This tutorial will show you how to access your phone’s storage for transfers to and fro over your local WiFi network. We will install FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server software on the phone then mount it as a network drive on a Windows PC. Your phone and PC must be connected to the same network.
1. Install SwiFTP
SwiFTP can be downloaded freely from the market. It is a small application which allows your phone to act as an FTP server. It can also allow you to access your phone from a remote network via a proxy, but that will not be covered in this tutorial. As it states in the market description, any client (such as FileZilla or Cyberduck) can be used, but this tutorial will be using functionality built right into Windows.
2. Setting up SwiFTP
After installation, open SwiFTP. Tap the Setup button, which will bring you to the screen above. Fill in the empty fields with the details you would like to use to connect to your phone from the computer. The port number can be left as the default 2121.
3. Starting Server
Now return to the main screen and hit Start. A string of numbers in the form ftp://192.168.X.Y:Z/ will appear next to the Wifi URL label. This is the address of your phone on the local network, followed by the port that the FTP server has open for connections.
Your phone is now ready for connection to your computer.
4. Map Network Drive
Open up My Computer and click Map network drive.
5. Connect to Web site
A window will now pop up prompting you to select a drive letter and a folder. Ignore this and click the link near the bottom for a Web drive.
6. Enter Phone Address
Enter the Wifi URL from Step 3, and click Next.
7. Enter Login Credentials
Now enter the user name that you specified in Step 2. When you mount your phone as a network drive later you will be prompted for the password which you can store so as to not have to enter it every time.
8. Name the drive
Final step. Name your phone as it will appear under Network Drives in My Computer.
SUCCESS!(?)
If all went well, then you should now have access to your phone’s file storage over WiFi. FTP transfers are not as fast as USB, but it saves you having to turn off your phone to extract the microSD card or spend a few minutes trying to track down your cable. All you have to remember is to start the server on SwiFTP before connecting to the drive on your computer, otherwise it won’t be able to find it.
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53 Comments
Awesoooooome!!! I was using Bluetooth to transfer small files between my pc and phone. But now I can use wifi and transfer big files as well because of the speed!
Awesome app, and a very dummy-friendly tutorial. Great job!
Excellent job, Brian! I'm going to do the same now for when I'm near a router (using BT or USB cable otherwise).
The only things I don't like are:
1. This method uses an unencrypted connection.
2. You can't map an FTP to a drive letter, unlike samba.
I'd love to see a solution that solves both of the above (samba server on the phone?).
cool idea. I never would have thought to do this but you better believe I'm going to use this technique to send files to and from my Evo.
Very usefull, thanks!
Or just install Dropbox....
^^^^This. Unless you want to transfer large files and are without your usb cable and the computer doesn't have bluetooth.
Very, very cool
Why run a ftp server from your phone? Wouldn't running the server on a pc and a client on a phone be same and less risky, people can't tap into the server on your phone? Where is my samba solution for Android?
Because then you'd have to navigate everything on the phone instead of the computer, which is not nearly as convenient.
Or you could use Homepipe.
As far as I understand, Homepipe, just like Dropbox, requires uploading the files to the server and then downloading (it's done automatically for you, but you still have to rely on your bandwidth in and out).
The solution here that Brian posted targets a local WiFi enabled network. It's very convenient, though still has those 2 problems I mentioned earlier.
thanx guys, this is awesome
Or you could install IP Messenger on your phone and PC to transfer the files over a network. WiFi in this case.
Setup is a lot simpler.
Thanks, I'll try this out, together with the SMB plugin for Astro.
Edit: nvm, it requires a proprietary client on the PC - that's not the solution I'm looking for.
With all due respect guys... We don't wanna hear about other apps! This is the most easist and full solution to alot of users. Why sit there saying you can use dropbox or you can use homepipe or whatever?? If you feel those apps need mentioning then make a tutorial on how to do it with those apps! I thought this was great, thanks to Brian for this!
I am just new to andriod and the ftp thing. And I could follow it with no problem. Great job. Takes about 7 mins to transfer 100mb but I'm in no hurry - Luke
There is a setting in SwiFTP that you can enable called "Keep phone awake". It seems that transfer speeds may drop once the phone goes into stand-by mode, so give this a try and see if large file transfers get any faster.
Definitely dropped for me, from about 1MB/s to 50-100KB/s when it goes to sleep. That option is a keeper if you keep an eye on it and don't forget to turn it off.
Astro File manager with the SMB plugin works just fine for me on the LAN.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but using the SMB plugin is going to do the opposite - allow you to browse SMB shares in Astro, rather than expose your phone's data via an SMB share/server. Is that right? If so, that's a client, not a server - we need a server.
Theres a web based ftp server out there as well. Not sure how it would work with android though. Check out http://www.ezyftpserver.com
This seems a bit cumbersome, especially considering that EStrong's File explorer (ES File Explorer on the market) let's you browse windows shares on your LAN via Wifi.
Thanks for the write up though.
From what I can see, EStrong allows you to browse your PC's drive from your phone. While that may allow you to do transfers, as Artem pointed out earlier it is more comfortable to do the file management on your computer than it is on a small phone's screen.
I can't get the url number to start, it just keeps running without giving a number. etc: 192.168.1.1 will not appear in window. please help.
Not working on FroYo. I get an FTP error.
Great app. Yes, if the phone goes to sleep speeds drop by probably a factor of 100 or more. Set it up once on PC, you're done. Handy way to backup photos from phone to PC or to move new music from PC to phone.
i have a problem with a changing Ip, i tried to play around with the static ip function in the wifi settings but i guess my understanding isn't good enough to complete the task.
and i didn't really understand the thing you said with the MAC, what exactly am i supposed to do with it, where to write it.
kinda confused, i'd be glad for some help
P.s
I use siemens ADSL SL2-141 router
thnx bro just want i was wanting
i cant get it to work.
Great! Works perfectly to transfer new music to phone and photos off phone. Speed drops dramatically when your phone goes into sleep mode and speeds are a bit slow, but I am in no rush!
this works on my phone and tablet via wifi. Now that I can see and transfer files from my pc to my divices, can I see my files on my pc using my phone or tabet? viewing only goes one way. I was hoping I could access documents remotely on my phone or tablet when away from my pc.
I have connected my phone successfully and i can transfer files to my cell phone easily.
I have one thing to ask,
Can I send my phone files to the network drive the same way i am sending files from my pc? Is it possible to do the other way round?
Thank you so much for this tutorial. It was very helpful.
Works on honeycomb and very convenient with a tablet... Thanks
Excellent simple and easy to understand, this tutorial helped me so much. Thank you!
Awesome. Transferred a 200MB video in less than a minute.
Connection worked but can not transfer file from my mac to the phone. I can copy from phone to mac though.
Is it not working with mac?
Nice, dont even need the app with MIUI file manager!
Try PushDoc, it's an app that allows to transfer web content and files/directory
from computer to phone (and viceversa) over wifi.
With pushdoc you can transfer files wirelessly and manage
your sd card from pc or directly from the phone (with an integrated
filemanager).
It works just drag and dropping stuff from computer to phone.
While surfing the web on your computer, you can select anything
from your browser and drop it to the phone; if you wish
you can also convert your selection into different file formats.
For example, you can drag an article from your browser
and drop it to the phone as an audio speech file so that
you can listen that article with the phone.
PushDoc is free on the market.
Excuse my ingnorance...does this method use my data bundle?
I have been using an app named Websharing. Available in Market as a free with ads version (though the one I have is ad-free and I never updated it).
This application is just like the one mentioned here but far more intuitive, as you do not need to configure anything upfront. Just run the app, and it will show you an ip to log on to from the browser and a password to use - use that on your browser and you are instantly browsing your phone/tablet's file system. Uploading and downloading works just fine.
No doubt, the ftp allows for more flexibility and I use that too quite often, but for novices, this app is perfect.
It's pretty funny how people always drop other apps names into these conversations where the best fit-for-purpose app is already being discussed. That's the whole point of the topic. If you haven't used it (which, in most cases, it's obvious they haven't) then why bother to comment. lol
This is amazing, hope to download the software now and start downloading files from my android phone to my pc wirelessly.. cool tips.
i followed every step
the phone even got mapped as a drive(the password which is required was accepted by the mobile)
but file transferring file it says "The item could not be transfered. Make sure you have permission to store files here and that the file name is valid."
Try this instead: http://droidlessons.com/how-to-transfer-files-via-wifi-from-pc-to-android-wireless/
Much simpler way to transfer files wirelessly.
For anyone wishing to do the same for a mac:
Open any finder window, press command+k which will open up an add connection window. Choose a username and password on swiftp as usual, then start the server.
Copy the full wifi url into the add connection window, click the +, then type your username and password in then voila it works.
Thanks for this information though, I needed someone to explain a method to do it and then I just translated it into mac!
thank you soooooooo much
Setup and everything went great. Logged In no problem. It recognizes all of the folders on my phone under the /sdcard, HOWEVER...... when I try to view folders in my DCIM card it prompts me with a permission error: 550 Invalid name or chroot violation
Thanks for sharing. I have been able to connect thru server and can see folders of my galaxy tab on my pc. However, when I try to transfer some file from my pc to any folder on my galaxy tab, it gives this error:
"An error occurred opening the folder on ftp server.Make sure you have permission to access the folder"
Please help how to solve this problem.
cheers...
Thank you
meri shaat....!!!!!
Works very well also with the ICS. Thanks for the tutorial!