What if you could send a 2 GB video to someone sitting next to you without spending a single megabyte of data or waiting on a cloud upload? That's not a workaround — it's exactly how LocalSend is designed to work. In this guide I'll show you how to transfer files completely offline, and why it works even when your internet is dead.
Here's the part that surprises people: the internet and a local network are two different things. Your Wi-Fi router creates a local network that connects the devices in your home to each other — the internet connection is a separate service layered on top of it. LocalSend uses only the first part. It moves files between devices on the same local network and never needs the internet at all.
That's why a transfer works on a plane with the router's internet switched off, in a rural area with no signal, or on a hotspot that has no active data plan. As long as two devices can reach each other on a shared network, LocalSend can send between them. For the bigger picture of what the app does, the main LocalSend page lays it all out.
If both devices are already on the same Wi-Fi network — even one with no working internet — you're ready to go. This is the simplest offline method.
The internet can be down; only the local network connection matters.
Each device advertises itself on the local network so they can find one another.
On the sending device, select the photos, videos or documents to send.
Tap the other device's name in the list to start the transfer.
Approve the incoming request, and the files move directly between the two devices.
They save to the LocalSend folder, ready to use — no internet was ever involved.
No shared Wi-Fi available? You can create your own local network using a phone's hotspot — and crucially, it works even if that phone has no data or an empty plan, because you're only using the hotspot to link the devices, not to reach the internet.
Enable the personal hotspot on one device from its settings.
Join the second device to that hotspot's network like any Wi-Fi.
They now share a private local network and can discover each other.
Pick your files, choose the device, and approve the transfer on the other end.
Offline transfers are already fast because there's no cloud detour, but a couple of small choices make a real difference on large files.
With those tweaks, even multi-gigabyte transfers finish in a fraction of the time a cloud upload would take. For more ways to squeeze out performance, see our tips and tricks guide.
Yes. It transfers over a local network, not the internet, so as long as both devices share a Wi-Fi or hotspot connection, transfers work with no internet at all.
No. The data travels only between the two devices on the local network, so no mobile data is consumed.
Yes. A hotspot creates a local network even without an active data plan, and LocalSend can use it to move files between the connected devices.
Being able to move files with no internet isn't a niche trick — it's one of the most practical things about LocalSend. It means a dead connection, an empty data plan, or a signal dead-zone never stops you from sharing what you need to. Once you've done it once, you'll reach for it every time you're offline and someone needs a file.
Want to build on this? Start with the beginner's guide if you're new, or see how LocalSend keeps those offline transfers private and encrypted.
Written and reviewed by Ayesha Malik · July 2026