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Connecting an Android smartphone to a PC via Wi-Fi. Connecting your Android phone to your computer using Wi-Fi

Very often, PC users need to connect their smartphone to their computer. There are several options here: using a USB port, Bluetooth connection, Wi-Fi. Our article will look at the Wi-Fi connection of an Android smartphone to a computer using applications that can exchange files between devices or even control a computer/laptop equipped with Wi-Fi through an Android smartphone and vice versa - control a smartphone from a computer.

AirDroid– using the application, you can control your Android device from a computer/laptop equipped with Wi-Fi, as well as exchange files.

The main functions of the program are free, in addition there is a set of additional options that can be activated for an additional fee. The AirDroid program is installed first on the computer and then on the phone. The program has a user-friendly, intuitive interface, and, importantly, it is possible to select the Russian language.

Rice. 1. AirDroid application interface on the Android smartphone screen

It should be noted that on a computer the application can be opened from a browser or using an icon that is added to the PC desktop after installing AirDroid. On a smartphone, AirDroid is launched using the application icon.

The main free features of AirDroid are:

  • viewing files located on the phone from a computer, exchanging files between devices;
  • viewing on a computer the history of calls, contacts, audio and video recordings, information about the free space of the phone’s internal memory, viewing and sending SMS messages;
  • determining the location of the phone (the function visually displays the location of the phone on the map);
  • opening links specified on a PC on a smartphone;
  • visual display of the smartphone on the PC screen (in this case, all operations performed on the screen of the virtual smartphone will be displayed on the mobile device);
  • installation, viewing and deleting system and user applications on a smartphone.

Rice. 2. Interface of the AirDroid application installed on a PC: (a) the application is launched from the browser, (b) the application is launched using the desktop icon

If desired, you can activate paid features:

  • unlimited traffic (200 MB in the free version);
  • transfer files up to 1 GB (in the free version up to 30 MB);
  • the ability to exchange not only files, but also entire folders;
  • connecting up to 6 phones to one PC (2 in the free version);
  • the ability to use the phone's video camera from a computer.

TeamViewer– the program allows you to control a computer/laptop equipped with Wi-Fi using an Android smartphone or vice versa. The program is installed first on the phone, then on the PC.

It should be noted that there are two versions of the program for smartphones:

Quick Support – the program is designed to control a smartphone using a PC;

TeamViewer - for controlling a PC using a mobile device.

After setting up a connection between your PC and your phone, you can control your Android device directly from your PC screen if you have the Quick Support app installed on your phone.

Rice. 3. Control your smartphone using a PC

You can also access your home PC from your phone if the TeamViewer application is installed on your smartphone.

Rice. 4. PC control using a smartphone

In the first case, all actions that are performed on the screen of a virtual smartphone on the computer desktop will be displayed on the screen of a real smartphone, in the second case, vice versa. The program is free.

Wifi File Transfer– a program for exchanging files via Wi-Fi between an Android smartphone and a PC. This is a file manager with which you can perform the following functions: deleting, downloading, renaming, copying files, creating folders and archives, moving files and folders, viewing images on your phone on your computer.

Rice. 5. Wifi File Transfer program interface

It is even possible to download files from your computer to your phone. The Pro version allows you to work with files regardless of their size. The program is launched on a computer from a web browser. The program has a Russian interface.

SambaDroid– the program connects the Android smartphone to the local Windows network via Wi-Fi, as a result of which it becomes possible to exchange data between the smartphone and the PC. The application allows you to delete, copy, move folders and files on your Android device from your computer using a wireless connection.

To perform any actions with files on a smartphone from a computer, you need to define the Android device in the PC system as a network drive. To do this, first of all, you need to set up an SMB server on your phone, which automatically creates a network hard drive when you start the program and mounts the contents of the smartphone’s memory card to the computer’s operating system. The memory card of the connected phone will be detected on the computer, after which it needs to be connected as a network hard drive.

Rice. 6. Interface of the SambaDroid program running on an Android smartphone and the contents of the phone’s memory card in Windows Explorer on a PC

If you set the “Startup” option in the program settings, after turning on the smartphone, the device will automatically work as a network hard drive. It should be noted that data exchange between a smartphone and a PC can be performed two-way. The program is free and has a Russian interface.

MyPhoneExplorer– the program provides access from the computer to such sections of the Android device as files, applications, incoming/outgoing messages and calls, contacts. Allows you to visually display a smartphone on a PC screen (in this case, all operations performed on the screen of a virtual smartphone will be displayed on the mobile device). It is possible to connect several smartphones to one computer. Installation and configuration of the program is performed first on the Android device, then on the computer. MyPhoneExplorer has a Russian interface.

Rice. 7. Interface of the MyPhoneExplorer program running on a PC

The program allows you to communicate with your computer not only via Wi-Fi, but also via Bluetooth and USB connections. MyPhoneExplorer has two versions: for smartphone and for PC.

Alexander Bobrov

Hello, friends! I recently wrote an article in which I talked about . But as it turned out, the method I wrote about in that article is not suitable for connecting mobile devices such as phones, smartphones, tablets, etc.

And if we take into account the fact that a lot of people want to set up a laptop for Wi-Fi distribution and connect a mobile device to it, then I decided to correct the situation. This article can be considered a continuation of the previous article.

In order to make the laptop turn into a router and connect a mobile device to it, we will use the VirtualRouter Plus program. This is a small, simple program that is very easy to configure, which is what we will do now.

If you do not understand what we are going to do now and have not read the article linked above, then I will quickly explain.

Let's say you have a laptop and some other mobile devices that have Wi-Fi. And your Internet is connected, say, via cable and only to your laptop. There is no Wi-Fi router. Do you want to connect your phone or tablet to the Internet? So, we will force the laptop to take the Internet via cable (or in another way, for example via a USB modem. Just not via Wi-Fi) and distribute it via Wi-Fi. The laptop will be the access point.

There are several ways to set up distribution. You can use special programs such as VirtualRouter Plus, Connectify Hotspot, or through the command line. I really liked the free VirtualRouter Plus program, so I’ll show you how to set it up. With her help, everything worked out the first time.

What do we need?

We will need a laptop (netbook, desktop computer with adapter) which has Wi-Fi. Internet, which is connected using a network cable, or a USB modem. VirtualRouter Plus program (I'll give you a link later) and the device that we will connect to the Internet (phone, tablet, etc.).

Everything is? Then let's start :).

Setting up Wi-Fi distribution from a laptop

Let me remind you once again that the laptop must be connected to the Internet using a cable and not via a wireless network. Something like this:

And the connection status should be like this:

If everything is connected, we can continue.

Setting up the VirtualRouter Plus program

First download VirtualRouter Plus you can download version 2.1.0 (on which I configured) via the link, or . Links have been verified.

Download the archive and extract it to a folder. Run the file in the folder VirtualRouterPlus.exe.

A window will open in which we need to fill in only three fields.

Network Name (SSID)– in this field, write a name for your wireless network.

Password- password. The password that will be used to connect to your network. Specify a minimum of 8 characters, in English.

Well, on the contrary Shared Connection select the connection from which the Internet will be distributed. My Internet connection is via cable, so I left “Local Area Connection” as is.

That's it, press the button. Start Virtual Router Plus.

All windows will become inactive and the Stop Virtual Router Plus button will appear (you can use it to turn off virtual Wi-Fi). You can minimize programs and it will hide in the notification panel (bottom, right).

Connecting the device to Wi-Fi

Now take your phone, tablet, or whatever you want to connect (I have, for example, an HTC Android phone), turn on Wi-Fi on it and look for an available network in the list with the name that we set in the Virtual Router Plus program.

I have this network:

Click on this network, enter the password (which we specified when setting up the program) and press Connect. It should look something like this:

You can already try to access sites from your phone (or other device), which receives the Internet via Wi-Fi from a laptop. But the connection is there, but the Internet may not work. This is true:). Just some more tweaking to do.

The device connects to Wi-Fi, but the Internet does not work

Return to your laptop, open the program in which we configured the distribution and press the button Stop Virtual Router Plus. Then right click on the connection status and select Network and Sharing Center.

On the left select Change adapter settings. Right click on the adapter LAN connection and select Properties. Go to the tab Access.

Check the boxes like I have in the screenshot below. In field Connecting your home network you need to select an adapter. Everything works fine for me when installed Wireless network connection 3 (You may also have a Wireless network connection 2, or another). Experiment.

Then in the Virtual Router Plus program we launch our network again. The phone should now connect automatically. The Internet should already be working. Everything worked for me, the sites opened!

Converting a laptop into a router was successful :).

Advice! You can add the Virtual Router Plus program to startup so as not to constantly launch it manually. I wrote about how to do this in the article.

Afterword

Of course, if possible, I would advise buying a router. Even some simple, inexpensive model, for example, will do an excellent job of distributing Wi-Fi to several devices. And you won’t have to torture your laptop :). In addition, the laptop itself will be able to connect via a wireless network, rather than distribute it.

But this method is also good. You can quickly set up a wireless network, even without a router.

If you have any problems, leave questions in the comments, or even better on our forum. We'll figure out. Best wishes!

Also on the site:

How to configure a laptop to distribute Wi-Fi and connect a mobile device to it? Setting up VirtualRouter Plus updated: February 7, 2018 by: admin

Today we will continue to explore the possibilities of WiFi wireless communication, namely, we will connect the phone to the computer via WiFi and thereby be able to transfer files from the computer to Android and back without using any wires.

So what do we need.

First, make sure that your devices - a computer and a smartphone are on the same network, that is, connected to the same router. If this is not the case, then you can use the beginning of the instructions on how to distribute WiFi from a computer (), before setting up the network, just connect to the network created on the computer and you’re done.

Launch ES Explorer -> open the menu (click on the button with three horizontal lines in the upper left corner or swipe from left to right) -> and in the “NETWORK” category select the “Remote Access” item:

in the next window you will see that you are connected to such and such a network, here you click on the “Enable” button:

A message will appear that the FTP server is running and an IP address will be provided, which will need to be entered on the computer in order to access the file system from the phone:

Let's go to the settings on the computer

Here we need Total Commander (TC), in principle it is possible without it, we will consider this option below, but still, with TC it is much more convenient. Launch Total Commander and launch FTP, you can do this in different ways, 1st is to press the key combination Ctrl+F, 2nd is to select FTP -> Connect to FTP server in the top menu:

3rd - click on the corresponding icon, see below:

A window will appear for connecting to previously created networks or creating new connections, click “Add”:

and enter your data: Network name (1) - you can write anything - it does not affect the result, Server [Port] (field 2) enter the IP address given to you by the ES conductor on your smartphone, enter only numbers, as in my screenshot below , and that’s it, don’t fill in anything else, click OK:

The newly created connection will appear, select it and click “Connect”:

The connection process has begun...

and the password is the same, leave it blank:

All. You have connected to your phone via WiFi:

Now you can completely manage the files on your Android device from your computer.

Upon completion of file transfer operations, click on the “Disconnect” button:

This is how easy and convenient it is to transfer files from your smartphone to your computer and back, but there are also disadvantages:

1st is low file transfer speed. I don’t know what this is connected with, maybe it’s some kind of problem on my part, but the data transfer speed did not exceed 500 kBytes/sec, which is of course very low for video transmission. Although, logically, there should be much more, in general, try it, maybe your figure will be higher.

2nd - the file creation date is lost, that is, the date is changed to the current date. For example, the date of creation is very important for photographs or recording sound on a voice recorder or video clip, in general - for me, as probably for many, this is a very significant drawback.

And so, for transmitting music or some pictures, the method is quite workable. And of course, this is not the only way, you can use various Android applications for these purposes, as an example: AirDroid, WifiDroid and many many others...

And finally, let's look at a method without using Total Commander.

Everything here is extremely simple. Launch your browser on your computer or some folder or my computer and enter the IP address issued by your mobile device into the address bar, in this case, before the numbers you must add ftp://... and then your IP, example like mine on the screen below, enter the same:

Entered your details, pressed Enter and that’s it - you connected to the phone via Wi-Fi.

If you often transfer files from your Android smartphone or tablet to your computer, and vice versa, then you most likely do this via a USB cable. Today I will talk about a way in which you can transfer files (photo, video, music) to the phone from the computer (and vice versa) via a Wi-Fi network, through a router.

We will have full access to files on a smartphone or tablet and will be able to copy, delete, and create new files, just like when connecting to a computer via cable. Only in our case, we will connect over the air, without wires. And the connection will be configured via FTP.

All you need is an Android mobile device, a computer or laptop, and a router. The computer and phone must be connected to the same router. We connect Android via Wi-Fi network, this is understandable, and the computer can be connected either via cable (LAN) or via Wi-Fi.

On your phone or tablet, we will launch an FTP server using the ES Explorer program (this is done in a few clicks), and on the computer we will connect to the FTP server, which we will launch on Android. And that’s it, you can transfer files. Please note that you will not have access to files that are located on your computer. And there will be access only to files on the mobile device, as to a storage device. If you want to access files on your computer, you need to set up a local network. There is some information in the article.

Setting up an FTP connection between an Android device and Windows

Before moving on to the setup, you need to decide whether you want to establish such a connection only occasionally, and after each disconnection and connection of your smartphone to the router, enter a new address on your computer, or you will often use an FTP connection and want to create a connection to your device on your computer. Then you can simply launch the server on your mobile device and immediately view the files on your computer.

If you want to create an FTP connection to your Android device on your computer, and not enter the address each time, then you must reserve a static IP address for your phone (tablet) in the settings of your router. So that the router for your device always gives the same IP.

This is done differently on different routers. I will definitely prepare separate instructions for different routers later. Here, for example:

Next, launch ES Explorer. Open the menu (swipe from left to right), and select "Remote access". Under "Status" there should be the name of your Wi-Fi network. Click on the button "Turn on".

The address that we will now enter on the computer will appear.

This completes the FTP setup on Android. If you click on the gear-shaped button, the settings will open. There are not many of them, but they are useful. For example, you can prevent the server from shutting down after closing the program, you can configure the port, set the root folder, change the encoding. See more information on settings under the spoiler.

There is an account setup there. By default, an unsecured FTP server is created with anonymous access. If desired, you can specify a username and password, which you will then need to specify when connecting to your computer. But this is optional. And yet, there is an item “Create a shortcut”. After clicking on it, a shortcut will appear on the desktop with which you can launch the FTP server with one click.

Let's move on to the settings on the computer.

Connect from your computer to your phone or tablet via Wi-Fi

I tested the connection from a laptop on Windows 7 and Windows 10. If you have Windows 8, everything will work the same. The laptop easily opened the FTP server that was running on the smartphone, and I had full access to the files and could manage them.

Everything is simple here. Open Explorer on your computer, or go to “My Computer”, “This Computer” (in Windows 10), and in the address bar enter the address that appeared in the “ES Explorer” program on your mobile device. Mine is "ftp://192.168.1.221:3721/". You will most likely have a different address.

Look carefully and enter without errors. When entered, press Enter. You will remove all files on your mobile device. In Windows 10 everything is exactly the same.

Now you can manage files: copy them from your phone to your computer, and vice versa. Delete, move, create folders, etc.

But, if you close the Explorer window, you will need to enter the address again, which is not very convenient. Therefore, you can create a connection to an FTP server in Windows. After this, a folder on your device will appear, opening which you will immediately have access to the files. Provided that the server on the phone is turned on.

You can establish a connection to FTP using a standard Windows tool. If for some reason the standard tool does not suit you, then you can use third-party programs, for example the "FileZilla" client.

Create a permanent folder with an FTP connection to your smartphone

Note! This method will only work if you have reserved a static IP address for your mobile device in the router settings.

Go to Explorer ("My Computer"), and click on "Map network drive".

On Windows 10, this step looks a little different:

Another window will open in which we click “Next”. In the next window, double-click on “Select a different network location.”

An account setup window will appear. If you did not specify a username and password in the ES Explorer program, then leave a checkmark next to “Anonymous login” and click “Next”. And if you specified connection information, then indicate it.

In the next window you need to specify a name for the network connection. I wrote something like "My Lenovo". You can enter any name and click "Next". In the last window, click on the “Finish” button.

A folder with files located on your Android device will immediately open. A shortcut to this folder will always be in Explorer. And the files in this folder will always be available when the FTP server is enabled on the mobile device (remote access).

When you want to upload a song to your phone, or look at a photo, you just need to enable “Remote Access” on your mobile device and go to the folder we created.

Is it possible to connect a laptop to a phone via Wi-Fi, but without a router?

Yes, you can. If you don't have a router and want to transfer files between your Android mobile device and your laptop wirelessly, then everything can be set up a little differently. Or rather, the settings will be exactly the same, you just need to organize the connection differently.

If it is not possible to connect through a router, then you need to organize a direct connection between the laptop and the mobile device. To do this, just start distributing the Wi-Fi network on your phone. It seems to me that every smartphone can do this. This function is called differently. Something like "Access Point".

Launching an access point on a smartphone (you don’t even have to turn on the mobile Internet so that the laptop doesn’t eat up all the traffic), and connect our laptop to this access point. Continue according to the standard scheme that I described above. Everything works, I checked it.

Afterword

If you don't often connect to your mobile device to share files, you can, of course, use a USB cable. But, if you often need to copy something, then the method described above definitely deserves attention. We click on the icon on the mobile device, and on the computer we immediately get access to the files. It's convenient.

How do you use this connection? What pros and cons do you see? Share your experience in the comments, and of course ask questions.

From a fixed router. But what to do if your mobile device already has high-quality high-speed Internet and you don’t really want to spend extra money on “classic” WiFi.

So, here we will look at how to connect a laptop to the Internet via a phone and whether a phone can even be used as a modem.

To use your phone as a modem for a laptop, you first need to check:

Is the “phone as a modem” service available on your tariff?

If you often surf the World Wide Web, it is most profitable to subscribe to a special tariff that involves active use of the Internet.

Does the Internet connection work on the phone itself? To do this, open the installed browser (mobile application) and enter the address of your favorite site: if the phone is capable of loading and displaying Internet pages, then the mobile network is functioning correctly, and you can use it on your laptop.

How to connect the Internet to a laptop via an Android phone

To connect your phone to your laptop as a modem, you will need to change the settings of your Android device. All the options necessary to connect to the Internet using any of the three proposed methods are located in the menu item “Settings -> Wireless networks -> Additional settings -> Tethering and portable access point.”

Method No. 1: Connection via USB cable:

  • 1. Connect your ;
  • 2. Your laptop should report that a new device has been detected;
  • 3. Enable the USB connection option.

If there is no cable, the connection can be made through one of the wireless networks:

Method No. 2

  • 1. Open your smartphone's settings;
  • 2. Enable the option i.


The first time you enable the option, the default settings are used. They can be changed in the corresponding menu item.

Method No. 3

  • 2. Connect your phone to your laptop via Bluetooth;
  • 3. Open your smartphone settings;
  • 4. Enable the Bluetooth portable hotspot option.

How to set up Internet on a laptop via an iOS phone?

Connection options are located in the menu item “Settings -> Cellular -> Modem selection”.

Method No. 1: Connect via USB cable.

To make your phone a modem using a USB cable, you need to have iTunes installed on your laptop operating system.

  • 1. Enable tethering mode in iPhone settings;
  • 2. After that, simply connect your device to the laptop: the connection to the network will occur automatically.

Method No. 2: Wireless connection (Wi-Fi)


Method No. 3: Wireless connection (Bluetooth)

  • 1. Make sure your laptop is equipped with a Bluetooth connection module;
  • 2. Connect your iPhone to your laptop via Bluetooth;
  • 3. Select “create a pair” on your smartphone, enter the code shown on the computer;
  • 4. Connect to your smartphone from your laptop.

How to connect a laptop to the Internet via a mobile phone running Windows Phone?

This class of devices does not support a USB connection. However, it is still possible to connect via a wireless network:

  • 1. Open the list of settings, find the item “Internet sharing”;
  • 2. Enable this option, select the type of wireless network, create a name and password.

How to set up a laptop for mobile Internet?

After setting up the phone accordingly, all that remains is to connect from the laptop to the previously created network. For this:

  • 1. Open the list of available networks;
  • 2. Find in the list the network name previously specified in the phone settings;
  • 3. Connect to the selected network by entering the password you set on your phone.