Trying to send a photo from an Android phone to an iPhone usually ends in frustration — AirDrop won't touch it, and messaging apps crush the quality. LocalSend solves it cleanly: the two phones find each other over Wi-Fi and send the original files directly. Here's exactly how to do it, plus the setting that makes it work first time.
AirDrop is genuinely excellent — but it's a closed system that only works between Apple devices. The moment an Android phone is involved, it simply isn't an option, which is why "how do I AirDrop from Android to iPhone" is one of the most searched and most disappointing questions in tech. The usual fallbacks make things worse: messaging apps and email re-compress photos, so what arrives on the iPhone is a lower-quality copy of what left the Android.
LocalSend closes that gap by speaking one protocol on every platform. The Android phone and the iPhone both run the app, discover each other over the local network, and send the file directly — no re-compression, no quality loss, no Apple-only wall. If you want the wider context, our LocalSend for iOS guide covers the iPhone side in detail.
Install LocalSend on both phones first — from Google Play or the APK on Android, and from the App Store on the iPhone. Then follow along.
The Android phone and the iPhone each need the app installed and open.
Connect both phones to the same network, or use one phone's hotspot for the other.
Each phone advertises itself so the two can discover each other on the network.
Tap send on the Android phone and choose the photos, videos or documents you want to move.
The iPhone appears in the device list by its name — tap it to begin.
Approve the incoming request on the iPhone, and the files transfer at full quality.
On iPhone, received items first land inside the LocalSend app. Getting them into your camera roll or Files app takes one extra tap, and here's how.
Tap the transfer to view the photos or files that arrived.
Choose "Save to Photos" for images and videos, or "Save to Files" for documents.
Allow LocalSend access to Photos the first time so it can save directly to your camera roll.
Your transferred images now appear in Photos just like any other picture.
The one thing that occasionally trips people up between two different platforms is the local-network permission on iOS. Sort it once and it never bothers you again.
With that permission enabled, Android-to-iPhone transfers become as routine as sending between two of the same phones. For more shortcuts, browse our tips and tricks or the full troubleshooting guide.
No — AirDrop only works between Apple devices. LocalSend fills that gap, letting an Android phone send files directly to an iPhone over local Wi-Fi.
No. LocalSend sends the original files without re-compressing them, so photos and videos arrive at full quality.
They're saved in the LocalSend app first, and from there you can export them to Photos or the Files app with one tap.
Sending files between Android and iPhone used to mean compromise — lost quality, clunky workarounds, or giving up entirely. LocalSend makes it a non-event: two taps and the originals are on the other phone. If you regularly live in a mixed-device household, this one trick alone is worth keeping the app installed.
New to LocalSend? Start with the beginner's guide, or see how it keeps every transfer private and encrypted along the way.
Written and reviewed by Rehan Shah · July 2026