How to Use Microsoft Edge Drop to Share Files Between Devices

Transferring files, text snippets, and links between your smartphone and your PC usually involves frustrating workarounds like emailing yourself, relying on third-party cloud drives, or searching for a USB cable. Microsoft has solved this problem with a native feature built directly into the Edge browser called Drop.

Edge Drop acts as a private, high-speed chat room between all your devices. Anything you “drop” into the pane on your Windows PC instantly appears on your iPhone, Android, or Mac, provided you are signed into the same Microsoft account.

How to Enable and Use Edge Drop on Desktop

First, you must enable the Drop sidebar on your primary computer.

1. Open the Microsoft Edge browser on Windows or macOS.
2. Look at the sidebar on the right side of the screen. If you don’t see the sidebar at all, click the three-dot menu, go to Settings > Sidebar, and toggle on Always show sidebar.
3. In the sidebar, locate the icon that looks like a paper aeroplane. This is the Drop tool.
4. If the icon is missing, click the + (Customize) button at the bottom of the sidebar and toggle Drop to the ON position.
5. Click the Drop icon to open the panel. Click Start to initialize the secure connection.

To share a file or text, simply drag and drop a document into the panel, or type a message in the text box at the bottom and hit send. It utilizes your OneDrive storage quota to facilitate the transfer securely.

How to Retrieve Files on Your Mobile Device

To complete the transfer, you need the Microsoft Edge app on your mobile device.

1. Download and open Microsoft Edge on your iOS or Android device.
2. Ensure you are signed in with the exact same Microsoft account used on your PC.
3. Tap the three-line menu (hamburger icon) in the bottom right corner of the screen.
4. Tap the Drop icon (the paper aeroplane).

You will see a chat-like interface displaying all the files, photos, and text you sent from your PC. You can instantly copy text to your mobile clipboard, or tap the download icon on a file to save it directly to your phone’s local storage.