How To Nearby Share Between Your Phone & Chromebook

With the update to Chrome Os 91, the Chromebook platform has finally received the long-awaited Nearby Share features found on Android. Simply what exactly is Nearby Share and how does it work on a Chromebook? The characteristic isn't necessarily intuitive at start glance and many users may not accept even heard of it.

Well, that'due south exactly what this guide is hither to talk over, in particular, with regard to the Chrome Os platform. And then allow'due south go ahead and dive right into how you tin can enable Nearby Share and employ it. And into the benefits of the feature for those on the Chromebook platform.

Why would you desire Nearby Share turned on for your Chromebook?

At present, Chromebooks already accept enough of options for sharing betwixt your phone and your Chromebook, fifty-fifty without Nearby Share. We'll hash out that in a bit more detail a flake subsequently on. So why would you actually want to plow this characteristic on and use information technology?

The simplest reply is that Nearby Share lets you quickly and easily share merely near annihilation with your Chromebook. That's going to prove particularly useful for those who piece of work from their Chromebook and phone simultaneously. Just information technology tin can also exist exceptionally useful, for those who want to share files with their Chromebook for editing. Or for just almost any other purpose.

Moreover, Nearby Share steps away from the other methods available in that information technology doesn't crave users to be on Wi-Fi. Or on Mobile Data, even. In fact, Nearby Share is completely wireless without any kind of internet or traditional connection at all. And information technology doesn't just work between your own Chromebook and phone either. Content tin be shared via Nearby Share with yourself or with any of the friends, family, and colleagues in your Google contacts.

Or, at the very least, it can be used that way every bit long every bit those users or your other devices are in close enough proximity. And that makes this feature a chip deeper than the standard means of sharing.

Here's how to use Nearby Share

Of course, y'all tin can't employ or learn how to use Nearby Share unless you turn it on for your Chromebook outset. Luckily, that's a adequately intuitive and easy procedure. That's if yous know the steps to take.

To plough on Nearby Share on your Chromebook, you'll first need to open upwardly the Settings application. The easiest way to access that is to open the Quick Tiles past beginning tapping or clicking on the clock icon. Google places that on the bottom-right-hand side of the UI, just behind a click on the clock area of the Chrome Os shelf. So that'due south where it will exist unless you've set your shelf location to the left- or right-hand side
Tap or click on the gear-shaped Settings icon to open settings
Once Settings has opened, information technology may or may not open up in a smaller — arguably more than hard to navigate — window. Tap or click on the maximize icon at the top-right-hand side of the UI
From there, yous'll demand to find the Nearby Share menu on your Chromebook. Google placed it, rather intuitively, in the "Connected Devices" segment. And that segment is found on the left-hand side of the page once the window has been maximized
Now, yous should see two sections under Connected Devices. I for your smartphone and another newer department labeled "Nearby Share." Tap or click on that section'southward available "Set upwards" selection to open the deeper menu for the new feature
Tap or click on the toggle to turn on Nearby Share
Follow the resulting walkthrough to name your Chromebook for Nearby Share and set upwards which contacts will be able to share content with your Chromebook

Now information technology's turned on, so what do you practise at present?

Once Nearby Share is active on your Chromebook, you lot'll want to take a closer expect at how Chrome Bone lets you manage the feature. That'southward easy enough since once active, all of the options are available immediately. Simply let'due south dig in and discuss exactly what each setting does and where it tin can be found.

The commencement thing to note almost the new Settings carte du jour segment is that the toggle for activating or deactivating Nearby Share remains in place. Just under that, you'll see a segment notifying y'all equally to which email address is associated with the Chromebook, Nearby Share feature, and which email address volition exist used for accessing contacts or assuasive sharing from contacts
Only underneath those segments, Google offers the pick to rename the Chromebook in the context of Nearby Share. That'due south the name given to your Chromebook during setup, by default, but it tin can exist changed at the tap or click of a button
Simply underneath that, you lot'll note a segment for changing your visibility. Summarily, these are options for determining who tin see and share content with your Chromebook. There's also a toggle to make the Chromebook visible via Nearby Share to all nearby devices for a v-minute menses. Conversely, the same characteristic tin can now be found in the Quick Settings tiles under the clock icon on the Chrome Os shelf. Toggleable at a click or tap
Under the associated "Device visibility" button, y'all'll see the same menu options provided at setup. So you lot tin set your Chromebook to exist visible to "All contacts," "Some contacts," or get effectively invisible with the "Hidden" option. Those are located forth the superlative row of the pop-out folio
To ready availability to but "Some contacts," tap or click the toggle next to the contacts y'all'd similar to be able to send your Chromebook content via Nearby Share
Finally, Google provides options to manage your contacts via the associated website, opened via a tap on that option. It also provides i terminal "Edit" button, which lets users determine exactly how the files will be shared. Inside of that carte, the company placed an selection for allowing "Mobile date," "Wi-Fi," or — because Nearby Share doesn't crave those — "Without internet"

Nearby Share something from your smartphone to your Chromebook

At present that Nearby Share has been prepare, files can be shared both to and from your Chromebook from your Android Smartphone. That's without the need for an internet connection. Although, every bit noted above, information options can be selected if needed. For this segment, we'll be discussing how to send files to your Chromebook from your phone.

Open upwards the app you lot'd similar to share a file, page, or other shareable content from. For this guide, nosotros've selected YouTube, as shown in the images beneath
Tap or click the share choice in the application to telephone call forrard the sharing menu
Curlicue downwards, if needed, to select the "Nearby Share" option. That will be accompanied by a circular icon with ii lines twisting horizontally around ane some other. It's worth noting that in some applications, on some devices, Nearby Share will have its own menu-like UI at the superlative of the sharing menu
Look for the list of available Nearby Share options to populate and and then select the name given to your Chromebook
After the screen shows "Connecting" for a short flow of time, you'll demand to accept the file or content on your Chromebook. That can be achieved by clicking on the clock in the Chrome Os shelf to access notifications. The sharing UI will be establish in the notification expanse
Your Chromebook will too showcase an pick to deny the receipt of the content.
Finally, once received, you can open the content that's been received from the same location in your Chromebook's UI

What if you desire to use Nearby Share to send something from your Chromebook to a telephone?

Conversely, sharing from your Chromebook requires nigh-identical steps. You can use any app that has a sharing UI with Nearby Share, only every bit with your smartphone. So, for example, you could open the YouTube app on your Chromebook and tap or click to open up the sharing bill of fare. Then you could, in exactly the same gear up of sequences as your smartphone, select Nearby Share and so the device or contact to send content also.

It is worth noting, however, that Nearby Share will demand to be active on the receiving device. The receiving device likewise needs to be gear up to visible in the settings. Additionally, some apps don't necessarily accept a sharing choice but may accept other means to share files and content. For example, Chrome allows users to apply the Chrome UI to share files and pages.

What if you tin can't access this feature simply yet?

Now, if for some reason Nearby Share still doesn't appear on your Chromebook later on the update to Chrome Os 91, at that place is a fix for that. But you volition need to jump through a few hoops.

Open Chrome on your Chromebook and navigate to the "chrome://flags" URL
In the search bar at the top of the page, blazon in "Nearby Sharing" and press enter
The top option shown should show "Nearby Sharing"
Tap or click the driblet-downwardly card next to "Nearby Sharing" and switch the option to "Enabled" from "Default"
Restart your Chromebook

You should apply Nearby Share on your Chromebook and everywhere else

As already mentioned in this walk-through, Nearby Share is like giving your Chromebook superpowers. Namely, by allowing your Chromebook to connect to other devices without an cyberspace connection. But this feature obviously isn't merely for Chrome Os gadgets.

Far across Chromebook, Nearby Share works to give users a way to send nigh anything without those connections available. And that doesn't just piece of work for self-sharing scenarios. And that's because Nearby Share connects to Google Contacts associated with an account. And so information technology tin can exist used to share things with other users who are in your immediate vicinity as well. As long as they're in your contacts and accept the feature agile, this volition be the quickest and easiest fashion to share merely about anything.