We had reviewed the cross-platform file transfer app, LANDrop, in an earlier post. This file sharing utility could be very useful when you need to send files and documents between two devices of your own. For example, you can send photos and videos from mobile phone to PC in a batch with this free tool. This is a very new app. We can’t find many user reviews or how-to guides about it on the web. In this article, we’d like to talk about this free file transfer and how it can help us easily move files and documents back and forth among our smart phones and laptops or desktops. We’re envisioning it as the perfect alternative to Bluetooth data transfer, but easier and faster. And yes, it is free too. You can refer to the app review which we’ve linked to at the first beginning for more details. Now, we’ll walk you through the simple steps to use it for data sharing between Android phone and Windows computer. It is also available for iPhone and Mac. So you can even use it to share files between Android and iPhone, Android and Mac. Data sharing between two mobile devices is also supported.
Download & install LANDrop
The first thing we have to do is to download and install the file sharing app on to both our Android mobile and PC. Since the app is not yet available on Google Play, we need to download it from the developer’s website. Thus you may need to allow installation of third-party apps in the Android system settings first. See how you can install unknown apps or apps from unknown source on Tecno mobile phone, and this tutorial to install APK files, allow installations of apps from unknown source on Huawei phone. Although the method varies depending on which phone model you use and which Android version you’re on, it’s fairly easy to install apps from unknown sources on Android devices.
Connect mobile and PC to the same Wi-Fi
LANDrop works over both local Wi-Fi and personal hotspot. Use Wi-Fi whenever available, as it is easier to setup than personal hotspot. Make sure to connect them to the same Wi-Fi network. Otherwise, they won’t be able to find and connect each other.
Select and send files from phone
Once you can find your PC from the LANDrop app on the mobile phone, the file sharing becomes very intuitive.
To send files from phone to computer, tap on the Add Image or Add Files button at the top right corner of the file transfer app. If it was the first time you use LANDrop on the phone, grant this app to access your media files. Then browse through your Gallery or File Manager to select the photos, videos, documents. Long press on a file to select and tap on more files to select multiple files. Then tap on your PC name in the Devices section to send all chosen files from phone to computer. A code will be displayed in the Sending section in LANDrop app on the mobile phone.
Receive and save files on PC
Go to LANDrop on your Windows computer, you should see a prompt message about the file transfer with the same code as displayed on the phone. Simple click Yes button to receive the files and save them to the Downloads folder on your computer. LANDrop lets users choose where to save the files. Simply go to its Settings > Download path to change another location or folder to save the files.
Transfer files from PC to Android
Open the LANDrop program on your desktop or laptop, drag and drop files from your Windows Explorer to the LANDrop dialog, then click Send, click to select your mobile phone, click Send button again.
Now go to LANDrop on the phone to accept the file transfer. Again the same code will be displayed on both computer and smart phone just to make sure you send the documents to the right device or person.
Supported images, videos will be directly saved to the Gallery app on the phone. Other files can be found in the Files tab in LANDrop app. You can then choose how to open, share, edit or save them on the phone from there.