By You used to have to connect your Android phone directly to your PC to handle your mobile files. One of Microsoft’s newest capabilities allows you to wirelessly connect your Android phone and handle files.
How to View Mobile Phone Storage in File Explorer?
Microsoft has been steadily developing new functionality for mobile devices. You can already use your phone as a webcam and edit screenshots from your Windows PC.
With the new “Show mobile devices in File Explorer” option, you may now wirelessly see and move files from your phone’s storage, just like you would with a USB or disc drive.
To use the new feature, you’ll need an Android phone running Android 11 or higher, the Link to Windows software, and Windows 11 version 24H2 or 23H2 installed on your computer. You will also need to link the PC and phone to the same Wi-Fi network.
To begin, go to the Play Store and download the Link to Windows software for your Android phone. Next, sign in with the same Microsoft account you use on your PC and allow all of the app’s permissions to complete the mobile setup.
On your PC, launch the Settings app and select Bluetooth and devices > Mobile Devices > Manage Devices.
Click Sign in and pick the Microsoft account you used on your Android phone. After logging in, you should see the “Show mobile devices in File Explorer” option on the Manage mobile devices page. Toggle it on.
Once the setup is complete, open File Explorer and locate your Android Phone’s name above the This PC listing. Click on it to open the phone’s storage folder.
You may also check the phone’s connection, sync status, and available storage space by clicking the phone symbol in the address bar. If your phone is disconnected, it will show as offline.
Is This Method Worth Using?
Previewing documents and photographs immediately from the phone’s storage is really useful. However, numerous files cannot be viewed sequentially. Overall, the capability is adequate for copying small files, photographs, and documents, but it makes viewing many files sequentially more difficult than necessary.
However, I do not recommend utilising it as the primary method of transmitting huge files. I attempted copying a 200 MB video clip, however it took forever with an average speed of less than 1 Mbps. My phone and PC both support Wi-Fi 6, and they are linked to a 300 Mbps Wi-Fi router. So I was startled by the slow transfer rate.
I also tried deleting several files, and they were just relocated to the Recycle Bin folder on the Phone Storage. However, you can permanently remove a file from the Recycle Bin.
Even by wireless standards, the file transmission speed is far from optimal. I advocate using this feature as a quick access tool for moving documents between your PC and phone, as well as checking your phone’s storage state. However, if you need to transfer larger files, you need to connect to your PC using a USB cable.
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