You can move photos, videos and documents between your phone and your Windows PC or Mac over Wi-Fi, with no cable. Share a folder on your computer once, add it in Solid Explorer, and from then on that folder opens on your phone like any other folder: copy files in, or take files out. It's free, and nothing needs to be installed on the computer.
Before you start
Your phone and your computer must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network (the computer can also be plugged into the same router with a cable).
On Windows, you need to know how you sign in: with a Microsoft account (an email address) or a local account (just a name).
Step 1: Share a folder on your computer
Share on your PC (Windows 10 and 11)
Turn on file sharing:
Open Settings → Network & internet.
Click your connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) and make sure the network profile type is set to Private network. Windows doesn't share files on networks marked as public.
Go back, then open Advanced network settings → Advanced sharing settings.
Under Private networks, turn on Network discovery and File and printer sharing.
Share a folder:
In File Explorer, create or pick the folder you want to use, for example
Documents\Phone.Right-click it and choose Properties, then open the Sharing tab.
Click Share…, make sure your own account is listed, set it to Read/Write, and click Share.
Click Done.
Find your PC's address: Open Settings → Network & internet, click your connection, and look for IPv4 address, something like 192.168.1.25. Write it down. You'll need it if your phone doesn't find the PC on its own.
Share on your Mac
Open System Settings → General → Sharing and turn on File Sharing.
Click the ⓘ button next to File Sharing. Under Shared Folders, click + and add the folder you want to use.
Click Options…, make sure Share files and folders using SMB is on, and under Windows File Sharing tick your user account and enter your Mac password when asked.
Click Done.
Find your Mac's address: the Sharing screen shows it under File Sharing, for example smb://192.168.1.30. You only need the numbers 192.168.1.30).
When Solid Explorer asks for a username and password in step 2, use your Mac user name (the short name shown in System Settings → Users & Groups) and your Mac password.
Step 2: Add your computer in Solid Explorer
In Solid Explorer, tap the + button at the bottom right and choose New connection.
Choose LAN / SMB and tap Next.
Solid Explorer looks for computers on your Wi-Fi. If your computer appears in the list, tap it and tap Next.
If it doesn't appear after a few seconds, slide up the bar that says Didn't find what you're looking for? and type your computer's address (for example
192.168.1.25) in Server name or IP address. Leave the other fields as they are and tap Next.Choose Username and password and tap Next.
Enter the account you use to sign in to your computer:
Microsoft account: your email address and your Microsoft account password. Your Windows PIN won't work here.
Local account: your Windows user name and password.
Mac: your Mac user name and password.
Leave Remember password checked.
On Set advanced? leave No and tap Next, then Next again on the summary.
Tap Connect. When it says the connection works, tap Finish.
Your computer now opens in Solid Explorer, showing the folders you shared. Tap the one you created. Next time, you'll find your computer in the side menu (swipe from the left edge) under Storage.
Step 3: Copy files
Solid Explorer has two panels side by side (on a phone in portrait mode, swipe left and right to switch between them).
In one panel, open the shared folder on your computer.
In the other panel, open the folder on your phone with the files you want, for example Internal storage → DCIM → Camera for photos.
Long-press a file to select it, and tap more files to add them to the selection.
Tap Copy, switch to the panel with the computer's folder, and tap Paste.
It works the other way too: copy files from the computer's folder and paste them into a folder on your phone. On a tablet or in landscape mode you can also drag selected files from one panel to the other.
If the Wi-Fi drops during a large copy, Solid Explorer continues where it stopped once the connection comes back.
If it doesn't work
My computer doesn't show up in the list.
That's common, especially for Macs, and doesn't mean anything is wrong. Type the computer's IP address by hand (step 2.3).
"The user name or password is invalid."
Most often this is a Microsoft account problem. Use the full email address and the account password, not the PIN. If you set up Windows to sign in without a password (only a PIN, face or fingerprint), sharing can't use your account. Create a separate local account for sharing, or set a password for your Microsoft account.
"Unable to find target host." or "Connection refused."
Check that the phone is on the same Wi-Fi as the computer (not a guest network or mobile data). On Windows, check that the network is set to Private and that File and printer sharing is turned on. On a Mac, check that File Sharing is on (step 1).
I can see the computer but not my folder.
The folder isn't shared yet, or it's shared with a different account. Repeat step 1 and make sure your account has access to the folder.
I can open files but can't copy anything to the computer.
Your account only has read access. On Windows, change your account to Read/Write in the folder's Sharing settings. On a Mac, open File Sharing → ⓘ, select the folder, and set your account to Read & Write.
Other ways to move files without a cable
A shared folder needs a computer. To move files to another phone, an iPhone or an iPad, use one of these:
WebFS: open your phone's files in any web browser, on a computer, iPhone, iPad or another phone.
FTP server: turn your phone into a server and open it from a computer or from Solid Explorer on another Android phone.
See How to transfer files from Android to a PC, Mac or another phone wirelessly for a comparison of all three methods.
For NAS devices (Synology, QNAP, etc.), domain accounts, SMB versions and encryption, see How to connect to an SMB share or NAS from Android.