Android → iPhone · Step by step

How to transfer documents, PDFs and work files from Android to iPhone

Documents from Android to iPhone usually travel by emailing yourself or through a cloud folder that has not synced yet. Here is a direct path that takes seconds and keeps the file exact.

Why this usually goes wrong

There is still no direct path between most Android phones and an iPhone: AirDrop is built for Apple devices and only a few recent Androids (Pixels first) reach it through Quick Share, and Move to iOS only runs during setup. Day to day, people fall back to WhatsApp, which recompresses everything sent as media.

Documents are small, so the problem is not quality but friction: emailing yourself, hunting the file in a chat, waiting for a cloud folder to sync, or discovering the scan was converted to a lower-resolution PDF. A direct transfer puts the exact file in a folder on the other device in seconds, with a hash check that proves it is identical.

From the computer, send a whole folder at once — contracts, scans, exports: every file in it goes, with its name, subfolders included, and everything arrives together in one folder. From the phone, select many files at once.

How to do it with ZiggSend

Rather see the screens? Illustrated step by step, with the app screens →
  1. Install ZiggSend for Android from Google Play (free).
  2. Install ZiggSend for iPhone from the App Store (free).
  3. On the iPhone, tap Receive files here: a QR code appears. On the Android, tap Connect to a computer → Scan the QR code and point it at the code. Both need to be on the same Wi-Fi, with ZiggSend open on the iPhone screen.
  4. Choose what to send. Photos and videos land in the iPhone’s Photos app, other files in the Files app, every one verified byte for byte.
Measured, not promised. 22 GB in 184 files with 0 failures from an Android to a Mac over a USB 2 cable (about 28 MB/s); an 806 MB video over home Wi-Fi in 46 s; up to 49.7 MB/s over Wi-Fi from a Mac to an iPhone. Every file is checked against the original on arrival. How we measure.

Other ways, and what each one costs you

MethodOriginal qualitySize limitThe catch
WhatsApp / TelegramNo — recompressed as media2 GB as a documentGoes through their servers
Move to iOSYesNoneOnly while setting up a new iPhone; running it again means erasing the iPhone
Google Photos / Drive“Original quality” only / Yes15 GB freeUpload on one phone, download on the other
Bluetooth——Does not work: the iPhone does not receive files over Bluetooth from non-Apple devices

What people ask before they trust a transfer app

“I don’t trust my private photos to a site I don’t know.”

Neither do we. ZiggSend has no site in the middle: the file goes from one device to the other over your home Wi-Fi (or, from Android to a Mac, a cable), and no file is stored anywhere else. The computer app only contacts ZiggSend to check for updates, to register a random install ID when it opens and, if you go Pro, to activate the license and check its status once a day; the privacy policy lists exactly what goes out.

“Mine fails at 64% every time.”

A transfer that breaks resumes where it stopped. Every file is written as a temporary part and only gets its final name after the SHA-256 check passes — you never end up with a half file that looks whole.

“I’m out of space and need to empty the phone.”

Move everything to the computer first: only files that pass the SHA-256 check get their final name, and History shows each fingerprint (today’s on Free, all of them on Pro). Then delete on the phone. Originals, no size limit.

Free forever with 1 phone. Pro when you need it.

The phone apps are free. So is the computer app, with one paired phone. Pro — several phones, full history, automatic folders, up to 3 computers — is $39 a year, or $19 once for the first 1,000 founders.

Get ZiggSend

Questions people actually ask

Does phone-to-phone need a computer?

No. The two phones pair by QR code on the same Wi-Fi and talk directly. A computer is only needed when the destination is a computer.

Is the phone app free?

Yes, on both phones. The license lives on the computer app; phone to phone needs no license at all.

Does it keep folder structure?

Not yet. From the computer, drop a folder and every file in it goes at once, subfolders included, with the original names, all together in one folder on the other side; the folder tree is not recreated.

Is anything uploaded to a server?

No. The file goes straight from one device to the other over your Wi-Fi (from Android to a Mac, also by cable). Nothing is stored anywhere in between.

Does it work wirelessly, over wifi, without a cable?

Yes: phone and computer on the same Wi-Fi, tap Connect to a computer, pick the computer (or scan its QR code), check the safety code on both screens and allow it on the computer. No internet, no account, nothing uploaded — the file goes straight from one device to the other, verified byte for byte. An 806 MB video took 46 s on home Wi-Fi in our measurement.

What is the best app for this — and is it free?

Depends on what “best” means to you. For casual sharing, LocalSend (free, open source, and since version 1.18 with a SHA-256 check on every file) is honest and good. For a camera roll, a client’s footage or anything you cannot afford to lose, ZiggSend: originals only, no size limit, resume, a check of the whole file already on disk, and each file’s fingerprint in the history for you to check. The phone app is free; the computer app is free with one phone, and Pro (several phones, full history, automatic folders, up to 3 computers) is optional — see pricing. Side by side: ZiggSend vs LocalSend.

Can I send files without being on the same network?

Not with ZiggSend, by design: it only moves files between devices on the same Wi-Fi (or, from Android to a Mac, a cable), so your files never leave your network. For sending to someone on another network, use a cloud link (Drive, WeTransfer) or WhatsApp as a document — and mind their limits: every limit for a large video.

Related guides

Photos from Android to iPhone in original qualityVideos from Android to iPhone without compression4K and HDR video from Android to iPhone, untouchedLarge files from Android to iPhone, no size limit

Compared with

ZiggSend vs WhatsAppZiggSend vs Quick Share