Need to remotely access files stored on your Windows computer on your Android device? Here is how you can configure it.
Sometimes it can be more difficult than you would like to access files stored on your Windows desktop or laptop computer on your Android phone. There are several methods you can use to do this, but the PC Remote app for Android really helps to simplify the setup process and make it convenient whether you want a wired or wireless connection.
Here is how you can access storage on your Windows computer to share files with your Android phone.
How to Access PC Storage with Android Phone
For this guide, we’ll be using one of the best third-party PC remote control apps to access This PC on a Windows desktop. You need to download two apps: PC Remote Receiver on your computer and PC Remote on your Android phone. Both apps are free, and the Android app has options for in-app purchases.
The apps offer four modes for accessing files on the computer: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, and QR scan. They are also easy to use, the user interface is minimal and easy to navigate, and the login process is straightforward. And in addition to supporting downloading, there are options for managing files, including deleting, renaming, and creating shortcuts.
Step 1: Connect your PC and phone
After downloading both apps, you need to launch them and follow the steps to establish a connection between your computer and your Android phone. There are four ways to establish the connection. If you prefer to use Bluetooth:
- Activate Bluetooth on your PC as well as on your phone.
- On the home page of the Android app, choose the Relate option.
- In the Options menu, press the Bluetooth and select your PC from the list of available devices.
If your phone and computer use the same Wi-Fi network, you can also pair them by choosing the Wi-Fi icon instead of Bluetooth and selecting your PC from the list of available networks. local computer.
If you don’t want to use the wireless method, no worries, as you can also connect your phone using a USB cable. Here’s how:
- Connect a USB cable to your phone and plug it into the PC.
- On the mobile app, tap Relate and choose USB mode by pressing the USB icon.
- The app will ask you to enable USB tethering on your phone, and once done, the pairing will be complete.
Besides these three methods, there is also an option to pair using a QR code reader:
- Choose the Generate QR code option under the Local connection in the PC Remote Receiver application menu. This will display a QR code on the computer screen.
- On the mobile app, tap Connect to PC in the connection modes menu. It will now open the scanner on the phone.
- Scan the QR code and the connection will be successful.
If you encounter any problems during pairing, such as the device name not showing in the list or connection failure, quit the mobile app, remove it from the Recent menu, force stop the app from phone settings and re-open the app.
If you encounter the error even after following these steps, go to app info in your phone settings and clear the cache and storage data of the PC Remote app. After that reopen the app and you will be good to go.
Step 2: Access your PC storage
Now that you have successfully established a connection between PC and phone, follow these steps to access your files.
- On the mobile app’s home screen, tap the Utility tools icon in the bottom bar.
- In the Tools section, tap This PCand you will be able to see the files.
- You can now browse files and folders from your computer on your phone. A long press on the folder will provide options to rename, delete, check properties, create shortcuts and open the folder on PC.
- Unfortunately, you cannot download the entire folder to your phone from the PC, but you can download individual files by long-pressing and choosing the download option from the Operations menu.
- To disconnect your phone when finished working, press the Me icon, present next to Utility Tools icon, then select the icon DISCONNECT option.
Download files locally from your PC using an Android phone
PC Remote apps make it easy to use your Android phone to access files stored on your Windows computer. This is great for accessing individual files, but there are plenty of other methods worth trying when you need to move large amounts of data between your phone and computer.