Getting a file from your phone to your PC shouldn't require a cable, a cloud account, or three failed attempts. With LocalSend it takes two taps and works either direction. Below I'll show you exactly how to set it up and send your first file both ways, plus the one setting that trips people up.
The old ways of moving files between a phone and a computer all have a catch. Cables mean hunting for the right connector and hoping the drivers cooperate. Cloud services mean uploading a file to a server and downloading it again — slow, and it burns data twice for something that's already a metre away. Emailing yourself works for a small photo but falls apart the moment you have a video.
LocalSend skips all of that. It sends the file directly between the two devices over your local Wi-Fi, so a large video that would crawl through a cloud upload copies across in seconds. Nothing touches a server, nothing needs a cable, and there's no account to sign into. For the full picture of what it can do, the LocalSend for PC guide covers the desktop app in depth.
This is the direction most people want: pulling photos or documents off a phone and onto a computer. Make sure LocalSend is installed on both first — the phone app and the desktop app.
Put the app on your phone and the desktop app on your Windows or Mac computer.
Your phone and PC must share one network for them to find each other.
Launch the app on the phone and the computer so each is visible to the other.
Tap send, then choose the photos, videos or documents you want to move.
Your computer appears by name. Tap it to begin the transfer.
The desktop app shows an incoming request. Click Accept and the files save to your chosen folder.
The reverse works exactly the same way, and the desktop app makes it even easier because you can drag files straight onto the window.
Make sure the phone also has the app open on the same network.
Drop the files you want to send onto the desktop app, or use its send button to browse.
Select your phone from the list of nearby devices.
Tap Accept on the phone, and the files land in the LocalSend download folder.
If your phone and PC can't see each other, the cause is nearly always the network — not the app. Here's the fix that solves it almost every time.
Keep that trick in your back pocket and you'll rarely hit a snag. If you do run into something stubborn, our troubleshooting guide walks through every common error and its fix.
Yes. LocalSend works in both directions, so you can send from PC to phone and phone to PC as long as both are on the same network.
No. Everything happens over local Wi-Fi, so no USB cable is needed at any point.
There's no built-in limit. You can send large videos and whole folders; only your network speed and free storage set the practical ceiling.
Once you've sent a file each way, moving things between your phone and computer stops being a chore you dread and becomes something you do without thinking. No cable, no cloud, no waiting — just pick, send, accept. It's the kind of small upgrade that quietly saves you time every single day.
Ready to go further? Learn how to do all this completely offline, or start from the basics with our beginner's guide.
Written and reviewed by Rehan Shah · July 2026