Phone photos to a Windows PC, without a cable
Checked October 2026
A whiteboard after a meeting, a receipt for your expenses, a page of handwritten notes. The photo is on your phone and you need it on your PC. Here are the sensible ways to get it there without hunting for a cable, what each one needs, and which one suits how often you do it.
The short answer: on Android, Phone Link or Quick Share work well once they're set up. On an iPhone there's no AirDrop for Windows, so the quickest routes are a page in your phone's browser that sends over the same Wi-Fi (PairDrop, or Beam in InTray), LocalSend (an app on both devices), or iCloud Photos. Emailing it to yourself works anywhere; it's just slow.
The options compared
| Method | Phones | On the phone | On the PC | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email it to yourself | Any | Your mail app | Your mail | A one-off photo |
| OneDrive, Google Photos or iCloud Photos | Any | The provider's app | Its app or website | People who already back up every photo |
| Phone Link | Android. Microsoft has been testing iPhone file sharing with Windows Insiders | Link to Windows app | Built into Windows | Android users who also want messages and calls on the PC |
| Quick Share | Android | Built into most Android phones | Google's Quick Share app | Android users sending files both ways |
| LocalSend | iPhone and Android | LocalSend app | LocalSend app | Free, open source, works both ways |
| PairDrop | Any phone with a browser | A web page | A web page | The odd file with nothing to install |
| Bluetooth | Android (iPhones can't send files to a PC this way) | Built in | Built into Windows | The odd small file when there's no Wi-Fi |
| USB cable | Any | A cable (on iPhone, tap Trust) | Photos app or File Explorer | Large batches |
| Beam, in InTray | Any phone that can scan a QR code | A web page, opened from the QR code | InTray (paid after a 7-day trial) | Photos you need several times a day, landing ready to drag |
We make InTray, so weigh the last row accordingly. Features change: check each tool's own site for what it does today.
Which one should you use?
- Android, and Phone Link already set up: stay with it.
- You want it free and you send files both ways: LocalSend.
- The odd photo and you'd rather install nothing: PairDrop, or email.
- You move photos onto your PC several times a day (whiteboards, receipts, sketches you want to put into an AI chat) and want each one to land ready to drag into whatever you're doing: that's what Beam is for.
How Beam works
Beam is part of InTray, a small Windows 10/11 app that keeps every new screenshot, download and phone photo in a strip at the bottom of your screen.
- Right-click the InTray icon by the clock, open Beam (phone), tick Receive from phone, then choose Show QR code.
- Scan the code with your phone's camera. A page opens in the phone's browser.
- Pick your photos or files, up to 10 at a time and 1 GB each. They arrive in InTray's strip over your own Wi-Fi.
- Drag one into an email, a Teams chat, a browser upload box or an AI chat. It arrives as a real file.
Nothing is installed on the phone, there's no account, and nothing goes through the cloud. The phone and PC need to be on the same Wi-Fi. Some networks (hotels, offices, guest Wi-Fi) stop devices seeing each other; where your PC's hardware supports it, Beam Direct lets the PC host its own hotspot for the phone to join instead. On a work computer, Beam's firewall permission needs an admin, and the install itself may need your IT team.
Download free. Every feature, Beam included, for 7 days, then £14.99 one-time to keep it. Try InTray free for 7 days.
Common questions
Is there AirDrop for Windows?
No. Apple doesn't make AirDrop for Windows. On Windows, the nearest equivalents are the options above. Microsoft has been testing iPhone file sharing in Phone Link with Windows Insiders, so check whether your version has it.
Can I send photos from my phone to my PC without installing an app on the phone?
Yes. PairDrop and Beam both work from a page in the phone's browser. Email and a USB cable also need nothing new on the phone.
Do the photos go through the internet?
With Beam, no: files go from your phone to your PC over your own Wi-Fi, with no cloud and no account. Email and cloud photo apps do send them via the internet.
Why won't my phone connect to my PC on hotel or office Wi-Fi?
Many shared networks block devices from talking to each other. Use a cable, a cloud app over mobile data, or, with Beam, Beam Direct where your PC supports it.