How do I share files between Android phones with Quick Share?

Last reviewed: October 20, 2026 · Markdown version

Open the file, tap Share, tap Quick Share and choose the other phone; on that phone, accept. Google's help says what you receive is kept in the default Files app under Downloads › Quick Share. Both phones need Bluetooth on, and the receiving one must be unlocked. Quick Share is the feature that used to be called Nearby Share, so older phones may still show that name.

Before you start

Google's page lists where it runs: "Quick Share is available on Android 6+ devices, Chromebooks, and on select Windows PCs through our Quick Share for Windows App." It notes the rename ("This feature was previously known as Nearby Share") and a Galaxy exception: "For a Galaxy device with Android 10 & One UI 2.1 or later, the settings and features can be different." For receiving, "On both devices, be sure to turn on Bluetooth" and "To receive content from someone else, make sure your screen is unlocked" (Use Quick Share on your Android device, Android Help, read 20 October 2026).

Sending

From the file itself: "Open the content that you want to share", then tap Share › Quick Share and pick the phone. If it does not appear, Google's advice is to put the other phone in Receive mode from its Quick Share page, which you reach from the Quick Settings tile or by searching Settings for Quick Share. You can send to several phones at once: "To select multiple receivers, you can tap more than one device." When two phones cannot find each other, Quick Share can show a QR code instead, and "Nearby Android devices can scan the QR code to get connected and receive content" (Google's page above).

Receiving, and who can see you

Between your own phones it can be automatic: "If you share content between your own devices with the same Google Account, the device that receives the share automatically accepts the transfer." From anyone else you accept it yourself. Your phone's visibility has settings worth knowing. "Contacts" makes it visible to nearby contacts while the screen is on and unlocked. "Everyone for 10 minutes" is the wider choice, and "your visibility automatically switches back to your previous selection after 10 minutes". Receive mode deserves the same care: "When your device is in “Receive” mode, it’s visible to anyone nearby when you’re on that screen" (Google's Use Quick Share on your Android device page above).

Where the files go

Google's help: "Content you receive via Quick Share will be available to view and access from the default Files app on your device > Downloads > Quick Share folder." The Quick Share page on android.com adds a qualifier: "On Android, files are saved to your Downloads, Gallery, or Files app, depending on the file type," before naming the same Downloads > Quick Share folder (Send files & photos Android to Android via Quick Share, Android, read 20 October 2026). So a received photo may also turn up in the gallery. Samsung's own Quick Share guide, which Google links for Galaxy phones and which is dated 15 July 2022, does not say where received files are saved (How to use Quick Share feature on Galaxy device, Samsung Philippines, read 20 October 2026); our suggestion on a Galaxy is to start with the Downloads category in My Files.

When it will not connect

Google's first check is "On both devices, check if Bluetooth is turned on." The android.com page asks you to "Ensure Bluetooth, Location, and Wi-Fi are enabled", and for mixed brands: "If using Samsung, ensure it is updated to receive files from non-Samsung devices." Samsung's guide names features that block it: "If you’re using the Mobile Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, or Smart view feature, you cannot activate the Quick share feature at the same time" (Samsung page above). When none of that helps, plain Bluetooth still works between most phones; how to send over Bluetooth.

The Quick Share folder and Adinand Auto File Sorter

The app's free version sorts only the files sitting directly in Download. If the Quick Share folder is inside Download on your phone (look in the file manager's Internal storage view), what lands there is left alone, because a sort never goes into folders inside a watched one. With Pro, on Android 11 or newer, you can add that folder as a watched folder from the app's own folder browser; its files then move into the one output folder, Downloads › Sorted Files or the folder you chose, filed by extension. Either way the app never reads what is inside your files to sort them, and you can put back the latest sort without paying.