How to Use Nearby Sharing in Windows 10

I've long been a fan of Apple's AirDrop feature, which lets you send a photo, file, or website address to anyone nearby, even if you're not connected to the internet. Now Windows users can enjoy the same convenience, with the April 2018 update's Nearby sharing capability.

The feature uses Bluetooth and peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, meaning you don't even need to be connected to a Wi-Fi router, let alone to the internet, to transfer files. As you'll see below, Nearby sharing isn't a separate feature but an option on the share panel, just like Apple.

Setup is easy, so if you have some files you want to share to a nearby PC, do yourself a favor and give Nearby sharing a try. Here's how.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.

Start the Process

The simplest way to get started with Nearby sharing is to tap on the Share icon in a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app like Microsoft Photos or the Edge browser. If you've updated to the Windows 10 April 2018 Update and are logged into a Microsoft account, you'll see a "Tap to turn on nearby sharing" option. Tap it and meet me at the next slide.

Looking for Nearby Devices

After you've enabled the feature, its spot in the share dialog will say "Looking for nearby devices," along with "Make sure the other device has nearby sharing turned on in Action Center."

Nearby Desktop Found

Here you can see that the "Looking for..." message has been replaced with the device name of a nearby PC. When another device with nearby sharing enabled is found, you'll see its computer name in the share dialog. This could be a weird name like "LAPTOP-DG435GF" generated by your computer manufacturer.

You can find your PC's name in Settings > System > About in the Device name section. That Settings page includes a button at the bottom for renaming the PC to something that better identifies the machine, such as Tom-Den-Desktop. (Note that you can't have spaces in the name.)

Sending Nearby

When you send something, you'll see this notification in the lower-right corner of the screen. Send by accident? You can cancel the operation if you do so before the recipient accepts the share.

Receiving PC

The receiving PC sees this notification in the lower-right corner of the screen. It can either Decline, Save, or Save and Open the shared file. Note that if you share OneDrive-stored photos from the Photos app, your recipient gets a share link to the online version, rather than the actual photo file. If it's a webpage that's shared, it opens in the recipient's default browser, which needn't be Edge.

Shared Settings

For the true Nearby Sharing mavens out there, you can tinker with settings for the feature, in the Settings > System > Shared experiences page. Here, you can decide whether you want to receive items only from your own devices or from anyone nearby. For me, the feature only worked best when I allowed everyone to share; not really a problem since you have to approve what's sent. Finally, you can choose which folder files land in when you accept them.

About Our Expert

Michael Muchmore

Contributor

My Experience

I've been testing PC and mobile software for more than 20 years, focusing on photo and video editing, operating systems, and web browsers. Prior to my current role, I covered software and apps for ExtremeTech and headed up PCMag’s enterprise software team. I’ve attended trade shows for Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their products.

I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft misstep and win, up to the latest Windows 11.

I’m an avid bird photographer and traveler—I’ve been to 40 countries, many with great birds! Because I’m also a classical music fan and former performer, I’ve reviewed streaming services that emphasize classical music.

Technology I Use

For everyday work, I use a good-old Dell tower with 16GB of RAM, a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, and an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti GPU that runs on Windows 11. I pair it with a 4K Lenovo ThinkVision P27u-10 monitor and a Logitech MX Vertical mouse. For offsite work, I use a 2024 Microsoft Surface Laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. Camera-wise, I moved to mirrorless from a Canon EOS 80D with a Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens. I now have a Canon EOS R7 with a 100-400mm lens, but I miss my DSLR for several reasons.

In order of usage, the software I turn to most frequently is the Edge web browser, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, Firefox, Brave, and WhatsApp. I use the Windows Phone link app to see everything on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra phone, which has excellent telephoto capability.

For fitness monitoring, I have a Fitbit Charge 6 and use an Anker Smart Scale P1. I’m also a streaming fan, so I subscribe to both Amazon Music Unlimited (especially for its Dolby Atmos content) and Qobuz (for its high-res sound quality and classical catalog). I recently added a Vizio 5.1 Soundbar SE, which sounds surprisingly good given its low price. To holler commands instead of using a remote control, I have the Amazon Fire TV Cube in the living room, which lets me verbally tell the TV what I want to watch. It hooks up to an LG B4 OLED TV. I have a Sonos One speaker in my kitchen that also ties in with Alexa, as does the Echo Dot 2 With Clock in my bedroom. For serious listening, I have B&W 601 speakers plugged into a Conrad-Johnson Sonographe amp and preamp, with a Cambridge Audio AXN10 streamer as source. For reading, I also have a Nook GlowLight 3.

Read the latest from Michael Muchmore

Read full bio