How to transfer photos from Android to PC without a cable

To transfer photos from Android to PC without a cable, firelet.media Gallery uses a direct, encrypted Wi-Fi link between your phone and your Windows PC, with no cloud and no account. The PC side is in the Windows app today. The free Android companion it pairs with is coming soon and isn't on Google Play yet, so this post also covers what works right now.

Once both halves are in place, it's a one-time pairing and then either a few taps per transfer or none at all.

Transfer photos from Android to PC without a cable: why Wi-Fi wins#

A cable works, when you can find it, when the phone asks the right question, and when you remember to tap "allow". A Wi-Fi link removes all three.

• Nothing goes through the internet. Pictures travel only between your own devices, on your own network, encrypted.
• Full-size originals. Files are copied as they are, not compressed, and each copy is checked after it lands.
• Filed by date. Photos arrive in yyyy\yyyy-MM-dd folders using the date they were taken.
• No duplicates. Anything already in your library is skipped, so copying twice is harmless.
• It can run by itself. With auto-sync on, the PC copies new photos whenever the phone is home.

It works the other way too: the phone can browse your whole PC library and save pictures from it.

Availability: the Android app is coming soon#

Here's the honest state of things:

To hear when the Android app is ready, use Email me when it's ready. Meanwhile, these work today without the companion:

• Your phone's cloud sync folder. If your phone already backs up to a cloud service that syncs to a folder on your PC, open Library and press Add a cloud folder. The gallery reads the synced folder from your disk, with no sign-in. See how to add OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive or iCloud folders.
• A memory card, if your phone has one: put it in the PC and use Imaging → Import.
• A cable after all: a phone plugged in by USB should appear as a source in Imaging → Import. How to import from an SD card or camera covers both.

Everything below describes the Wi-Fi link once the Android app is available.

Pair once#

Pairing introduces the phone and the PC to each other, once. Put both on the same Wi-Fi first.

1. On the PC, open Devices with Alt+0 and press Pair a phone. A QR code and a 12-character code appear.
2. On the phone, open firelet.media Gallery, go to Devices and tap Pair with a computer.
3. Point the phone at the QR code. Or tap Type it instead, choose your computer under "Which computer?" and type the code.
4. Keep the PC window open until the phone says it's paired.

The code works for 10 minutes and only once. If Windows asks whether to let the gallery use the network, allow it on private networks. How to pair an Android phone has the full walk-through.

Copy from the device browser or Imaging → Import#

For the PC to see the phone's pictures, turn on Visible to your computers on the phone. It's off by default; while it's on, the phone shows a notification with a Stop button. Then use whichever of these suits you.

The device browser, to pick particular photos:

1. On the PC, open Devices (Alt+0).
2. Press Browse on the phone's card.
3. Select the photos you want. Use the kind list (Everything, Photos, Videos) to narrow them down.
4. Press Copy to this PC.

Imaging → Import, to bring in everything new:

1. Click Imaging in the title bar (Ctrl+2) and choose Import.
2. Pick the phone under Where from. A paired phone on the network is listed like a card.
3. Press See what is new to see how many photos are new.
4. Press Import.

Copies land in your import folder (or Pictures\Firelet Link if you haven't chosen one), in a folder named after the phone, then by date. They're added to your library straight away, and copying never deletes anything from the phone.

From the phone's side, you can also select photos and tap Send to PC, or use Send to computer from any app's share menu, as long as the gallery is open on the PC.

Auto-sync from now on#

This is the part that removes the chore altogether.

1. On the PC, open Devices and press Settings… on the phone's card.
2. Tick Copy new photos and videos to this computer whenever the phone is on this network.
3. Tick Include the pictures that were already on the phone if you want the backlog too. It's off by default.
4. Choose Every album, or Only these: and tick the albums you want.
5. Press Save.

The PC does the copying: it checks every five minutes while the phone is visible. For that, the phone needs Visible to your computers on and the same Wi-Fi, and the PC needs the gallery open with Let paired phones connect on. Auto-sync never changes anything on the phone. How to auto-sync phone photos explains every setting.

Auto-sync copies; it doesn't free space on the phone by itself. Once you've checked the copies, see back up phone photos to your PC without the cloud for a safe way to clear the phone.

Troubleshooting#

When the phone and PC can't see each other, it's almost always the network.

• Same network. Both must be on the same home network. Mobile data and VPNs don't work, and guest Wi-Fi often keeps devices from seeing each other.
• Windows firewall. If you dismissed the network prompt, the link can't listen. Allow firelet.media Gallery on private networks in Windows' firewall settings.
• Let paired phones connect must be ticked at the top of the Devices panel.
• Code expired. Press New code. After five wrong tries the pairing window closes; open it again.
• Photos don't arrive. An unlicensed PC after its 14-day trial won't add received pictures to the library; pairing and browsing still work.