Windows PC users woke up to some good news on the 15th February 2018, as Microsoft launched a new app that will make sharing photos and videos across your mobile phone and your PC less of a hassle. Microsoft Photos Companion App is designed to help you easily send photos and videos stored on your phone to your PC via a wireless network connection (Think Xender). The mobile app is available for both Android and iOS platforms. The name of the app – Photos companion pretty much explains its function as a companion to the Photos UWP app on Windows 10.
The app is especially useful for PC owners, who do not use the preinstalled OneDrive cloud storage on PCs which supports photo syncing across devices. Also, if you’re tired of searching for a dongle each time you need to move a photo from phone to PC, this is the app for you.
The app works by temporarily linking your device to the Windows 10 photos app. The linking is done via a barcode, which you have to scan to connect both devices. You have to scan the bar code every time you want to create a fresh connection, so it’s not a once and for all time thing. After linking you can then send the photos and videos across. Both devices also have to be on the same Wi-Fi network for the transfer to work and network sharing has to be turned on for that particular network.
Follow the detailed steps below to use the app:
- On your PC, open the Photos app, navigate to the Three-dot button, then click on Settings.
- Under Preview, turn on the option that says “Help Microsoft test the mobile import over Wi-Fi feature.” Then Restart the Photos app.
- In the Photos app, click the Import option in the top right corner and select “From mobile over Wi-Fi” from the drop-down menu.
Ensure your phone and Windows 10 PC are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Also, turn on network sharing for the network.- Now on your Android or iOS device, tap the Send Photos button from the Microsoft Photos companion app and scan the QR code on your PC screen.
- On your phone, select the photos and videos you want to send to your Windows 10 PC.
- Click Done to start the transfer.
Microsoft’s Photos Companion works in a similar way with file transfer apps like Xender or Share it. So, you don’t need a fast internet connection to share content to your PC. It also helps save a few megabytes on your data bundle and delivers you from the dongle life.
The app only allows one-way transfers, that is from your Android or iOS device to your Windows 10 PC, and not the other way around.
Click to download for
Android and
iOS
Feature Image by www.gadgets.ndtv.com
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This article was first published on 20th February 2018
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Tobenna is a writer, programmer and musician who is passionate about God, tech, and music. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook by clicking the icons below.
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