PairOnce

ANDROID → MAC · FILES AND PHOTOS

Transfer files from Android to a Mac without a cable

Open paironce.com in Chrome on the Mac, scan the QR code with the Android phone’s camera, then tap Choose files on the phone and pick what to send.

On the Mac, click Accept, then Save: the file lands in Downloads, sent straight between the two devices and encrypted end to end.

Use Chrome, Edge or Firefox on the Mac for files over 50 MB; they can take up to 2 GB per file.

Step by step

  1. Open PairOnce on the Mac. Go to paironce.com in Chrome, Edge or Safari. It shows a QR code and a six-digit code.
  2. Connect the Android phone. Point the phone’s camera or Google Lens at the QR code and open the link, or open paironce.com on the phone and type the six-digit code. Check that both screens show the same safety code, then click Approve device on the Mac. A page opened from a QR code or link asks you to confirm first: tap Connect.
  3. Choose the files on the phone. Tap Choose files and pick photos, videos or documents from the gallery or Files. You can pick several at once.
  4. Accept and save on the Mac. Click Accept for each file, then Save. Check it in Downloads and click I saved it so the phone knows it arrived.

Why not Quick Share or a cable?

Quick Share and Nearby Share work between Android and Windows, not with a Mac. A USB cable needs a transfer app on the Mac, because macOS does not open an Android phone like a drive. PairOnce needs only the two browsers.

Samsung Galaxy phones

A Galaxy phone is an Android phone, so every step above works the same, in Chrome on the phone. Samsung Smart Switch is made for backups and moving to a new phone, not for sending one file; PairOnce needs no app on the phone and none on the Mac.

Limits, and when this is not the right tool

  • A file can be up to 2 GB over a direct connection when the receiving browser saves straight to disk (Chrome or Edge on a computer or Android, Firefox on a computer, Safari on iOS 26 or later). Other browsers take up to 50 MB per file and hold 100 MB of received files at a time.
  • Files over 2 GB need PairOnce Pro on one of the two devices. Then a file can be up to 10 GB, received the same way, and the relay carries 5 GB a month.
  • When the two devices cannot reach each other directly, an encrypted relay carries the data. Each device can send and receive 200 MB a month that way, counted together; a direct connection has no monthly limit.
  • Both pages must stay open until everything has arrived: keep the phone’s screen on and the browser in front.
  • PairOnce moves things between two devices that are open at the same time. It is not cloud storage: nothing waits on a server for later.

Other ways to do it

  • A USB cable with a transfer app. Reliable for huge folders, but macOS needs a separate app to read an Android phone, and you need the right cable.
  • Google Drive or Google Photos. Fine if you already back up there; it uploads to the cloud first and downloads again, which is slow for big videos.
  • LocalSend. Free and open source. It mainly works through its app on both devices, on the same network; its web version also stays on one network and does not work with the app yet.
  • Email to yourself. Works for a few photos; attachments are limited to about 25 MB.

Common questions

Are photos and videos sent at full quality?

Yes. PairOnce sends the file as it is, byte for byte, and checks it on arrival. Nothing is recompressed.

Do the phone and the Mac need the same Wi-Fi?

No, but it is fastest that way. On different networks PairOnce often connects directly anyway; if not, it uses an encrypted relay with a monthly allowance of 200 MB per device.

Does it work from the Mac to the Android phone too?

Yes. Choose files on the Mac and accept them on the phone; they are saved to the phone’s Downloads.