Transfer files from iPhone to a Windows PC

AirDrop does not work with Windows, and the usual workarounds are a Lightning or USB-C cable, emailing files to yourself, or syncing through a cloud drive. With tosstome you open the same web page on the iPhone and the PC and send directly, without installing anything on either.

Same Wi-Fi

Open toss2.me in a browser on both devices.
If they are on the same Wi-Fi, each one appears in the other's Nearby list within a few seconds.
On the sending device, tap the other device and pick one or more files.
On the receiving device, press Accept, then Save next to each file when it has arrived.

On the iPhone, the file picker offers Photo Library, Take Photo or Video and Choose File, so photos, videos and anything in the Files app can be sent. On the PC, saved files go to your browser's downloads folder.

Different networks

If the PC is on wired Ethernet in another network, or the iPhone is on mobile data:

Open toss2.me on both devices.
On one of them, press Create a code. A 6-digit code appears.
Type the code on the other device and press Join. The two devices now see each other, whatever network each one is on.
Tap the other device, pick files, and accept on the other side.

Every day, from iPhone to the same PC

If one of the devices is a computer you send to often, keep an inbox on it instead. Run this once on the computer (it needs Node.js 22 or newer):

tosstome listen

It prints a link and a QR code, and saves incoming files to a tosstome-inbox folder (change it with --dir). Scan the code with your phone and add the page to your home screen. From then on you only open that page on the phone, pick files, and press Send. Nothing needs to be open on the computer except the running command, and it works from any network. More about the inbox.

Tips

Keep the tab open on the iPhone until the transfer finishes. iOS pauses pages that go to the background.
Photos picked from the photo library may arrive as JPEG rather than HEIC, because Safari can convert them for compatibility.
Long 4K videos are large. If the PC browser struggles to hold them, use the inbox, which writes straight to disk.

Questions

Do I need to install an app?

No. Sending and receiving both work in a normal browser tab. The command line tool is optional and only needed if you want an always-on inbox on a computer.

Does this work like AirDrop on Windows?

In the way that matters: devices on the same Wi-Fi see each other and you tap one to send. It runs in the browser instead of being built into the system, so you open toss2.me on both devices first.

Are my files uploaded or stored anywhere?

No. Files go straight from one device to the other over WebRTC when the networks allow it. When they do not, the file passes through a relay on Cloudflare that forwards the bytes as they arrive and keeps nothing. If the receiver is offline, nothing is sent.

Do both devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi?

No. On the same network they find each other automatically. On different networks, for example a phone on mobile data and a laptop at home, one device creates a 6-digit code and the other types it in.

Is there a file size limit?

tosstome sets no limit. A receiving browser holds the file in memory until you save it, so for files of several gigabytes the command line inbox is the better receiver, because it writes straight to disk.

Last checked 2026-10-28.

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