Not a good situation, Right? But there is a free and easy way to remotely access your PC files. Although you won’t be able to set it up remotely, once you get it working, it’ll save a lot of time in the future. The only condition is your computer should be turned ON and connected to the Internet all the time, and you’ll be able to access its Hard drive from any part of the world.  Earlier we’ve talked about 10 different ways to access files on your computer over the Internet, where we learned how TeamViewer is the best remote software out of all the other options available.  Though if both your computer and Android smartphone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, then you may want to use this method to Access Windows Shared Folder From Android.

Why TeamViewer?

Whether you are using a Windows, Linux or any Android/ iOS platform, TeamViewer is the best solution for screen sharing. However, it also has a remote file transfer option; though it’s hidden under settings. Also, you don’t need any technical knowledge like port forwarding or securing server while configuring TeamViewer.

Features:

A simple and instant way of remotely accessing files. Cross-platform support (i,e. access your computer files from computer or smartphone) High Performance and reliability High Security (AES 256 bit session encryption) No bandwidth restriction at all Completely Free for personal (not even ads) use (unlike LogMeIn, GoToMyPC etc) Remotely control other devices

So, let’s see how to configure TeamViewer with other popular platforms available. Follow the Steps in this video or read the following post on how to access your Computer Files from Anywhere with TeamViewer

Part 1: Install and Setup TeamViewer on your Computer

  1. Download TeamViewer desktop Software on your computer. The setup is only around 10MB and available for all major platforms, including – Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS.

  2. Once you are done downloading the TeamViewer setup on all the devices, install it on your computer.  Next, launch the desktop application on your desktop and create a free account. Note: Usually you can use TeamViewer with randomly generated username and code (no need to create an account) but for file transfer feature, you’ll have to create a free account. This way you also don’t have to enter TeamViewer ID and password each time you log in, from the remote computer. 

  3. Check all the boxes at the bottom left of the TeamViewer window to permanently assign this device to your account and to grant direct access without requiring anymore authentication in future. You may get a popup asking to assign this device, just click on ‘Assign’. And that’s it. Now you are ready to access this computer’s files from anywhere in the world. Now, let’s see how to access these files from Smartphone and Computer.

Part 2: Accessing PC’s Files From Android Using TeamViewer

  1. Download TeamViewer from Google Play. The app is completely free (no ads as well) for personal use.

  5. Open the app, sign in into your account and switch to Files tab and then to Remote Files to see the list of computer you added in step 4. You should see your computer online here.  Note: As we said earlier, for this to work, your computer needs to be turned ON, connected to the Internet with TeamViewer app running.

6. Tap on your Computer name, and you’ll see all the computer drives. You have the read-only access to the entire hard drive which means you can copy any stuff from your computer but you cannot delete anything. For Instance, let’s copy the file named “test.zip”. Simply tap on the check mark next to it, go to My Files (your phone’s local storage) and paste it wherever you want. The copy speed depends on the upload speed of your home Internet Connection and download speed of your present connection of your Android. 

We also tried transferring files from Windows to Windows

Part 3: Accessing PC’s Files From Another PC Using TeamViewer

The steps are similar to what we did in the Android. Make sure you are logged in to your TeamViewer account on computer 1. 8. Next go to computer 2, download TeamViewer app and open it. Sign-in with the same TeamViewer account.

  1. Now return back to your 1st computer and to add your computer 2 to your list, click on ‘Add remote computer‘ and enter TeamViewer ID and password of your 2nd computer.  Next, under My computer, you should see the name of your Computer 2, select that. Then click on File Transfer. 

  2. A new Window will pop open, with your computer1 files on the left and computer2 files on the right. Simply select the files that you want to transfer from computer 1 to computer 2 and then drag and drop it or use the copy paste button on the top. And well, that’s it. Now you have successfully transfer files from one to another computer using TeamViewer remote file transfer.

Wrapping Up

Many people spend good money on paid File sharing software (like LogMeIn or GoToMyPC etc), but with TeamViewer, you can easily get your work done for free. We tested with both the Android and the Windows version of TeamViewer and it worked perfectly fine. The file transfer speeds depend on your Internet upload/download speed of both connections respectively. How do you access your PC files remotely? Sharing your thoughts in the comments. Also Read: How to stream video from Mac OS X to Android and iOS device