One of the easiest ways to remotely access folders on a PC is to use shared Windows folders. These folders are automatically visible on any other PC with Windows, while they are not automatically visible on an Android smartphone.
In this guide we will then show you how to navigate the shared Windows folders from your Android tablet or smartphone, so you can view, copy or edit the files stored in the shared folders without necessarily being in front of the PC.
The only requirement is that all devices (PC and Android smartphone / tablet) are connected to the same modem, it does not count with which technology (the PC can be connected via Ethernet cable or via Wi-Fi, while mobile devices will necessarily be of things connected via wireless).
As written in the file sharing guide in Windows, sharing a folder can be used to open, transfer and work on the files of another computer on the same network (LAN or Wi-Fi).
To share a folder on Windows and make it available on the network we follow the following steps:
The password for accessing shared folders is the same as that required to access the operating system in the event of a protected login: in this regard, we invite you to read our guide Access on Windows 10 without password .
Shared folders can be previewed on the computer, by clicking on File Explorer then on Network (in the left sidebar) and finally clicking on the name of our computer, displayed here as a network resource.
To access shared folders on Windows from an Android device, we will have to have a file manager equipped with SMB support, that is the protocol with which Windows makes shared files and folders accessible on the network. Below we will show you how to deal with the best free SMB file managers available for Android .
One of the best file managers that we can use on Android to access shared folders is Solid Explorer. After installing this app on our device, we press the + shaped button at the bottom right and select the New remote connection item.
In the window that appears, we tap on LAN / SMB, then on Next ; in the new screen all the active shares on our network will appear in a few seconds, all we have to do is select the correct one, select Next, enable the Guest item (if we have a share without a password) or the Username and password item (if we have secure sharing) in the Authentication screen, select No in the advanced settings screen and finally tap Next to add the folder to our management software.
The folder will be added immediately to the left sidebar of the app, accessible whenever we wish (any access credentials will be automatically saved).
Another useful app for accessing Windows shared folders is File Manager, available for free for all Android devices. After adding the app to our system, open it, tap on the Remote icon and then on Add a remote location (the + button at the top right is also fine).
In the superimposed window that will appear, select Local network, wait a few seconds to start the search for network shares then select the one that is right for us. The system will ask us which name to use for sharing and the access credentials (if we have no password, check the Anonymous entry). At the end of the changes we tap OK to immediately add the shared folder to the resources available within the app.
X-plore is one of the historical apps for the management of files on phones, present on the old Nokia Symbian and arrived to the present day on Android devices; we can download X-plore File Manager for free on smartphones and tablets with the green robot. To use this file manager, tap on the top right of Root, expand the LAN menu, select the item Add server and then the item Scan .
The app will search for all computers with shared folders on our LAN; to add one we tap on its name. If the sharing is not protected, the shared folders will be immediately shown in the app tree structure, without having to do anything else; if instead the sharing is protected, we will have to tap and hold on the computer name, select Add server and fill in the required fields.
If our Windows computer provides some network shares, we can easily access them using one of the file managers that we showed you in the guide. If instead we are looking for a way to synchronize some folders between computers and smartphones, we refer you to reading our guide to the Best Cloud apps for Android and iPhone in which to save files without taking up memory .
We are looking for a way to do the reverse operation, that is to share some Android folders to make them available on Windows "> How to share files and folders on the network on Android .
In this guide we will then show you how to navigate the shared Windows folders from your Android tablet or smartphone, so you can view, copy or edit the files stored in the shared folders without necessarily being in front of the PC.
The only requirement is that all devices (PC and Android smartphone / tablet) are connected to the same modem, it does not count with which technology (the PC can be connected via Ethernet cable or via Wi-Fi, while mobile devices will necessarily be of things connected via wireless).
Share a folder on Windows
As written in the file sharing guide in Windows, sharing a folder can be used to open, transfer and work on the files of another computer on the same network (LAN or Wi-Fi).
To share a folder on Windows and make it available on the network we follow the following steps:
- Right click on the folder to be shared on Windows and enter the Properties, go to the Sharing tab and press the Share button to open the file sharing window.
- In this window, we enter the name of the user group with which you want to share the folder. Specifically, we write Everyone, click on Add and we give all read or write permissions. Keep in mind that in this way all the computers and smartphones on the network will be able to access this folder, even if they must also know the login password of the computer.
The password for accessing shared folders is the same as that required to access the operating system in the event of a protected login: in this regard, we invite you to read our guide Access on Windows 10 without password .
Shared folders can be previewed on the computer, by clicking on File Explorer then on Network (in the left sidebar) and finally clicking on the name of our computer, displayed here as a network resource.
Access a folder shared by Android
To access shared folders on Windows from an Android device, we will have to have a file manager equipped with SMB support, that is the protocol with which Windows makes shared files and folders accessible on the network. Below we will show you how to deal with the best free SMB file managers available for Android .
Solid Explorer
One of the best file managers that we can use on Android to access shared folders is Solid Explorer. After installing this app on our device, we press the + shaped button at the bottom right and select the New remote connection item.
In the window that appears, we tap on LAN / SMB, then on Next ; in the new screen all the active shares on our network will appear in a few seconds, all we have to do is select the correct one, select Next, enable the Guest item (if we have a share without a password) or the Username and password item (if we have secure sharing) in the Authentication screen, select No in the advanced settings screen and finally tap Next to add the folder to our management software.
The folder will be added immediately to the left sidebar of the app, accessible whenever we wish (any access credentials will be automatically saved).
File manager
Another useful app for accessing Windows shared folders is File Manager, available for free for all Android devices. After adding the app to our system, open it, tap on the Remote icon and then on Add a remote location (the + button at the top right is also fine).
In the superimposed window that will appear, select Local network, wait a few seconds to start the search for network shares then select the one that is right for us. The system will ask us which name to use for sharing and the access credentials (if we have no password, check the Anonymous entry). At the end of the changes we tap OK to immediately add the shared folder to the resources available within the app.
X-plore File Manager
X-plore is one of the historical apps for the management of files on phones, present on the old Nokia Symbian and arrived to the present day on Android devices; we can download X-plore File Manager for free on smartphones and tablets with the green robot. To use this file manager, tap on the top right of Root, expand the LAN menu, select the item Add server and then the item Scan .
The app will search for all computers with shared folders on our LAN; to add one we tap on its name. If the sharing is not protected, the shared folders will be immediately shown in the app tree structure, without having to do anything else; if instead the sharing is protected, we will have to tap and hold on the computer name, select Add server and fill in the required fields.
Conclusions
If our Windows computer provides some network shares, we can easily access them using one of the file managers that we showed you in the guide. If instead we are looking for a way to synchronize some folders between computers and smartphones, we refer you to reading our guide to the Best Cloud apps for Android and iPhone in which to save files without taking up memory .
We are looking for a way to do the reverse operation, that is to share some Android folders to make them available on Windows "> How to share files and folders on the network on Android .
