Whether you want to transfer files wirelessly or expand your smartphone’s storage, a network share is a great option. You can build your own network-attached storage (NAS) or simply share a folder with Windows’ built-in sharing options.
In this post, I will show you how to access Network Shared folder from Android or iOS device. In this way, you can transfer files wirelessly among different devices and stream videos or music.
Connect to Network Drive on iPhone
If you haven’t got your NAS setup, you can simply share a folder on your Windows PC. You just need to turn on sharing for a folder of your choice by right-clicking on the folder -> Properties -> Sharing. For Linux or macOS, you can share a folder in a similar way.
After that, you can use your iPhone or iPad to access files in the network shared folder through your computer’s local server IP address. If you don’t know the IP address, you can go to Settings > Network & Internet > Ethernet or WiFi > Network to check the entry “IPv4 Address”.
With that ready, you can use Files app on your iPhone or iPad to read and write (if granted) files in the network folder. You can refer to the steps below to see how.
Step 1. Make sure that your iPhone or iPad is connected to the same local Wi-Fi network as the shared network drive. Open the built-in Files app on your iPhone or iPad.
Step 2. Within Files app, tap on the “triple-dot” icon located at the top-right corner of your screen and select “Connect to Server”.
Step 3. From here, type in the local server IP address of your Shared Folder and tap on “Connect”.
Step 4. Based on the configuration of your network share, you may choose to log in as “Registered User” or “Guest”. If you choose “Registered User”, you should also enter the local username and password and tap “Next” to continue.
Step 5. Once loaded, you should be able to view all the content o the shared folder. If you have been granted write access, you can also add new files from your iPhone to the shared folder.
Somehow, it may fail to connect to the shared location. For me, my iPad connected successfully, but my iPhone failed to connect to the same location with the error message saying “the operation couldn’t be completed. Invalid argument.”
If you cannot find the “Connect to Server” option, it means you are running iOS 12 or previous versions. In that case, you can check the next method to connect to a network drive on iOS devices.
Cannot Connect to Server iPhone
If you failed to connect to the server on iPhone or iPad with the Files app, you can use a third-party app to work this around. For that, I prefer the Documents by Readdle app. It is a built-in web browser that can be used to download files on iPhone.
Therefore, the Documents app is definitely worth having. You can follow the steps below to connect to the network service on iPhone or iPad.
Step 1. Free download Documents app from appStore.
Step 2. Within the app, tap on the settings icon at the top left corner and select Cloudss & Connection > Add Connection > Windows SMB. You may select another based on your server type.
Step 3. Type a name in the Title entry and the IP address in the URL entry. Tap on Done to continue.
Step 4. Now you can go back to My Files and easily access the network drive that you have mounted.
Add Network Drive to Android
Some Android phones offer the feature to connect to network server in the built-in File Manager app. If you couldn’t find it on your Android phone, you can download a free app, Cx File Explorer. You can refer to the steps below to access a network share on Android.
Step 1. Download Cx File Explorer from Google Play Store. Make sure you connect to the same network as your network share.
Step 2. Within the Cx File Explorer app, tap on Network and select Remote to continue.
Step 3. Under the Remote tab, select SMB or other option based on your Share Network type.
Step 4. Enter your network drive IP address in the Host entry and the Username and Password. Tap on OK to access all the content.
You can also tap on the Access from Network option that set your Adnroid phone as a network drive, which you can access from all your devices within the same network. This way, you can use your iPhone to access your Android storage to transfer files from Android to iPhone wirelessly.
In conclusion, this app is far better than the stock File Manager app that I have. I can use it to analyze and manage all the files on my phone.
Conclusion
With a network share folder set up, you can easily share files across all your devices. With the Cx File Explorer app, you can easily transfer files between Android and iPhone wirelessly without a PC. Lastly, whether you can connect to network share natively or not, these 2 third-party apps are definitely helpful.