I have an Android phone and iPad. A lot of times, I need to transfer files between Android and iOS. If you also want to transfer files from Android to iPhone or iPad, here are 5 ways to help you transfer files wirelessly.
Whether you want to simply drop a small file or transfer a large amount of data from Android to iPhone or back, you will find a perfect solution here.
Share files from Android to iPhone by LANDrop
LANDrop is an open-source program file-sharing apps that allows you to drop any file on any device over LAN. It ensures ultra-fast speed even if your internet speed is slow by using your local network for transferring files.
It is available for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux with intuitive UI. All the personal data are stored entirely on your device, so no one else can see your files. Files are not compressed when sending, so you can use the received files immediately. If this sounds good to you, you can refer to the steps below to see how it works.
Step 1. Download the LANDrop app and install it on both your Android and iPhone devices. You should also connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network.
Step 2. On the Android device, tap on the icon located at the top right corner to add files that you want to transfer. As you see, there are two icons, one for adding photos, and the other for other types of files.
Step 3. Once all the files are selected, all the available devices will be listed under Devices. You just select your iPhone to start the transfer.
Step 4. On your iPhone, open the LANDrop app and you will see the transferred file. Just tap on the Share button to save it to Files app. If it is a video or photo, you can save it to your Camera Roll.
Honestly, there are many file-sharing apps like this one, but I always prefer open-source tools if available. If you don’t like this one, you can check similar apps like Shareit, FEEM V4, Xender, etc.
Transfer Large Files by Email
Normally, we can attach small files in emails to transfer files. If you want to transfer larger files, you can this online file-sharing tool, WeTransfer. You don’t need to sign up for an account for transferring files. You can transfer files up to 2GB for free.
Step 1. Get to the website, and simply add the files that you want to transfer on your Android phone.
Step 2. Enter the emails from the sender and receiver. You can also tap on the three-dot icon and select Get transfer link instead of sending an email.
Step 3. On your iPhone, open the email and tap on the link in the email to download the file. Since 13, Safari allows you to download files without third-party apps. If your iPhone is running iOS 12 or the previous version, there is a little trick to download files on iPhone.
Access Your Android Full Storage from Network
If needed, your iPhone can access any files on your Android phone wirelessly over FTP. Once you enable this on your Android phone, you can easily access your Android storage from your iPhone. This way, you can browse and copy any files onto your iPhone.
To do that, you will need a free File Manager app called Cx File Explorer on your Android and Documents app by Readdle on your iOS device. Both apps allow you to manage files and access network shared folders on mobile, so they are definitely worth having.
Sounds interesting? You can follow the steps below to configure it.
Step 1. Download and install Cx File Explorer from Google Play Store on your Android phone. Within the app, tap Access from the network under the Network tab and tap Start Service.
Step 2. On your iPhone, download the Documents app. Make sure your iPhone and Android phone are connected to the same network.
Step 3. Within the Documents app on your iPhone, tap on the Gear icon at the top left corner.
Step 4. Select Clouds & Connections > Add Connection > FTP Server. From here, enter the info listed in Step 1 on your Android phone. Be sure to give it a Title.
Step 5. Go back to the main screen of Documents. Now you can see your Android storage as a folder. You can just tap on it to browse and copy files onto your iPhone. You can also tap the “+” icon to transfer files from your iPhone to any folder on your Android phone.
I highly recommend this Documents app. Besides shared folder access, it can help you edit PDFs, download videos, extract audio from video on iPhone, etc.
Android File Transfer
If you have a Mac, you can use your Mac to transfer files from Android to iPhone with the Android File Transfer app, the official app from Android for sharing files from Android to a Mac.
Step 1. Connect your Android device to your Mac and locate the files that you want to transfer. On your Mac, install Android File Transfer, and open it.
Step 2. Select the files that you want to move and drag them to a folder on your Mac.
Step 3. Disconnect your Android device and connect your iPhone to your Mac.
Step 4. Within the Finder app, click on your iPhone.
Step 5. Based on the files that you want to transfer, add the files to the corresponding section. For example, if you want to transfer music, drag them to the Songs section in the Music app. You can choose to sync your entire library or only select tracks.
Step 6. Click Sync and then you can find your files on your iPhone.
PhoneTrans for Fast Transfer
If you want to transfer a large number of files, you should check wired transfer with a dedicated tool. PhoneTrans is a professional phone-to-phone file-transferring tool for Windows or Mac. You can use it to move data from an Android phone to iPhone quickly.
PhoneTrans offers 3 efficient options for transferring files fast based on the different scenarios: Quick Transfer, Phone Clone, and Phone Merge. To transfer some files from Android to iOS, you should choose Quick Trans.
Step 1. Free download PhoneTrans and install it on your computer. Connect both your Android phone and iPhone to the computer.
Step 2. Within the main interface, choose Phone to Phone > Quick Transfer option.
Step 3. Select the Android phone as the source device and iPhone as the target device. After that, tap on the Transfer button to continue.
Step 4. Specify the files or folders that you want to transfer on your Android phone and click on the Transfer Now button to start the transfer.
With this tool, you can transfer Contacts, Messages, Call history, Photos, documents, and more files from Android to iPhone in a very fast way. If you want to switch to a new phone, whether Android or iOS, you can use the Phone Clone or Phone Merge option instead.
Conclusion
Between Android phones, you can transfer files over Bluetooth or NFC. Between iOS, you can share files with AirDrop. However, Apple has restrictions that prevent Bluetooth connection between Android and iOS. It is possible to lift this restriction on jailbroken iPhones.
Therefore, for most people, you can use any of these 5 methods to transfer files between Android and iOS. In terms of speed, wired methods are definitely faster than wireless methods.