Using Bluetooth to Transfer Files between Windows Computers

Published October 5, 2020

I must be the last person on earth to realize I could transfer files between computers by using the Bluetooth option. This is a true smack my forehead moment. You wouldn’t believe all the machinations I went through to transfer files from my old computer to the new mini PC.

I’d upload them to Google Drive from the old computer, run over to the new computer, access Google Drive and download the files. If I downloaded several at a time, I’d have to unzip the files because Google Drive zips large or multiple files. At the time I didn’t have a spare USB flash drive, so Google Drive was all I had, or so I thought.

Discovering Bluetooth File Transfer

I should be embarrassed about sharing this, but I’d rather admit my ignorance than hide it (the truth always has a way of coming out). Anyway, I came across this feature by testing journaling software. I won’t go into the whole long story, but one of the apps I tested offered Bluetooth as a method for transferring files from my Amazon tablet to my Windows PC. A Bluetooth transfer? What's that all about? *She sits there scratching her head.* I know I've seen the Bluetooth icon when I attempted to send a file before but I never investigated it. This time I decided to look to see what was going on.

Transferring Files - Easy Peasy!

For the one remaining person in the world that didn’t know about this or never bothered to investigate Bluetooth file transferring, here’s how it’s done.

1. First, Bluetooth has to be turned on for both devices. To do this on a Windows PC go to Start > Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices, and turn the Bluetooth switch to On.



2. Pair the computers - Click Add Bluetooth or other device to open the Add a device window.



3. Select the Bluetooth option to bring up a list of local Bluetooth enabled devices. Sometimes it takes a minute for it to discover the device you want. Once it shows up on the screen, select it to pair.


4. Now you need to set up the receiving computer to receive files (Settings - select Send or receive files via Bluetooth > Receive files) Once set, it will sit there waiting for a file to come through.



5. Go back to the sending computer and select the files/folders you want to transfer.


6. Right mouse click on the file/folder and click Send to then select Bluetooth Device.



7. This will open a window giving you the option to choose the device you wish to send files to. Select the device and click Next to begin the file transfer.


8. When the transfer is completed, you’ll see a Success screen listing the name of the file transferred and its size.



9. On the receiving machine, you’ll see the name of the file transferred, it’s size, and the location to where it was transferred. The default receiving location is the Documents folder.

New Skill

Through the above process, I was able to transfer a host of files from my old PC to the new one. No more uploading or downloading, just straight forward transferring.

I guess I should have gotten the hint when my daughter AirDropped photos to my iPhone. Little did I think my Windows computer could do the same thing.

I scoff at the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” This grandma learned something new! This gal's got skills!

Last Modified: 1 July 2023