Google’s AirDrop alternative, Nearby Share has been out for a while on Android devices. However, it had been missing in action on Chromebooks thus far. Fortunately, the company has been testing this feature, and it’s already available to test in Chrome OS 87. If you want to use AirDrop on Chromebook, this is the closest you’ll get, and here’s how to enable Nearby Share in Chrome OS.
How to Enable Nearby Share in Chromebook
As I mentioned above, Nearby Share in Chrome OS isn’t ready for primetime yet. When it does, it should be enabled by default. However, if you can’t wait, or if you just want to test it out to see how well it works, you can enable Nearby Sharing right now on your Chromebook.
Table Of Contents
Turn on Nearby Sharing
There are just a few steps you’ll need to follow.
- Head over to chrome://flags on your Chromebook, and search for ‘Nearby’ in the search box.
- Enable the flag that says ‘Nearby Sharing’. Don’t restart your Chromebook yet.
- Now, search for ‘Sharesheet’ and enable that flag as well.
- Restart your Chromebook.
Use Nearby Share in Chrome OS
Now that the feature is enabled on your Chromebook, here’s how to use it. You can use Nearby Share to share any file from your Chromebook.
- Open the Files app and select the file you want to share. You will see a new ‘Share’ icon on the top of the screen.
- Click on this and you will see Nearby Share in the options.
- Click on it, and your Chromebook will search for, and show, other devices with Nearby Share turned on. You can then choose the device you want to share your file with and that’s all.
List of Popular Chromebooks
Our tutorial will work with all of the following Chromebooks. It is not an exhaustive list and is only here to serve as an example.
| Brand Name | Model Name |
|---|---|
| Acer | Acer Chromebook 315 |
| Acer Chromebook CB315-3H-C2C3 | |
| Acer Chromebook CB315-3HT-C296 | |
| Acer Chromebook CB315-3H-C4QE | |
| Acer Chromebook CB315-2HT-44MJ | |
| Acer Chromebook CB315-3HT-C3J0 | |
| Acer Chromebook CB315-3H-C5JS | |
| Acer Chromebook CB315-3HT-C6XF | |
| Acer Chromebook CB315-3H-C36A | |
| Acer Chromebook CB315-3HT-C16B | |
| Acer Chromebook 314 | |
| Acer Chromebook CB314-1H-C34N | |
| Acer Chromebook CB314-1H-C66Z | |
| Acer Chromebook CB314-1H-C02A | |
| Acer Chromebook 311 | |
| Acer Chromebook CB311-9HT-C4UM | |
| Acer Chromebook CB311-9H-C12A | |
| Acer Chromebook 311 - CP311-3H-K5GD | |
| Acer Chromebook CB311-9H-C7C8 | |
| Acer Chromebook Spin 713 - CP713-2W-79H3 | |
| Acer Chromebook 512 - C851-C1J7 | |
| Acer Chromebook 311 Touch - CB311-9HT-C4UM | |
| Acer Chromebook Spin 311 - CP311-3H-K5GD | |
| Acer Chromebox CXI3 - CXI3-I7V16GNKM4 | |
| Acer Chromebox CXI3 - CXI3-4GKM4 | |
| Acer Chromebox CXI3 - CXI3-4GNKM4 | |
| Acer Chromebook Spin 13 - CP713-1WN-51EA | |
| Acer Chromebook Spin 713 - CP713-2W-79H3 | |
| Acer Chromebook Enterprise Spin 13 - CP713-1WN-76M7 | |
| Chromebook Spin 13 - CP713-1WN-813G | |
| CB714-1W-32D4 | |
| CB714-1W-525Q | |
| Acer Chromebook Spin 514 | |
| Acer Chromebook 311 C733-C0FK | |
| Acer Chromebook CB314-1H-P7ZZ | |
| ASUS | ASUS Chromebook C204EE |
| ASUS Chromebook C403NA | |
| ASUS Chromebook Flip C214MA | |
| ASUS Chromebook C203XA | |
| ASUS Chromebook C202XA | |
| ASUS Chromebook 14 C425TA | |
| ASUS Chromebook Flip C434TA | |
| ASUS Chromebook Flip C433TA | |
| ASUS Chromebook Flip C302CA | |
| ASUS Chromebook Flip C436FA | |
| ASUS Chromebook C202SA | |
| ASUS Chromebook C423NA | |
| ASUS Chromebook C523NA | |
| ASUS Chromebook C223NA | |
| ASUS Chromebook Flip C101PA | |
| Google Pixelbook Go GA00521-US | |
| Google Pixelbook Go GA00519-US | |
| Google Pixelbook Go GA00526-US | |
| Google Pixelbook Go GA00124-US | |
| Google Pixelbook Go GA00519-UK | |
| Google Pixelbook Go GA00523-US | |
| Google Pixel Slate C1A | |
| HP | HP Chromebook - 14a-na0003tu |
| HP Chromebook 11A G6 EE | |
| HP Chromebook x360 12b-ca0010TU | |
| HP Chromebook - 14a-na0002tu | |
| HP Chromebook - 11-v010nr | |
| HP Chromebook - 15-de0010nr | |
| HP Chromebook - 14-db0030nr | |
| HP Chromebook - 14-db0020nr | |
| HP Chromebook - 15-de0015nr | |
| HP Chromebook - 14a-na0097nr | |
| HP Chromebook - 14a touch optional | |
| HP Chromebook - 14-db0098nr | |
| HP Chromebook 11a-nb0047nr | |
| HP Chromebook 11a 11a-na0010nr | |
| HP Chromebook 11a 11a-na0060nr | |
| HP Chromebook 14A G5 | |
| HP Chromebook Enterprise 14A G5 | |
| HP Chromebook 11A G6 Education Edition PC | |
| HP Chromebook 14A G5 | |
| HP Chromebook 11A G8 Education Edition | |
| HP Chromebook x360 11 G3 EE | |
| HP Pro c640 Chromebook | |
| HP Chromebook 11A G8 Education Edition | |
| HP Chromebook 14A G5 Notebook PC | |
| HP Pro c640 Chromebook | |
| HP Elite c1030 Chromebook | |
| HP Pro c640 Chromebook Enterprise | |
| HP Elite c1030 Chromebook Notebook PC | |
| HP Pro c645 Chromebook | |
| HP Chromebook x360 12b-ca0010nr | |
| HP Chromebook x360 - 14c-ca0065nr | |
| HP Chromebook x360 - 14b-ca0010nr | |
| HP Chromebook x360 14a-ca0097nr | |
| HP Chromebook x360 14c-ca0085nr | |
| HP Chromebook x360 - 14ct-ca000 | |
| HP Chromebook 11 G1 Notebook PC 1NW60UT | |
| HP Chromebook - 14-ca020nr | |
| HP Chromebook 11 G6 Education Edition 3PD94UT | |
| HP Chromebook x360 11 G1 EE - Customizable | |
| Lenovo | Chromebook Duet (10.1") 2 in 1 |
| Lenovo 10e Chromebook Tablet | |
| 500e Chromebook 2nd Gen (11.6") Intel | |
| 300e Chromebook 2nd Gen (11.6") | |
| 100e Chromebook 2nd Gen (11.6") | |
| 14e Chromebook (14") | |
| Chromebook C340 (11") | |
| Chromebook C330 (11.6") | |
| Yoga Chromebook (15.6") | |
| Chromebook 3 (14”) | |
| Lenovo Chromebook S345 (14”) | |
| Chromebook Flex 3i (11”) | |
| Chromebook Flex 5 (13”) | |
| 100e Chromebook 2nd Gen (11.6”) AMD | |
| 300e Chromebook 2nd Gen (11.6”) AMD | |
| Samsung | Samsung Galaxy Chromebook |
| Samsung Chromebook Plus (LTE) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 | |
| Samsung Chromebook 4+ | |
| Samsung Chromebook 4 | |
| Samsung Chromebook Plus (V2) | |
| Samsung Chromebook 3 | |
| Samsung Chromebook Plus |
Easily Share Chromebook Files Wirelessly
Nearby Share is a great feature to have on your Chromebook. It lets you share files at a faster speed than Bluetooth, and you don’t need to constantly email files to yourself. If you haven’t used Nearby Share yet, you should definitely try it out now that you know how to enable it and use it on your Chrome OS device.
So, are you going to give Nearby Share a shot? Or are you using other Chrome OS apps to share files? Let us know in the comments.
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