The Windows Nearby Share Feature allows users to share documents, image files, and website links between two or more nearby PCs. The transfer process uses Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to establish a wireless connection between the systems running on Windows platforms. However, for the feature to work, the PCs should have Bluetooth version 4.0 or later, along with Low Energy (LE) support that can help discover nearby devices and establish connections between them.
How to Enable the Nearby Share Feature in Windows
- Open the Settings by pressing the Windows+I keys together.
- On the left, click System to open the System section, then click on the Nearby Sharing option in the right pane.
- Select either My Devices Only or Everyone Nearby to enable the feature.
- Selecting the My Devices Only option would allow file sharing with nearby devices using the same Microsoft account.
- On the other hand, Everyone Nearby enables the file-sharing option with any device operating on Windows nearby. This option allows the system to share the MAC address with nearby devices for file transfer. The feature can also be turned off by clicking on the radio button beside OFF.
Note: This feature cannot transfer files between Windows and Android systems.
Changing Default Settings for Nearby Share
- Open the Settings window by pressing the Windows+I key together and click on the Systems option on the left pane.
- The default path of the files being received and saved can be changed by clicking on the Change button under the option Save Files I receive to, followed by choosing the new location for saving the files to be transferred.
How to use Nearby Share in Windows?
The Nearby Share feature can be used for transferring document files, images, and website links, as detailed below:
- Share documents and images through Nearby Share
- Share website links through Nearby Share
Let’s check each of them.
1] Share Documents and Images Through Nearby Share
Once the Nearby Share Feature is enabled, we can follow the below-mentioned steps to send and receive files between the nearby devices:
- Open File or Windows Explorer and navigate to where the file to be sent is stored.
- Click on the Share option after right-clicking on the file
- Once the Nearby Share window opens, select the system to which the file will be transferred.
- A notification indicating the file transfer will appear on the destination system. Click on either Save and Open or just Save to start the file transfer process.
- Once the file transfer is completed, another notification will appear on the destination system confirming the completion of the process, along with the option to open the file received.
2] Share Website Links Through Nearby Share
Apart from using the said feature to transfer files from one system to another, this feature can also be used to transfer website links using the below-mentioned steps:
- On the source system, open the concerned website in Microsoft Edge.
- Click on the three dots at the top right corner and select the Share option.
- Click to open the Windows Share option.
- In the Nearby Share option, select the device to which the link needs to be sent.
- A notification indicating the transfer will appear on the destination system. Click the Open button in the notification window to open the concerned website.
Common Troubleshooting steps for Nearby Share not working
Although the Windows Nearby Share Feature is a helpful utility for file transfer, the feature may sometimes fail to work. In such situations, the below-mentioned steps can be performed to resolve the issue effectively:
Check OS Compatibility:
Since the feature is only supported by Windows 10 version 1803 or later, systems with earlier versions will not support it. Hence, if the feature is not working, you need to upgrade. You can check your OS version by going to System > About.
Check Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections
Since the Nearby Share feature’s functioning depends entirely on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, ensuring that the above is turned on and ON is also crucial for resolving problems related to the feature. If turned on, the status can be checked from the icons in the system tray.
