files from Android to Windows Over WiFi

Download and install ES File Explorer to your smartphone or tablet. If you already have it installed, make sure to update to version 3 or higher. For this example I’m using the Nexus 7, but it should be a similar experience across the board for all versions.

Open ES File Explorer and tap Network > LAN.

Next you should start seeing the computers that are up and running on your home network. If not, tap the Search button from the menu at the bottom. It will scan your network again and refresh the screen. If you’re not sure which machine you want, check out our guide on how to find your computer’s local IP address.

Just tap on the system you want and sign in with your Windows Username and Password. You can also have it remember your credentials which will make it much easier to log in the next time.

There you go! Now you can start sharing files to your PC or vice versa.

Tapping the More button brings up an impressive list of features that can used to navigate around and get exactly what you need. This method is SO much easier than having to connect your device to your computer every time you want to transfer a file.

You can also transfer files between PC and Android with an app like AirDroid. But I recommend using ES File Explorer V3 because it’s powerful and has so many things you can do with it.

How to Share Windows Folders with Android Over a Local Network

Most of us use our computers as a mass storage device to store all our content like media, files, etc. Though the cloud storage is growing fast and smartphones are capable of storing quite a few gigabytes worth of files and media, they still have a long way to go. Thus, accessing your files and media stored on your Windows machine with your Android device over a local network is quite handy at times. By sharing your Windows folders, you can even stream media like video and music over the network. Here is how to share Windows folders with Android over the local network.

Share Windows Folders with Android Over Local Network

To access Windows folders with your Android device over the network, you first need to share the Windows folder over your local network.

To do that, find the folder you want to share, right-click on it and select the option “Properties.”

The above action will open the folder properties window. Here, navigate to the “Sharing” tab and click on the button “Share” under the “Network file and folder sharing” category.

Once the File Sharing window has been opened, select the user account from the drop-down menu and click on the “Add” button to add the user account. If you want everyone on your network to access the folder, then select the option “Everyone” from the drop-down menu.

By default, the user account you add will have “Read-only” permission, which simply means that you cannot add, modify, or delete files or folders in the shared folder. If you want to have those permissions, then select the option “Read and Write” from the drop-down menu under “Permission level.” In my case, I’m selecting the “Read and Write” option.

Once you are done setting up the permissions, this is what it looks like. Just click on the “Share” button to continue.

If you’ve done everything as rrequested, Windows will display the confirmation message of the shared folder. Just click on the “Done” button to continue.

Now, download and install the ES File Explorer or any other file explorer that supports network sharing on your Android device. Once installed, open the app, select the menu and choose the “LAN” option under the Network category.

This action will open the LAN window in the ES File Explorer app. Here, touch or tap on the “Scan” icon to scan and find your system on the local network.

After completing the scan, ES File Explorer will show you all the available systems with their respective names on the local network. Simply select the system you want. In my case, there is only one system that is sharing folders.

As soon as you select the system, ES File Explorer will ask you for the username and password. Enter the username and password of the user you selected in the earlier stage.

If you don’t want the password protection, then you can turn it off from “Advanced Sharing Settings” under Network and Sharing settings in the Windows Control Panel.

If everything goes well, you will see all the folders that are shared over the network. As you can see, the folder “mte” that I shared earlier is visible. Just tap on it to open the folder.

From this point onward, you can access all the files in the shared folder, and you can even stream the media if your local network is good enough.

Moreover, if you enabled “Read and Write” permissions on your Windows machine, you can add or delete the files and folders in the shared folder directly from your Android device.

It is that easy to share Windows folders with Android over the local network.

Do share your thoughts and experiences about using the above method to share Windows folders with Android in the comments form below.

Vamsi is a tech and WordPress geek who enjoys writing how-to guides and messing with his computer and software in general. When not writing for MTE, he writes for he shares tips, tricks, and lifehacks on his own blog Stugon.

How to Access Shared Win­dows Fold­ers On Android Over WiFi

Ashish Mundhra

20 Apr 2012

While talking about the AirDroid for Android the other day, we discussed how you can use the application to manage your phone’s data and files from your PC using a WiFi connection. But what if you want it the other way? What if you wanted to access a folder on your Windows PC on your phone and edit the files present in it?

Of course using an online backup tool is an option but you might not want to put a folder there just because of the purpose of sharing on your phone. You should be able to access it directly through WiFi, right?

You all probably know about file sharing in Windows and how it can be used to work on files hosted on different computers using a network connection (LAN or WiFi). Today we will see to use the same principle of file sharing and access files shared on your Windows PC on your Android.

Let me first show you how you can share a particular folder on Windows. And then we will move to the Android part of the process.

Sharing folders on Windows 7

Step 1: Right-click on the folder you want to share on your Windows and click on Properties to open the folder properties. Navigate to the Sharing tab and click on the Share button to open the File Sharing window.

Step 2: On the File Sharing window, you will be asked to enter the name of the group you want to share the folder with. Write Everyone and click on the Add button. You may give Read or Read/Write permission to the share access depending on your needs. Once you are done, click on the Share button.

Step 3: Now you can opt for two types of sharing, either password protected or open. If you are on a secure home network, I would recommend you go for the open file sharing as it makes things a bit easier. But if you are on an unsecured WiFi network, you must go for the password protected sharing.

To change these settings, navigate to Control Panel —> Network and Sharing Center. Here click on the link Change advanced settings on the left hand sidebar to open Advance sharing settings. Scroll down to the end of the page to find the Password protected sharing option, choose a password and save the settings.

Cool Tip: To see list of all the folders you have shared on your computer, right click on the Computer icon in the start menu and click on Manage. Having done that, click on the Shared Folders—>Shares to list all the folders shared on your computer.

You may share any number of folders you want to access on your Android.

So that was all we needed on the Windows side of the equation. Now let us configure settings on the Android.

Accessing Shared Folders on Android

Step 1: Download and install ES File Explorer on your Android device. It’s an amazing and one of the most acclaimed file managers for Android. It works on all the devices running on Android version 1.6 and above. One of the features of ES File Explorer is that it allows you to access your Home PC on WiFI via Server Message Block (SMB).

Step 2: Once you have downloaded the app, launch it. The home screen will display all the files and folders that are on your SD card. Swipe your finger to the left on the screen to move to navigate to the right to the LAN share screen. Also make sure both your computer and your Android phones are connected to the same network.

Step 3: Touch the button New on the top bar to add a new server (your computer in this case).

Step 4: Here leave the Domain field empty and do one of the following tasks depending upon your sharing security.

a) If you have opted for non-password protected sharing, enter the IP address of your computer (use the command ipconfig on the command prompt of your computer to know your IP) and check the anonymous option. Give your server an alias to identify if (it’s useful when you are using the app to access shared folders on different computer) and press the OK button to add the server.

b) For those who have enabled the password protected sharing option, do not check the anonymous option, instead provide the username and password you use to login to Windows and add the server.

That’s all, you can now browse through all the files and folders that are shared on the computer on your Android. That’s not all, depending upon the type of sharing privileges you have granted on Windows, you can do tasks such as:

• Viewing images and streaming live video. Though in the past, we have covered a dedicated app for this, I prefer ES File Explorer now because it’s ad-free and smooth.
• Open and edit text files, documents and save the changes directly without downloading the files on your phone.
• Copy a file from your computer to your phone easily. You can also modify and delete the files on your computer from your Android.
• You can view almost all the files on your Android provided you have a supported viewer for the specific file type.
• If you have write access to the shared folder on Windows, you can copy files and folders from Android to computer as well.

Video

Here’s our video on this entire process. Watch it to learn exactly how it is done.

My Verdict

This feature of ES File Explorer has made me fall in love with it. Now I can work on my computer while roaming in the house or while having a cup of coffee on the balcony… I just need the phone. So do try it out and mobilize your work.

Last updated on 8 Feb, 2018
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

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