How to Transfer Files Between Android and iPhone

AirDrop only works between Apple devices. Nearby Share only reliably works between Android devices. The moment you need to send a photo from an Android phone to an iPhone, or the other way around, both of the "obvious" built-in tools quietly stop being an option. Here is what actually works across that divide.

Why AirDrop and Nearby Share don't help here

Both tools rely on proprietary protocols built specifically for their own ecosystem — AirDrop uses Apple's own Bluetooth and Wi-Fi handshake, Nearby Share uses Google's equivalent. Neither company has built cross-compatibility with the other, so an iPhone and an Android phone simply cannot see each other through either tool, no matter how the settings are configured.

Option 1: A browser-based tool that works on any device

Since the two ecosystems will not talk to each other directly, the simplest fix is a tool that does not rely on either one — just a browser and a shared Wi-Fi network.

Step by step with CopyPaster

1. Connect the Android phone and the iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Open CopyPaster in Chrome on the Android phone and in Safari on the iPhone.
3. Switch to the Files tab and upload the photo or file from whichever phone has it.
4. Download it on the other phone — done, with no app install required on either device.

Because both platforms have a capable browser and both support the same web standards, this works identically regardless of which phone is sending and which is receiving.

Option 2: Messaging apps that work across platforms

WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal all work identically on iPhone and Android, and are a reasonable option if you already use one of them with the other person — though photo and video quality is often compressed in the process, which a direct file transfer avoids.

Option 3: Cloud storage links

Uploading to Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud and sharing a link works across platforms too, though it requires an upload step and, for iCloud specifically, may prompt the Android recipient to create an account to access it — an unnecessary hurdle for a one-time file.

Which option to use

• Photos or documents, both phones present, need it now — a browser-based tool over Wi-Fi, no quality loss.
• Already messaging the other person — send through whatever cross-platform app you already both use.
• Sending to someone not physically nearby — a cloud storage link works regardless of location.

Tip: if you regularly send files between an Android phone and an iPhone — a shared household, a mixed-device family — bookmark a browser-based tool on both so it is one tap away instead of re-searching for a solution every time.

The bottom line

AirDrop and Nearby Share were never designed to talk to each other, and that is not going to change. A browser-based tool that does not depend on either ecosystem is the most direct way to move files between an iPhone and an Android phone without quality loss or extra accounts.