How to 'Airdrop' from Android to Chromebook using Bluetooth

Google’s take on Apple Airdrop is Nearby Share and lets you wirelessly share files across Chromebooks and Android phones. It works with all file types irrespective of size without asking you to go through a cumbersome pairing process. Nearby Share will beam files locally over Bluetooth, which bypasses the need for an active internet connection. Very handy when in a poor signal area or wanting to quickly share with a person or device nearby.

Before you can start exchanging files between your Android phone and Chromebook, you’ll have to switch on Nearby Share on each of your devices. Here’s how to do it.

How to share a file/photo using Nearby Share

Open the file or photo, and tap on the share icon. You'll then need to select Nearby.
Hold your phone close to the device you want to share with and under the "Looking for nearby devices", tap on the contact and then tap Send. A message will appear saying "Sending", once "Sent" appears, you can tap close.

How to receive a file/photo using Nearby Share

When you want to receive a file, photo or another piece of content from someone's phone, you'll need to ask them to use the steps above.
When they tap send on the content they are sharing, you'll get a notification that someone is sharing content with you.
To make your device visible, tap the notification. If you're asked to turn on Nearby Share, Bluetooth, or Location, tap Turn on.
To get the content, tap Accept.

How to enable Nearby Share on a Chromebook

On your Chromebook, at the bottom right, select the time and then Settings. On the left, select Connected devices. Next to 'Nearby Share', select Set up. Choose a name for your device and select Done.
You can then select your device visibility. This works on both Android and Chromebook, and you can learn more about the different options below.

Not quite working? Read on for more thorough instructions.

Set up Nearby Share on Chromebooks

Nearby Share is available for Chromebooks running Chrome OS 91 or above. So first, make sure you’re on the latest update. You can check for updates on your Chromebook by going to Settings > About Chrome OS.

Get started with Nearby Share

Open the “Settings” app on your Chromebook and visit the “Connected Devices” section.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

Select the “Set up” button next to “Nearby Share.” In the resulting pop-up window, punch in the name you would like to give your device and hit “Next.”

On the next page, you’ll choose who can send you files through Nearby Share.

In the “All Contacts” mode, your Chromebook will be visible to anyone in your Google account’s phonebook. Your contacts will be able to initiate a transfer when your Chromebook is in their range. However, you’ll still be required to accept the request to receive the file.

With “Some Contacts,” you can selectively pick who in your contacts can find and try to connect to your Chromebook.

Lastly, as the name suggests, “Hidden” keeps your Chromebook hidden from everyone until you manually make it visible. Don’t worry, you can edit this preference later as well.

Pick your visibility mode and click “Confirm” to complete the Nearby Share setup on your Chromebook.

Revisit “Settings” and activate the “Nearby Share” option under “Connected Devices.”

Inside “Nearby Share,” you’ll find options to change your device’s name and adjust its visibility if you wish to do so in the future.

With the “Data usage” setting, you can specify whether Nearby Share should exclusively work offline. When you select “Wi-Fi only,” Nearby Share tends to transfer small files over the internet, while the larger ones are shared locally.

Set up Nearby Share on an Android phone

The process to configure Nearby Share is nearly identical on your Android phone. Your phone needs to be on at least Android 6.0.

Turn sharing on or off

More info: https://support.google.com/files/answer/10514188?hl=en#zippy=%2Cturn-sharing-on-or-off%2Csend-files-or-apps