How do I send files between Android phones over Bluetooth, and where do they land?

Last reviewed: October 20, 2026 · Markdown version

On the sending phone: open the file, tap Share, choose Bluetooth, tap the other phone's name. On the receiving phone: accept the notification. Where the file ends up is the less settled part, and the help pages differ on it, as the section on saving below shows. The dependable way to reach a received file is its notification, or the received-files list some phones keep in Settings, rather than a guessed path.

Sending

Sony's guide for its Xperia 5 IV is the clearest set of steps we found. Make sure the receiving phone has Bluetooth on and is visible, then "Open the app that contains the item you want to send", "Touch and hold or open the item, and then tap (Share icon)", and "Select [Bluetooth], and then tap the name of the receiving device". The receiving phone may be asked to accept the connection first and then the item itself (Sending items using Bluetooth technology, Sony Xperia 5 IV Help Guide, read 20 October 2026). The kinds of item that page lists are photos and videos, music and other audio, and web pages; it does not mention documents either way. Samsung's version of the same three taps is "Select it, then tap Share, and then tap Bluetooth", with a frank warning beside it: "Bluetooth transfers may be slow and unreliable" (Share and transfer files with your Galaxy phone and Windows, Samsung US, read 20 October 2026).

Receiving

On the Sony phone, "When you are notified of an incoming file to your device, drag the status bar downwards and tap the notification to accept the file transfer", then "Tap [Accept]". To open it, "drag the status bar downwards and tap the relevant notification". For anything received earlier, Sony's path is Settings › Device connection › Connection preferences › Files received via Bluetooth (Receiving items using Bluetooth technology, Sony Xperia 5 IV Help Guide, read 20 October 2026). That guide is for one Sony model; another maker may use different menu names.

Where the file is saved

This is the gap. Google's Android Help page on Bluetooth covers turning it on, pairing, renaming and disconnecting devices, and says nothing about sending files or where received ones are stored (Find & set up Bluetooth devices near your Android device, Android Help, read 20 October 2026). Samsung's Bluetooth steps are written for sending from a Galaxy to a Windows PC, where the computer picks the spot ("Select Browse to choose where you'd like to save the file", Samsung page above), and are silent on a Galaxy that receives. Sony's receiving page above shows the list, not the folder. Android's reference for standard storage folders lists Download, Pictures, Music and the rest, with no Bluetooth folder among them (Environment, Android Developers, read 20 October 2026).

So, on your own phone: open the received file from its notification or from the received-files list, then search for its name in the file manager. Samsung's My Files has that search ("tap this icon to search for a file by name"), and a "Time" filter for "files saved yesterday, in the past 7 days or in the past 30 days" (Where to find downloaded files & my files folder on Samsung phone, Samsung UK, read 20 October 2026). Once you know the folder your phone uses, it will be the same next time.

When Quick Share is the better tool

Android's Quick Share page on android.com says it "uses Bluetooth to find nearby devices, then transfers files directly between devices" over a local Wi-Fi connection, and that received files go to "Downloads > Quick Share" in the Files app (Send files & photos Android to Android via Quick Share, Android, read 20 October 2026). A documented landing folder alone is a reason to prefer it between two Android phones; the steps are on our Quick Share page.

Bluetooth files and Adinand Auto File Sorter

The free version watches the Download folder only, and only the files sitting directly in it. If your phone puts Bluetooth files straight into Download, a sort will move them along with everything else. Pro adds watched folders, which need Android 11 or newer, and its list of ready-made choices includes Bluetooth; the app offers that choice only when it finds such a folder on the phone, so if it is not offered, the app found no Bluetooth folder where it looks. Whatever it takes from a watched folder goes into one output folder, Downloads › Sorted Files unless you picked another in Settings, filed by extension into Documents, Images, Audio and the like. It does not keep a Bluetooth folder tidy in place, and sorting only moves files; the most recent sort can be undone in the free version.