The Nearby Sharing feature in Windows 11 and its predecessor, Windows 10, allows sharing files between two Windows 11/10 computers over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Although the Nearby sharing feature has been part of the Windows operating system for several years now, very few users know about this handy feature.
With the Nearby sharing feature, you can quickly send or receive files between Windows 11/10 devices with a few mouse clicks. This guide shows you how to use the feature to send and receive files between two Windows 11 computers.
NOTE 1: In order to use the feature, both devices must have set their network profile type to Private. Navigate to Windows 11 Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi and then click on the current network to view and change the network profile type.
NOTE 2: Ensure that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are turned on on both your Windows 11 devices and are not far apart.
Use Nearby sharing in Windows 11 to share files
Step 1: Navigate to the folder containing the file you would like to share via Nearby sharing.
Step 2: Right-click the file and then click the Share icon to see the Share flyout.
Step 3: Here, in the “Share using” section, click Nearby sharing.
Step 4: The resulting page shows all supported devices nearby. If the Windows 11 device that you would like to share the file with is not showing up, please wait for a few seconds, and meanwhile, ensure that both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are turned on on both devices. You can also consider turning off the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on both devices and then turning them on again after a few seconds.
Step 5: Click the PC’s name that you would like to share the files with. Windows 11 now displays a notification with the details about the file you are trying to share.
Step 6: On the recipient Windows 11 PC, you will see a notification with Save & open, Save, and Decline buttons. Click the Save and open or Save if you just want to save the file and not open it immediately.
For large files, Windows 11 shows progress as well.
Step 7: Once the file transfer is done, you will see a “Receiving from PCNAME is complete” message with options to open the file and open the folder containing the saved file.
By default, the received files are saved to the Downloads folder, which you can change by navigating to Windows 11 Settings > System > Nearby sharing page.
Users who would like to share files between Windows 11 and Mac can refer to our guide on using the Edge browser to share files between Windows 11 and Mac for step-by-step instructions.
Does Windows 11 use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to share files using Nearby sharing?
As you likely know, Wi-Fi supports faster transfer rates, while Bluetooth is slow and good only for smaller files. When it comes to Nearby sharing, it generally uses Wi-Fi (not your internet connection) to share large files. That said, Microsoft recommends connecting both PCs to the same Wi-Fi network to ensure that Wi-Fi is prioritized for file transfers over Bluetooth.
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