G+_gregg nichols Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 What is the best way to grab files from a networked computer? Scenario: I have files stored in a shared folder on my Windows 7 computer. I want to transfer these files - as needed - onto my Galaxy Tab 10.1 for viewing. What's the best/easiest/most reliable method for doing this? Currently, I use Astro File Manager because it can view Windows shares, but I really don't like the way it works. It's slow (could be the age of the tablet), and very unreliable with these types of file transfers. If I select multiple files and start to transfer them, I have to sit and stare at the transfer until it's done. I can't go to the homescreen, another app, or even select the app's own "run in background" option or the files will never transfer. I'd rather not put these files in Dropbox because there's too many of them I'd want to access at any given time. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Tim Davis Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 You could set up an FTP server running locally on the PC, and use an FTP client app on the tablet. I did this for a while when I had a desktop computer. I used AndFTP, mainly as it had Secure FTP (SFTP) support: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lysesoft.andftp&hl=en Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Nick Webster Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Ditto Tim Davis Astro is the best but is too laggy on anything less than Quad-Core so when I'm on my phone (Galaxy Nexus) I use AndFTP and it works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Matt Maher Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Thanks, guys, I'll think about that! What do you use on the PC-side? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Nick Webster Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Matt Maher If you are on Windows I'd check out Filezilla server. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jacqueline Nehama Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I have had good luck using Airdroid as I can't use a local FTP server. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Cole Brodine Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I use ES File Explorer to transfer data from (and to) my windows shares to my Android devices. It seems to run just fine in the background while I do other things. It can take a while, but it seems to be only limited by my wifi speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Dawnetta Charmaine Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I use Wifi Transfer Pro (Android app) to transfer files to/from my windows 7 PC to my nexus 7 and samsung galaxy s2. I think it costs a couple of bucks, but it's definitely worth it.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Matt Maher Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I like the idea of WiFi Transfer Pro, and I've used it before, but it seems a little flaky to me. But the main reason it wouldn't really work in this situation is that I want to pull files from my desktop, not push them to my tablet. Thanks for the suggestion, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Tim Davis Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 The other thing about any WiFi transfer you have to worry about is the half duplex nature of wireless. In other words, if both the PC and the phone/tablet are on 2.4 GHz Wifi, then your throughput will take a hit. Thankfully, more and more devices are supporting dual-band WiFi, so you can get around this by putting one device on 2.4 GHz and the other on 5 GHz, which essentially gives you full-duplex WiFi. You'll need a dual-band router/AP to do this, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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