How to copy a file between devices? (2022)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Copying a file between phones, laptops, and tablets in 2024 is still surprisingly awkward, especially across Apple, Google, and Microsoft ecosystems. Commenters trade dozens of workarounds — from LAN tools like Syncthing, KDE Connect, LocalSend and Taildrop to WebRTC sites, Python one‑liners, messengers, NAS shares and USB sticks — but note that each fails some mix of ease‑of‑use, offline capability, privacy, or cross‑platform consistency. Many conclude that the real barrier is not technology but platform lock‑in and missing standards for simple, interoperable local file transfer.

Overall sentiment

  • Many commenters are astonished that simple cross-device file transfer is still hard in 2024.
  • Pain points: cross-platform (Win/macOS/Linux/Android/iOS), non-technical users, no accounts, no cloud dependency, and working on constrained networks (VPNs, corporate Wi-Fi, CGNAT).

LAN / P2P tools and workflows

  • Popular “works well for me” tools:
    • Syncthing: praised for speed and LAN-first P2P sync; criticized as non-trivial to set up and more suited to ongoing sync than one-offs.
    • LocalSend, KDE Connect, Warpinator, LanXchange, croc, Taildrop, PairDrop, Snapdrop/ShareDrop, WebWormhole and similar WebRTC/web apps.
  • Pros: fast local transfer, often end-to-end encrypted, cross-platform in many cases.
  • Cons:
    • Discovery and firewall issues, especially on Windows, corporate/academic networks, and some VPNs.
    • Some tools buggy or unreliable for large or many files.
    • Integration gaps: can’t always “Share…” from native apps or right-click in file explorers like AirDrop/Nearby Share.

Cloud services and messaging hacks

  • Heavy reliance on messaging apps (Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp, iMessage, email) and “note to self”/self-chats to shuttle files.
  • Cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Mega, Nextcloud, Backblaze, S3) widely used despite:
    • Violating “no account / no third-party server” ideals.
    • Latency and bandwidth waste for local transfers.
    • Corporate blocking of common cloud domains.
  • Some self-hosted solutions (Nextcloud, Jirafeau, Firefox Send forks, custom S3/B2 frontends) are appreciated but seen as overkill or too technical for most users.

Old-school and ad-hoc methods

  • python -m http.server, uploadserver, netcat, FTP, Samba/SMB shares, USB sticks, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, adb, torrents, Kermit/Y/ZMODEM are all mentioned.
  • Viewed as powerful but generally not suitable for non-technical users or hostile networks.

Lock-in, missing standards, and politics

  • Strong criticism of platform lock-in, especially Apple’s ecosystem and iOS hostility to generic file transfer.
  • Frustration that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct never became a universal, standardized “just works” file-sharing layer.
  • Some argue we need political or regulatory pressure to force interoperable AirDrop-like standards; others doubt big vendors want interoperability at all.

Network and protocol challenges

  • NAT, CGNAT, lack of static addressing, and IPv6 deployment gaps complicate direct P2P.
  • WebRTC-based tools are promising but can be fragile due to browser settings, hairpinning, and client isolation on Wi-Fi.