Android to Mac Wi-Fi file transfer: five wireless ways, with setup steps

You can move files from an Android phone to a Mac over Wi-Fi in five ways: Quick Share to the Mac's AirDrop on supported phones, NearDrop, LocalSend, The Relay, or a cloud drive such as Google Drive. The first four send across your own network, so the phone and the Mac must be on the same Wi-Fi. The cloud route sends through the internet, so it works when they are apart. If your phone is on Google's AirDrop list, start there, because nothing needs installing. If not, LocalSend is the free pick.

Publisher note: The Relay publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Details about other products come from each maker's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.

How do the wireless options compare?

This page is about sending toward the Mac. For the other direction in detail, see transfer files from a Mac to Android wirelessly.

Option 1: How do I use Quick Share to AirDrop?

Google's Quick Share help page says a Pixel 8a or later, and certain Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, Honor, Transsion, and Motorola devices, can send to an iPhone, iPad, or macOS device. The exact models are in AirDrop from Android to a Mac.

1. On the Mac, click Control Center in the menu bar, click AirDrop to turn it on, and set it to Everyone. Apple's AirDrop guide lists the Mac's choices as Contacts Only and Everyone. Google's security write-up says Quick Share currently works with AirDrop's everyone mode, and describes the connection as direct and peer-to-peer, not routed through a server.
2. Turn on Bluetooth on both devices. Google's page asks for it.
3. On the phone, open the file, tap Share, then Quick Share.
4. Tap the Mac in the list of nearby devices.
5. Click Accept on the Mac. Apple says some items are saved to the Downloads folder automatically.

On a Samsung Galaxy, Google's page says to turn on Share with Apple devices in the Quick Share settings. If the Mac never appears, see Quick Share and AirDrop not working.

Option 2: How do I set up NearDrop?

NearDrop is a free Mac app that its README calls a partial implementation of Google's Quick Share for macOS. With it running, the Mac shows up in Quick Share on any Android phone that has it.

1. Download the latest build from the releases section of its GitHub page, unzip it, and move it to the Applications folder.
2. The first time, right-click the app and choose Open, then confirm. The README says this is needed because the app comes from an unidentified developer.
3. Put the phone and the Mac on the same Wi-Fi network.
4. On the phone, open the file, tap Share, then Quick Share, and pick the Mac.
5. Accept on the Mac. The README says the app lives in the menu bar and saves files to the Downloads folder.

Read step 2 with open eyes. Apple's page on safely opening apps says software that has not been signed and notarized may expose your Mac to malware. NearDrop's code is public, so the call is yours. If you would rather not, LocalSend is offered through the Mac App Store.

The README lists two limits: it is "Wi-Fi LAN only", and the Mac is "visible to everyone on your network at all times" while the app runs. So quit it on networks you do not trust. Full instructions are in how to use NearDrop.

Option 3: How do I set up LocalSend?

LocalSend is a free, open-source app that its README says shares files and messages with nearby devices "over your local network without needing an internet connection". It uses HTTPS between the devices.

1. Install it on the Mac. The README lists the App Store, Homebrew, and a DMG installer. It needs macOS 11 Big Sur or later.
2. Install it on the phone from the Play Store or F-Droid. It needs Android 7.0 or later.
3. Put both devices on the same Wi-Fi network and open the app on both.
4. On the phone, choose the files to send, then choose the Mac from the devices the app finds.
5. Accept on the Mac.

If the two apps cannot see each other, the README's troubleshooting list is short: allow incoming connections on port 53317 in any firewall, turn off AP isolation on the router, check the Mac's local network permission for the app, and disable any VPN or let it pass local traffic. More in LocalSend device not showing, and the two free apps are compared in NearDrop or LocalSend.

Option 4: How does The Relay do it?

The Relay works differently from the three above. Those are send-and-accept tools. The Relay gives you a window on the Mac that browses the phone's storage, so you take what you want from the Mac's side without touching the phone.

1. Get the app from the download page and install it on both the phone and the Mac.
2. Pair them by scanning the QR code shown on the Mac with the phone.
3. Open the file-browsing window on the Mac and go to the folder you want on the phone.
4. Drag files to the Mac, or drag files from the Mac into a folder on the phone.

The transfer runs over your local network, and the app sets no file-size limit. Your files travel directly between your phone and your Mac and are not uploaded to The Relay's servers; the privacy policy has the detail. It needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later.

It costs $19.99, paid once, which only makes sense if you want the rest of it: clipboard sync, incoming texts and login codes, notifications, calls, and link handoff in the same app. If files are your only need, options 1 to 3 are free and enough.

Option 5: When should I use Google Drive?

When the phone and the Mac are not in the same place, or the Wi-Fi network stops devices from talking to each other. NearDrop's README warns that local network communication may not work on some public networks, and gives coffee shops and hotels as examples.

1. On the phone, open the Google Drive app, tap New, then Upload, and pick the files. These are the steps on Google's upload page.
2. On the Mac, open drive.google.com in a browser and download them.

Google's page on files you can store in Drive gives the size limit for most file types as up to 5 TB, so the real ceiling is your account's storage. The cost is time: every file goes up to the internet and back down.

Is "Wi-Fi transfer" the same as "over the internet"?

No, and the difference decides which tool works where.

• Local: NearDrop, LocalSend, and The Relay send from the phone to the Mac across your own router. The files do not leave your network. Nothing works if the two devices are on different networks.
• Cloud: Google Drive, and the Quick Share QR code route, upload to Google first. Google's Quick Share page says the QR route keeps files on Google's servers for 24 hours, needs internet access on both devices, and is limited to 10 GB every 24 hours.

More in local network or cloud. For a whole camera roll, a cable is still the better tool: see USB file transfer.

Questions people ask

Can I transfer files from Android to a Mac over Wi-Fi without installing anything?

Yes, if your phone is one Google lists as able to send to a macOS device through Quick Share and AirDrop. Otherwise the no-install route is a cloud drive in the Mac's browser, which uses the internet instead of a direct transfer.

Do the phone and the Mac need to be on the same Wi-Fi network?

For NearDrop, LocalSend, and The Relay, yes. The Relay can also fall back to Bluetooth when the devices are in range. Google Drive works across any two internet connections.

Is there a file-size limit?

Google's page states a limit only for the Quick Share QR code route: 10 GB every 24 hours. LocalSend's and NearDrop's pages state no size limit. The Relay sets none. Google Drive allows files up to 5 TB within your storage.