Use This App to Easily Send Files to Any Device
My main devices are iPhone, Windows PC and MacBook and I was looking for a fast and reliable way to share files between them. I relied on crude solutions like sending myself emails or text messages and uploading files to cloud storage to send them cross-platform. However, none of these solutions are as smooth as Apple’s AirDrop, and even they aren’t always reliable. I’ve had instances where an AirDrop transfer would fail for seemingly no reason or where one of my Apple devices couldn’t see the other.
That all changed when I discovered LocalSend thanks to Jared Newman’s reporting on PC World . LocalSend is a free cross-platform file sharing app that works offline. As long as all your devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, you can use the app to send files, folders, text, or even as a cross-platform clipboard. This last feature is great for me because I really like Apple’s Universal Clipboard feature , which allows me to copy to any Apple device and paste to any other.
Setting up LocalSend
To set it up, go to the downloads page on the LocalSend website and download the app on all your devices. The app supports Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android (including Google Play, F-Droid and Amazon Appstore). This is a comprehensive list that covers everything from your old Windows PC to your Google-deleted Android phone.
After installing the app, just make sure your devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.
Sending and receiving files
LocalSend automatically assigns unusual names to each of your devices, such as “Neat Blueberry” or “Fast Lettuce”, as well as the device’s operating system. (You can go to the app’s Settings tab and turn on More Settings to rename these devices if you want.)
To send files, go to the Send tab and start selecting what you want to send. The app allows you to select multiple file types and send them together. You simply select files, then click one of the nearby devices that appears in the list, and the app begins sending data. Once you approve the request on the receiving device, the files will be sent quickly. For a batch of smaller files, the transfer was instantaneous. I also sent a 400MB video from my PC to my Mac and it took 50 seconds.
You can also click the gear icon on the Send tab to open more options for sending and receiving files. There is an interesting option here called “Share via link” , which generates a link that you can open in any browser. After opening the link, you will need to approve the request from the device sending the files, and then you can quickly download them on the recipient’s side. This is useful for some computers where downloading and installing applications is limited.
There is also a Multiple Recipients option that allows you to easily send files to multiple devices. You’ll still have to select each device you want to send files to, but the app won’t clear the list of selected files after each transfer. I’ve used this option to send batches of 5-10 files to multiple devices in a row and it worked flawlessly.
When you receive files, you usually have to approve each upload request. This is a good security feature, but it gets in the way when you’re in a secure location (like your home) and only sending files to your own computers, as I often do. To work around this issue, you can go to the Receive tab in LocalSend and click the Quick Save button. If Quick Save is enabled, the app will automatically download all files sent to this device. Similarly, you can go to your LocalSend settings and automatically approve requests for the Share by Link feature.
The app allows you to choose your own directory to receive files, and you should change it if you want to keep your Downloads folder uncluttered. You can also enable the Auto-Complete setting to automatically complete file transfers. By default, this feature is disabled and you will have to click a button to confirm each file transfer. These small changes make LocalSend a must-have app for my installation, even if I mostly only use it as a cross-platform clipboard.