More and more often, mobile phones with high-quality cameras are replacing conventional cameras. Perhaps you have also taken countless photos and videos with your smartphone during your last holiday. Now you’d like to transfer those files to your PC for further editing and archiving – but how does it work? Usually, you would need a USB cable to transfer the files, but not when you choose the wireless option of Wifi file transfer. A step-by-step guide should help you use it.
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What is Wifi File Transfer?
If you want to send files from your smartphone to a PC, laptop or tablet, Wifi File Transfer can help you. It also works vice versa: you have immediate access to your mobile data on a terminal device. This is simply a web server that allows you to connect your phone and PC. The whole thing works via WLAN and completely without a USB cable.
The app you need to download to your smartphone is free of charge in the basic version, but you can only transfer up to 5 MB. Everything beyond that works with an upgrade that costs 1 euro per month.
Wifi File Transfer – the first steps
To download the Wifi Transfer app, you need a smartphone. Now, go to a secure download page, such as the Google Play Store. There, you can download the app to your phone for free. However, you can’t do anything with this app on its own. This is because as a counterpart, you now need a PC, laptop or tablet to access your smartphone.
After the Wifi File Transfer download, open the app and press the start button. In the following window, you will see an IP address. The prerequisite is that you are connected to the WLAN with your phone. To use the data transfer function, the second terminal device must be logged on to the same WLAN network. You now transfer the IP address to your web browser on the PC. You then have direct access to all data on your smartphone.
Attention: When logging in for the first time, you should definitely use a secure WLAN network – at home, for example. In public networks, third parties could access your data as they are unprotected. You can only encrypt the data transfer with a password after you have set it up.
How to transfer files with Wifi File Transfer
- In the browser, you will now see a structure of the data of your mobile phone. If you want to send photos to your PC, for example, select the appropriate folder. This can be an internal folder or an external SD card – depending on where the files are located. Now select the photos you want to transfer. If you click in the empty box above the photos, you can select them all at once.
- Clicking on the “Download” button opens a small window where you can choose whether you want to download the files individually or as a zip archive. Now select the destination folder on your PC.
- If you want to transfer files from your PC to your mobile phone, select a destination folder from the displayed mobile phone menu in the browser. If no suitable destination folder is available, you can create one by selecting “New folder” in the menu.
- Now click on “Select files” in the “Transfer files to device” box on the right-hand side. You can now select the photos, pictures or documents to be transferred to your mobile phone. After you’ve made your selection, click on “Start upload”. The program will show you how long the upload with Wifi File Transfer will take.
TransferXL – the alternative to Wifi File Transfer
The whole procedure of Wifi File Transfer is quite cumbersome. With a transfer volume of just 5 MB, you won’t really get far. Also, the fact that you always have to be in the same WLAN network with both end devices may not always be possible. TransferXL, on the other hand, offers an easier way to transfer all kinds of data quickly and easily:
- Simple, because the files can be sent directly via the website.
- Secure, because end-to-end encryption is possible during upload.
- Fast, because numerous servers around the world guarantee data transfer.
With a data transfer of up to 200 GB, TransferXL is far superior to other providers. Other features include tracking and history, and the best part: you can send up to 5 GB twice a day for free.
The most important questions and answers about Wifi File Transfer
What is Wifi File Transfer good for?
If you want to transfer data between two end devices, but don’t have a USB cable at hand, Wifi File Transfer is a good idea. With Wifi File Transfer, data transfer also works without a cable.
How does Wifi File Transfer work?
You need the Wifi File Transfer app on your smartphone. Once installed, you can establish the connection by entering the IP address in the browser window of your PC. Now you can send files in both directions. Without password protection, however, this is a considerable risk, especially in public networks, and the data size of just 5 MB in the basic version also leaves much to be desired.
Is there an alternative to Wifi file transfer?
With TransferXL, you can send up to 200 GB from anywhere. The transfer is also absolutely secure due to the end-to-end encryption.