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Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

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Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#151

My problem is that all these alternatives require the devices to be on the same local network. One beauty of Airdrop is that it creates and handles that local network automatically under the hood (as far as I understand). So you could be out on a hike with friends and Airdrop something. The workaround I've found after switching to an Android device has been to teather my connection to my friend's device, which ends u…

Feem is the only reliable one I've found that doesn't rely on being on the same local network

It works on iOS and Android

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Both Samsung and Google already did it. My S26 Ultra supports Airdrop and I've tested it by sending and receiving photos with iPad

Is this upstreamed in AOSP?

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#153

My problem is that all these alternatives require the devices to be on the same local network. One beauty of Airdrop is that it creates and handles that local network automatically under the hood (as far as I understand). So you could be out on a hike with friends and Airdrop something. The workaround I've found after switching to an Android device has been to teather my connection to my friend's device, which ends u…

[flagged]

There is an open standard for that which is included in Apple devices since the iPhone 15. google implements it since the pixel 3. It’s called NAN. There are no WiFi cards available for consumers to buy which expose that as part of their firmware sadly. But wpa_supplicant has implemented part of the standard.

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They didn't. Apple contributed the core logic to the Wi-Fi Alliance to build Wi-Fi Aware, which they now also support.

So, should there be apps that use it to transfer files between iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac without requiring them to be on the same network?

No WiFi cards for pcs support it.

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#155

My problem is that all these alternatives require the devices to be on the same local network. One beauty of Airdrop is that it creates and handles that local network automatically under the hood (as far as I understand). So you could be out on a hike with friends and Airdrop something. The workaround I've found after switching to an Android device has been to teather my connection to my friend's device, which ends u…

Speaking of ad-hoc communication channels that do not require shared infrastructure: I like the idea of https://github.com/divan/txqr which sends data using animated QR codes. An ultimate guarantee of physical proximity. The bandwidth is not comparable to WiFi 6, of course, but no OS support is required.

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#156
post #115

Look into Sendme [0] and AltSendme [1] (which is a GUI around the former), they use Iroh [2] which is an open-source encrypted peer-to-peer relay service to send data so there are no limits whatsoever for sending and receiving files, because there's no central server. From my earlier comment about a similar thread a couple days ago about which file sharing apps people use [3]: [0] https://github.com/n0-computer/sendm…

This kind of services that requires the user to share a seed/code to the recipient always seems kinda awkward to me. The code is not simple/short enough to be verbally communicated; If I can send the code, I usually can just send the file.

The code can be easily communicated as a QR code. But a 100 MB file cannot.

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#157
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For true crossplatform p2p the closest I have found is FlyingCarpet [1]. But it is not super reliable or friendly. [1] https://github.com/spieglt/FlyingCarpet

Thanks for the tip. Just tried it and it worked great between MacOS and Android.

Make sure to also try PairDrop https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47935875

It's a pretty polished PWA you don't even need to install as it uses WebRTC P2P streaming in the local network or via TURN over internet.

So a good solution for ad-hoc file sharing without ad-hoc network.

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#160
post #117

I just use send(formerly FF send) and share a URL via chat or whatever: https://github.com/timvisee/send With a CLI tool as well: https://github.com/timvisee/ffsend

Also https://wormhole.app/, but feross is busy witch Socket and the myriad of NPM supply chain attacks nowadays
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