Nearby Share makes it easy to wirelesslysend large files to other Android devicesand even Chromebooks. Depending on the devices involved, the feature can use Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, WebRTC, or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi for transferring files. you may even use Google’s AirDrop alternative to wirelessly and quickly send files between your devices. Now, Google has silently changed how Nearby Share works when sharing files between your devices to make the entire process faster and more convenient.
Until now, when initiating a Nearby Share file transfer from your primary phone, you had to ensure the secondary device was unlocked and its display was on. If not, the phone would not appear in Nearby Share’s sharing menu. Google has now done away with this requirement.
As noted by@GreenShades9and confirmed byAndroid Authority, your devices will appear in Nearby Share’s send menu even if their display is off and locked. This means you can initiate a file transfer from your primary phone to your tablet or secondary phone without waking it up first.
The change presumably requires you to be logged into the same Google account across all your devices. While a small behavioral tweak, it makes using Nearby Share to transfer files between your devices a lot easier.
Google is also working on letting you resume a Nearby Share file transfer if it was interrupted in between. Apple is also introducing a similar feature to AirDrop with iOS 17 later this year.
Another handy Nearby Share improvement spotted in development is the ability to share files with other devices by scanning a QR code. It is currently unclear when both these Nearby Share enhancements will go live.
Google has been steadily improving Nearby Share over the last few years. The company has even expanded thefeature to let you send files to your Windows PC. And if you are a Mac user, an unofficial toolbrings Nearby Share to Apple’s platform, allowing you to send files from your phone wirelessly.
