AirDrop to a Windows PC

An iPhone will not AirDrop to a Windows laptop: Apple keeps AirDrop to its own devices. The usual detours are a cable and iTunes, emailing yourself, or a cloud drive that uploads everything first. Snapdrop is shorter. Open snapdrop.net on the PC and on the iPhone, and on the same Wi-Fi they see each other.

Pick photos or files on the iPhone, tap the PC, accept on the PC, and the browser saves them to the Downloads folder. In the other direction, drag files from the PC onto the iPhone's avatar. The same works with a Mac or an iPad instead of the iPhone.

Sending a file, step by step

Open Snapdrop on both devices. On the same Wi-Fi they appear on each other's screen within a second or two.
Not showing up? Press Connect with a code on one device and type the 6 digits on the other, or scan the QR code with the phone camera. The devices stay linked for next time.
Send. Drop files onto the other device, or click or tap it and pick files.
Accept. The other device shows who is sending what. After it accepts, the files go across with a progress bar on both screens.
Save. Received files are saved with one click. Keep both pages open until the transfer finishes.

Direct transfer or a link?

	Direct transfer	Share link
Where the file goes	straight to the other device	uploaded to LimeWire
Both devices online	yes, at the same time	no, the link waits
Size	about 500 MB to a phone, a few GB to a computer	up to 4 GB without an account
How long it lasts	nothing is stored	3 days without an account
Account	not needed	not needed; an account keeps files longer

Paid LimeWire plans raise link storage and daily traffic and are listed on the LimeWire pricing page.

Questions people ask

Can you AirDrop to a PC?

Not with AirDrop itself: Apple does not make it for Windows. Snapdrop does the same job in the browser on the iPhone and on the PC, with nothing to install.

How do I AirDrop from Windows to an iPhone?

Open snapdrop.net on both. On the PC, drag the files onto the iPhone's avatar or click it and choose them. On the iPhone, accept; Safari saves the files to the Files app, in Downloads.

Do I need iCloud or iTunes?

No. Nothing is synced or uploaded: the files go straight from one browser to the other over an encrypted connection.

The PC and the iPhone do not see each other.

A VPN, mobile data or a guest network keeps them apart. Press Connect with a code on the PC and scan the QR code with the iPhone camera, or type the 6 digits.

Other device pairs

Fix the file, not just the transfer

A link does its job the moment the other person can actually use what arrives. If the format is wrong or the file is too heavy, fix it first — these tools run in the browser on LimeWire, free and without an account.

Compress a PDF — smaller file, same document.
PDF to Word — hand over text the other side can edit.
Excel to PDF — a spreadsheet nobody can accidentally change.
Images to PDF — one document instead of a folder of photos.

AirDrop is a trademark of Apple Inc. Snapdrop is not made by or affiliated with Apple.

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