S Beam/Android Beam/Wi-Fi Direct/Nearby Devices/NFC

[Insomniator]

I want to send some pictures or videos to a friends Galaxy S4 with my Galaxy S5. We are on the same wifi network... what is the easiest way to do this? Do we really have to touch the backs of our phones together for every file?

I can't really figure out the difference between all the options, but we both turned them all on and allowed each other's devices but still the only way to transfer seems to be by touching the phones together.

Insight anyone?

Thanks!

 

[WelshBloke]

Just email them.

It'll be a lot quicker.

 

[Dulanic]

Just email them.

It'll be a lot quicker.

This. Though there are a dozen ways to send them. I tend to send via es file explorer over wifi.

 

[Shamrock]

I use bluetooth to pair up the phones. I can never get NFC to work.

 

[lopri]

NFC is not difficult. S Beam initiates the connection via NFC and hand it over to WiFi. I find it useful. Emailing multiple media files have its own drawbacks.

 

[lopri]

OP: You can try out 3rd party apps. I recommend SuperBeam.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.majedev.superbeam

 

[Oyeve]

My gf and my friends use sbeam all the time. It's a very useful feature and I wish all devices had this.

 

[Shamrock]

NFC is not difficult. S Beam initiates the connection via NFC and hand it over to WiFi. I find it useful. Emailing multiple media files have its own drawbacks.

Nope, NFC never would initiate (yes, both were on). I tried "bumping" phones, holding them together, back to back, etc. You are supposed to touch the media you want to send, but it wouldn't do anything there, either. Galaxy S5 and htc EVO 4G LTE.

 

[Dulanic]

Nope, NFC never would initiate (yes, both were on). I tried "bumping" phones, holding them together, back to back, etc. You are supposed to touch the media you want to send, but it wouldn't do anything there, either. Galaxy S5 and htc EVO 4G LTE.

That means it's off on one of the devices.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Nope, NFC never would initiate (yes, both were on). I tried "bumping" phones, holding them together, back to back, etc. You are supposed to touch the media you want to send, but it wouldn't do anything there, either. Galaxy S5 and htc EVO 4G LTE.

People turn NFC off for some dumb reason. NFC is damn simple.

 

[Insomniator]

People turn NFC off for some dumb reason. NFC is damn simple.

I leave it off because I don't want to see the stupid icon constantly.

We just s-beamed them, was very fast over wifi and I realized you can select multiple files at once to send.

Still... not the most obvious thing in the world. Would love to see how long it takes two new users go over all the settings for a while.

 

[Shamrock]

That means it's off on one of the devices.

People turn NFC off for some dumb reason. NFC is damn simple.

Nope, both were ON, I turned them on myself, and double checked. Doesn't matter now, the htc is going bye bye. My Galaxy Note 4 just came in.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

It was interesting how Samsung pushed this feature so much in the GS3 and then they never really advertised it anymore. Google has this as a feature too in AOSP Android, but I can bet you 75% of even Nexus users don't know how to use it.

It's really an underrated feature, but I think there needs to be more talk about it. I think also more can be done to make sharing an easier task. I get it that if your apps are NFC compatible, you should be able to beam easily, but how many people know you can share via Chrome or share via Google Gallery? Not many.

In that sense I find Superbeam to be the better solution. Choose the file you want, and send. You don't have to worry about what app you're using.

I do hope in the future Google does take NFC more seriously and make the process a bit more easier for users.

Just email them.

It'll be a lot quicker.

True, but this shows whats wrong with NFC technology today. It should work a bit better so we don't have to email stuff.

 

[Dulanic]

I do hope in the future Google does take NFC more seriously and make the process a bit more easier for users.

True, but this shows whats wrong with NFC technology today. It should work a bit better so we don't have to email stuff.

I don't agree. The only lacking option is Wifi Direct without an app. However, their NFC is beyond easy, you touch phones on whatever you want to send... pics, webpages, contacts etc. The lacking issue is people don't know about it. They do need to teach people about it.

 

[notposting]

I actually used this on my Windows Phones at the end of September. I have a Lumia 928 on an AT&T prepaid plan with no data, and have my Lumia Icon on Verizon. Had taken some pics on vacation with the 928 and while we were driving back home I realized I could easily transfer them over via NFC/BT. Worked like a charm.

Bulk transfers were as simple as selecting multiple files then hitting the Share via Tap & Send.



Edit: it did not use WiFi, but used BT for it. But was still remarkably easy. I was suspicious.