Access Windows Shared Folder From Android Over Wi-Fi

Access Windows Shared Folder From Android Over Wi-Fi.

There are several ways to access a Windows shared folder from other devices. For example, you can use the TeamViewer Remote File Access feature to access files on your computer from anywhere in the world. Although this requires an active internet connection on both devices. But if both your computer and Android phone are on the same Wi-Fi network, you can easily access files on your PC through your local network connection.

Related: How to Share Files Between Two Computers Using Wi-Fi

I often use this method to stream movies that are on my desktop from an Android smartphone when I’m in the kitchen or on the rooftop. And if you have a 21Mbps router (most home routers), you can get a transfer rate of around 3Mbps (21/8), which is enough for streaming movies and audio over Wi-Fi.

In this case, we’ll use the Solid File Explorer app for Android. This is our favorite file manager after ES file manager started doing shady things like sending user data to a Chinese server. Similar to ES File Manager, you can do some pretty cool things with Solid Explorer, and since it’s a paid app, you know where all your money is going.

Also Read 9 Things You Don’t Know What You Can Do With Solid Explorer

Requirements

1. Computer and Android must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Solid Explorer Android Application

Accessing the Windows shared folder from Android

1. Share your Windows folder

Open File Explorer in Windows and navigate to the folder that you want to access on another device. This can be the movie folder or the entire Users folder on drive c. I prefer to share my entire Users folder because I keep most of my content on my desktop or in my Downloads folder.

Then right-click on the folder you want to share, click Properties to open the folder’s properties.

Now go to the Sharing tab and click the Share button.

A new file sharing window will open, here you need to indicate who you want to share files with on your PC. To avoid any complications, select “All” from the drop-down list next to the input field and click the “Add” button.

If you want the other party to see and copy your files, grant read-only access. But if you want them to have full access to the shared folder, for example, they can add new files to this drive or even delete yours, then give read / write permission.

Once you’re done, click the Share button. Then click Finish.

2. Turn on network discovery

The next thing you need to do is turn on network sharing on your computer. Here we will configure whether you want to enable password protection or not.

Go to the Start menu, click “Network and Sharing Center” and click “Change advanced sharing settings.”

In the new window, click on the drop-down arrow next to all of your networks.

Now click the radio button next to the “Enable Sharing” option.

Then choose whether you want to enable or disable password-protected sharing. It’s a little tricky, so choose wisely.

If you are on your home network, you can turn off password protection, this will make the connection process a little easier, since you will not need to enter your username and password to login.

But if you use it on your office network, it is better to use password protection. God saves man, who save himself. In this case, we will use the “Enable Password Protection” feature so that you know all the steps.

Then click “Save Changes”.

3. Make a note of the Windows username and password (optional)

This part is often confusing as many people don’t know their PC username and password. You will only need this information if password protection is enabled on your computer.

To find your Windows username, press Win + R and type cmd and then press Enter. In the Command Prompt window, type echo% username% and press Enter. Your current username will be displayed. Remember that Windows username is case sensitive.

And well, the password is the same password that you used to log into your Windows account. After you have provided your username and password, write it down on a piece of paper or remember it. We’ll need them later.

4. Find your computer’s IP address (optional)

You will have to manually enter your PC’s IP address if Solid Explorer cannot find it. You can find the IP address by entering ipconfig in cmd or using the Fing app for Android or iOS. Here is a detailed guide on how to find the IP address of any device on the network.

5. Accessing Shared Folders from Android

Now download the Solid Explorer File Manager app from the Google Play Store if you haven’t already. The app is available for two weeks for free, and then you have to pay to use more features. Or you can also download the free classic version of the app. It has an older design and is ad supported, but it will do the job as well. Then open the Solid File Explorer app and click on the + sign.

You will see several options, click – New cloud connection.

In the Network Connection Wizard, click LAN / SMB Next

It will start searching for all shared computers on your network. Ideally, you should see your Windows PC right here. But if you don’t, make sure your Windows computer is turned on and connected to Wi-Fi. Select your computer and click Next.

If you don’t see your computer in the list, click the arrow next to “Didn’t find what you were looking for?”. A new screen will appear, in the Remote Host Name section, enter the IP address of your Windows computer. the address you wrote down in step 4.

Log in using your username and password (which we found in step 3)

If you set password protection to ON. Rest. Log in as a guest.

Then click Connect Finish.

If everything goes right, you should be able to successfully log into your computer.

Then click User your username and you will see the entire shared folder.

What can you do?

You can stream video files directly, no need to download them to Android tablet or smartphone. The streaming speed depends on the speed of your router.

You can also copy files from Windows to Android or vice versa (if you have r / w access enabled)

Or even edit documents without even downloading them to your Android.

Packaging

So, here we saw how to access a Windows shared folder from Android over Wi-Fi using Solid Explorer. But guess what, you can also use Solid Explorer to access Mac files from your Android. The steps are similar for the Android part, with the only difference that you need to enable sharing on Mac OS. To do this, go to System Preferences Network Allow Sharing.

Detailed step by step guide can be found here How to Stream Videos from Mac to iPad / iPhone