How to use Nearby Share for Windows

  News, Rassegna Stampa
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While my personal computers have mostly been Windows and my phones Android, I do use a Mac for work, and I’ve always been envious of the ease with which people in the Apple ecosystem can move files from one device to another using AirDrop. Google introduced a similar feature called Nearby Share in 2020, but it only shared files between Google products. Now, Windows has finally introduced its version of Nearby Share, currently in beta, allowing you to easily move files between Windows and Android systems.

I installed the beta of Nearby Share to a Windows 11 system and used it to move photos between that and my Pixel 6, and it worked like a charm. Here are some step-by-step instructions on how to set up Nearby Share for Windows. (Note: the feature is available on Windows 10 and up but not on ARM-powered Windows laptops.)

  • Open the Files app and tap on the three-line icon in the top left.
  • Select Settings > Nearby Share.
  • Toggle on Use Nearby Share (if it isn’t already on).

If you don’t have the Files app but still want to use Nearby Share to receive files:

  • Go to your Android phone’s Settings.  
  • Select Connected Devices > Connection preferences > Nearby Share (or Google > Devices & sharing > Nearby Share) and toggle it on.

Incidentally, if you intend to use Nearby Share frequently, you can enable / disable it using a button on your phone’s Quick Settings menu (the one that you get by swiping down from the top). If you don’t see the Nearby Share button on your Quick Settings menu, then swipe down twice, tap the pencil icon on the button corner, find the Nearby Share button and move it to your active Quick Settings menu by holding and moving it up.

  • To get started, you can find the download for Nearby Share’s beta here. Click on Get started.
  • You will download a file (it will be named something like BetterTogetherSetup). Click on it to start the install.
  • Once the app is installed, a pop-up window will invite you to either sign in to your Google account or use the app without an account. Out of curiosity, I clicked on Use without an account.

  • Click on the box under Receiving to get a drop-down menu called Device visibility. It will give you the choice of sharing files or folders with everyone, with your contacts, with your devices, or with no one. I selected Your devices — and was informed I needed to sign in to my Google account. So I did. If you choose Contacts, you will — logically — also have to sign in.

  • If, on the other hand, you choose Everyone, you will then get two options: to allow everyone to share files with you all the time or to just have that option enabled for a few minutes.
  • Once you sign in to your Google account (whether it is at this point or earlier in the process), you’ll be asked to check your phone and press the volume down to verify your identity. You can then return to your Windows PC and the Nearby Share app.
  • If you chose to enable sharing with your contacts or with your devices, you’ll now see a message under Receiving informing you that your contacts can now share with you as long as you approve the requests but that you won’t need to approve sharing with devices signed in with your same Google account.
  • Once you’re happy with your choices, select Done.