The multi-tool app millions rely on
Work better. Learn faster. Stay organized.
Transferring files between PC and iOS devices has long been the devil's errand. It's especially irksome when it comes to big files like the new season of your favorite TV show, 4K videos from your recent family vacation, a bunch of PDFs from your accountant, your personalized collection of high-quality, uncompressed audio files, and so on. Imagine pairing your computer (be it a PC or Mac) and iPhone or iPad within seconds and transferring any file you desire. Sounds like something you’ve always wished for, right? It’s possible, thanks to Readdle’s Documents app.
In this article, let us learn how you can transfer files between your iPhone/iPad devices and your PC or Mac computers using the Wi-Fi Transfer feature in Documents.
Wi-Fi Transfer is by far the easiest way to transfer files from a PC or Mac to your iPhone or iPad and vice versa. All you need is the Documents app installed on your iPhone or iPad (get it for Free from the App Store) and a connected Wi-Fi network or a USB cable.
How to transfer files from iPhone to PC
- Download Documents for free
- Make sure both your iPhone and computer are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
- Open Documents on your iPhone.
- Tap the + button and select Connect to Computer.
- On your PC, open the web browser and go to https://docstransfer.com.
- Enter the code displayed on your iPhone.
- Your iPhone and PC/computer are now connected!
That’s it! You can instantly transfer files between your PC and iPhone or iPad. Your PC browser window shows all the files and folders available on your iPhone. Simply select one or more files or folders and click Download to transfer iPhone files to PC.
To move something from a computer to your iPhone, click Upload Files or just drag and drop the files into your browser window. You can upload photos, music, videos, documents, or archives — any file type and instantly transfer it to your iPhone from your PC.
Once you're done transferring files, tap Disconnect on your iPhone, close the web page, or just close Documents, and you're good to go.
Documents Wi-Fi Transfer vs. AirDrop, iCloud, and other methods
Although there are a number of ways to transfer files from PC to iPhone or iPad and vice versa, each method has its own set of limitations — one worse than the other.
Let’s take AirDrop, for example, which is Apple’s default feature for wirelessly transferring files to and from iPhone and iPad. First, AirDrop does not work on PCs, so the Documents Wi-Fi Transfer is already a substantially better feature because Wi-Fi Transfer works on all Mac, Windows, and Linux PCs. AirDrop also does not support transferring folders between iOS devices and PCs or Macs. Lastly, AirDrop is commonly known not to work as intended, often failing to show available devices. Wi-Fi transfer, on the other hand, is far more reliable, and in the rare case that your Wi-Fi network is acting wonky, you can simply connect both devices using a USB cable, and Wi-Fi Transfer can pick up right where you left off.
In the case of using iCloud, you’d need to pay Apple large sums of money to transfer files larger than the 5GB of free storage Apple includes with all iCloud accounts. Additionally, since iCloud transfers happen over the internet, you’re possibly looking at hours of wait times to transfer a few GBs of files.
Moreover, Wi-Fi Transfer is completely Free — you do not need to sign up or pay for any subscription or IAP. The size of files transferred using AirDrop is limited solely by your iPhone's memory.
Get Documents for Free from the App Store
How to fix AirDrop not working? With Wi-Fi Transfer, of course!
AirDrop tends to have a lot of problems when you urgently want to transfer files between your iOS devices and your computer. This is especially true when transferring large files between devices. Fixing the AirDrop not working problem often involves turning off your Wi-Fi router, rebooting your iPhone or iPad, updating your iOS version, or undertaking a voodoo ritual. AirDrop is very finicky and super annoying.
Before you start pulling your hair or throwing your iPhone at the PC, it's much easier to simply open Chrome, Edge, or any other browser on your PC and Mac and go to https://docstransfer.com. Just download and open Documents by Readdle on your iPhone or iPad and wirelessly connect the devices with two quick taps to start transferring files seamlessly between your Mac/PC and iPhone/iPad.
Things to remember when using Wi-Fi Transfer to transfer files between PC/Mac and iPhone/iPad?
Here are some useful tips regarding Wi-Fi Transfer usage:
- As the name suggests, Wi-Fi Transfer works over a Wi-Fi network; make sure both your devices are connected to the same secure network. Alternatively, you can connect both devices using a USB cable.
- Wi-Fi Transfer does not require the internet to work and is thus not dependent on your internet speeds. File transfers using Wi-Fi transfer are instantaneous.
- Wi-Fi Transfer does not come with file size limits — you are only limited by the available memory on your iPhone or iPad.
- While you are transferring a file between devices, your browser and the Documents app must stay open and active. Otherwise, the connection breaks. If this happens, you still have 10 seconds to resume the connection. You need to restart the file transfer if the reconnect doesn’t occur in time.
Wrapping up
We hope you now understand the fastest and easiest way to transfer files between your iPhone and Mac or PC.
Download our free Documents app to get started with Wi-Fi Transfer, the best alternative to AirDrop.