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Quick Share on Windows and iPhone

Quick Share is Android's version of AirDrop. Google makes a free Quick Share app for Windows, so an Android phone and a PC can swap files over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Since late 2025 some Android phones can also trade files with an iPhone. An iPhone still can't reach a Windows PC through Quick Share, though. Below are the setup steps, how to send each way, and what to check when your PC doesn't appear in the list.

Jordan Gibbs September 25, 2026 7 min read

Does Quick Share work on Windows and iPhone?

As of September 2026, it depends on the pair of devices:

  • Android phone and Windows PC: yes, with Google’s free Quick Share app for Windows.
  • Android phone and iPhone: yes, on newer phones like the Pixel 10 and Galaxy S26, through AirDrop.
  • iPhone and Windows PC: no. Use one of the options in our AirDrop for Windows guide.
  • Android phone and Mac: no Google app. Some phones can use AirDrop with a Mac instead.

What is Quick Share?

Quick Share sends photos, videos, files and folders to a device near you. It needs Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on at both ends. There’s no cable, and you don’t upload anything to a cloud drive first.

If you remember Nearby Share, this is the same thing with a new name. Google and Samsung announced in January 2024 that Google’s Nearby Share and Samsung’s own Quick Share would become one feature, under Samsung’s name. That’s why a Pixel and a Galaxy phone now see each other in the same list.

How to set up Quick Share on Windows 10 or 11

Google’s help page lists what the PC needs:

  • A 64-bit version of Windows 10 or later.
  • Windows 11 if the PC has an ARM chip, like a Snapdragon laptop.
  • Bluetooth turned on.
  • Wi-Fi or Ethernet, on the same network as the phone.
  • A phone running Android 6.0 or later, within about 16 feet (5 meters).

Google says to sign in with your Google Account to get all the options. The setting that limits sharing to your own devices needs it.

To install it, download QuickShareSetup.exe from android.comand run it. Samsung laptops are the exception. Google says to get Samsung’s own Quick Share app from the Microsoft Store on those. Open the app, sign in, pick the name the PC shows to others under “Visible to others as”, and choose who can send to you under “Receiving”. Don’t run it as administrator. Google’s page says to use a standard account, and drag and drop can fail if you don’t.

Who can see your PC

This lives under Settings (top right of the app), then Device visibility. There are four choices:

SettingWho can send to you
EveryoneAnyone nearby with Quick Share on
ContactsPeople in your Google contacts who are nearby
Your devicesOnly devices signed in to your Google Account
No oneNobody. The PC is hidden.

Your devices is the one to pick if the PC only ever talks to your own phone. Files between two devices on the same account are accepted on their own, with no prompt.

How to send from an Android phone to a PC

On the phone, open the photo or file, tap Share, then tap Quick Share. Your PC should appear in the list of nearby devices. Tap it. If a PIN shows up, check that it matches the one on the PC. On the PC, click Accept in the notification.

The file lands in a folder called Quick Share inside Downloads. The app doesn’t need to be in front to receive. It keeps running in the system tray, and closing the window doesn’t fully quit it. A Galaxy phone works the same way, since Quick Share is in Samsung’s Share menu too.

How to send from a PC to an Android phone

There are two ways on the PC side.

  • Open the Quick Share app and drag the file into its window. You can also click Select files or Select folders.
  • In File Explorer, right-click the file and choose Send with Quick Share.

Pick your phone from the list and click Share. The phone has to be visible to the PC for this to work. On Android that setting is under Settings, then Quick Share, then “Who can share with you”. The choices on a phone are Your devices, Contacts, or Everyone for 10 minutes.

Can an iPhone use Quick Share?

Yes, with some Android phones. In November 2025 Google made Quick Share work with AirDrop, starting with the Pixel 10. The iPhone doesn’t need a new app. It just uses AirDrop, and the Android phone shows up in the AirDrop list.

The list of phones has grown fast. 9to5Google’s June 2026 listhas the Pixel 10 and 9 series, the Pixel 9a and 8a, the Galaxy S26, S25 and S24 series, the Z Fold 7 and 6, the Z Flip 7 and 6, and a few phones from OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Honor. Google’s own page lists the Motorola razr fold 2026 as coming soon.

To make it work:

  • Android to iPhone: on the iPhone, set AirDrop to Everyone for 10 Minutes. Then share from the Android phone and pick the iPhone.
  • iPhone to Android: turn on Quick Share’s receive mode on the Android phone, set to Everyone. Then tap Share, then AirDrop on the iPhone.

Contacts-only sharing doesn’t work between the two systems, so both sides need the Everyone setting. For older Android phones, MacRumors reported in May 2026 that Quick Share can make a QR code. The iPhone scans it and downloads the file from a web page. We go through all of this in more detail in can you AirDrop to Android?

Can an iPhone send to a Windows PC with Quick Share?

No. The AirDrop link only exists on the Android phones above. Quick Share for Windows doesn’t have it. When 9to5Google tested the feature at launch, it wrotethat “Quick Share for Windows also doesn’t see the iPhone, nor does the iPhone see it.” None of Google’s lists of AirDrop-ready devices includes a PC as of September 2026.

You could route a file through an Android phone, iPhone to phone to PC. That works, but it’s two transfers for one file. An app that runs on both the iPhone and the PC is simpler. LocalSend is free and works over home Wi-Fi. Our AirDrop for Windows guide compares it with PairDrop, Phone Link and iCloud. For how Quick Share itself stacks up, see LocalSend vs KDE Connect vs Quick Share.

Is there Quick Share for Mac?

Not from Google. The Windows app has no Mac version, as of September 2026. There are two ways around it.

If your Android phone is on the AirDrop list above, it can send straight to a Mac with AirDrop. 9to5Google says the feature works with iPhones, iPads and Macs. For other phones, the free open source app NearDropadds Quick Share to the Mac menu bar. It’s unofficial and only works over Wi-Fi, with both devices on the same network. Its own page says it may not work on hotel or coffee shop Wi-Fi.

Quick Share vs AirDrop

They do the same job. Both send files to a device a few feet away, and both ask the other person to accept. The difference is who they cover. AirDrop is built into iPhones, iPads and Macs. Quick Share is built into Android and has an app for Windows. The two now work together on newer Android phones. A Windows PC is still left out. If your devices are a Galaxy phone and a Windows laptop, Quick Share is the better fit, and it’s free.

Why is Quick Share not working?

When the PC doesn’t show up, or a transfer crawls, try these in order. Most come from Google’s troubleshooting list.

  • Check that both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, with Bluetooth on.
  • Check the receiver’s visibility. A PC set to No one, or to Your devices with a different Google Account, won’t appear.
  • Hold the phone within a foot (30 cm) of the PC while it searches.
  • On office or school Wi-Fi, device-to-device sharing is often blocked. Google’s fix is to turn on the phone’s hotspot and join it from the PC.
  • No notification on the PC? Turn off Focus Assist or Do not disturb. Then check that notifications are allowed for Quick Share in Settings, System, Notifications.
  • Quit the app from the tray icon and open it again. On the phone, switch Airplane mode on and off.
  • If the app was opened as administrator, close it and open it normally.
  • Some older PCs can’t be found on certain networks. Google says this happens when the PC’s Bluetooth doesn’t support a feature called Extended Advertising.
Quick Share for Windows isn’t offered in Cuba, Iran, North Korea or Syria, according to Google’s help page.

For links and short text, a different tool

Quick Share is built for files. For a link, a code or a paragraph you copied on your phone, it’s a lot of taps, and both devices have to be in the same room. Relic, the app we make, syncs what you copy and share between Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac and Linux, over any network. It’s end-to-end encrypted, so our server can’t read what you send. It suits small things. The free plan allows 10 MB per item and 250 MB in total, so for a folder of videos Quick Share is still the right choice. Our guide to copying and pasting between your phone and computer covers the other ways to move text.

Sources

Written by
Jordan GibbsFounder, Relic

Jordan Gibbs is the founder of Relic, an end-to-end encrypted, permanent, searchable memory for everything you copy. He writes widely about AI, agents, and practical tooling on Medium, where he is read by tens of thousands, and builds privacy-first software. Here he covers how everyday tools like the clipboard actually work, and how to use them without handing your data to someone else.

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