How to send things from the mobile to the PC

Surely it has ever happened to you: you have a link that you just sent by WhatsApp that you would like to visit from your computer, or a document saved on the PC of the hard drive that you need to pass to your mobile. Yes, it is true that you can connect both with a cable and that’s it, but there are also quicker and more convenient ways of passing things between the computer and the mobile.

You can use a tool that has been specially created for it, or find a more creative use of a communication utility or file storage that was not initially intended to pass files from one device to another. Whatever the method, the idea is to find a system that is easy to use, practical and that solves the problem. After all, it is one of the functions of technology: making our lives easier.

The classic: By email

Who has not sent an email to himself ? They serve for everything: as a note of a task, to remind you of something … and of course, to send things from the computer to the mobile phone and vice versa. It may not be the fastest and most convenient way to do it, but sometimes it’s the option you have at hand, and it’s perfectly functional – as long as you have that same email account configured on both devices, of course.

With instant messaging apps

The logical evolution of “sending things by email” is to do it through instant messaging apps. Since many of them have launched desktop clients, these apps have become a practical “bridge” between the computer and the mobile, allowing to share content between them very easily.

Catch, links, documents, videos, photos … everything can be passed from the PC to the mobile and vice versa using, for example, Telegram or WhatsApp. You just have to open a conversation with yourself (although it sounds a bit sad) and send the messages or files as you would with any other contact, using the app on the mobile and the desktop client on the computer.

With some file hosting service

If you use email or instant messaging apps to pass material from your mobile to your computer and vice versa, why not do the same with file hosting services? Most of them (Dropbox, Google Drive …) have web versions and clients that make them accessible almost from any device.

What’s more, if you use them frequently for that purpose, you can leave a folder created with a special name (so that it always appears first in the list) and use it to pass things between your devices.

With Pushbullet

So far we have talked about using applications to pass things between the mobile and the PC using tools that, in principle, are not intended for this function. But there are also some that have been created especially for this purpose, such as Pushbullet. This application is an “all-in-one” in communication between mobile and PC, which in addition to sharing links or files, allows you to see notifications on the computer or send SMS with the PC keyboard, for example. To use it with iPhone and Windows, yes, there are some limitations.

Pushbullet is free, but it has a paid Pro version with some advanced features, such as sending files of larger size or being able to “copy and paste” between the two devices.

If you just want to be able to send things between your phone and your PC, then you can use Portal, a kind of Pushbullet light focused only on the transfer of photos, videos and other files between both devices.

If you have an iPhone and a Mac: With Airdrop

For users of iPhone and Mac, a very practical resource that does not require you to install anything is to use AirDrop , the function to share files integrated in iOS and macOS. It is perfect to share photos, videos and contacts between both devices.

You will need, yes, that the iPhone has iOS 7 or higher, and that the Mac is a model from 2012 onwards with Yosemite operating system or higher. Both devices should be relatively close (about 10 meters maximum) and use the same Wi-Fi connection. To make it a bit safer, you can limit it to your contacts, and thus it will not be open to everyone.

If you have an Android: With AirDroid

For Android owners, however, a great option is AirDroid, an application very similar to Pushbullet in its approach and way of functioning, only focused on Android phones.

With AirDroid it is possible not only to easily move things from the mobile to the computer (Windows or Mac) and vice versa, but also to control the calls and notifications from the computer screen, and answer the messages with a keyboard more comfortable than the mobile phone.

Like Pushbullet, AirDroid is free but has a premium version of payment that has advanced features, such as support for larger files, to send unlimited files or have the ability to transfer complete folders, among other things.