Transfer without internet, using your hotspot.
Turn on your phone’s hotspot and connect the other device to that Wi-Fi: both are on the same network, yours alone, and a local transfer app like GreySpace links them directly. Files go from one device to the other, not through the internet. It’s the answer when there’s no Wi-Fi (a shoot, a train, a country house) or when the Wi-Fi keeps devices apart (hotel, office).
Four steps, one minute.
The phone sharing its connection can be one of the two devices in the transfer, or a third one.
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Turn on the hotspot
- iPhone: Settings, Personal Hotspot, then turn on “Allow Others to Join”. The network name and password are shown.
- Android: Settings, Network & internet, Hotspot & tethering, Wi-Fi hotspot. Names vary a little by brand.
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Connect the other device to that Wi-Fi
On the computer or the other phone, pick that network in the Wi-Fi list, like any other. On a Windows PC, a Wi-Fi you join for the first time is set as “Public”: if the phone can’t see the PC afterwards, allow GreySpace through the firewall, on public networks too.
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Open GreySpace on both
The devices show up on their own, or tap “Détecter” (Detect). On iPhone, keep the app open, on screen, for the whole transfer.
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Send
Pick your files, tap the device. Each file only appears on the other side once it’s complete and checked.
People often ask
For anything else, email us.
Does it use my mobile data?
Not the transfer: GreySpace sends your files from one device to the other over the hotspot’s Wi-Fi, without sending them through the internet. But the connected computer also uses your hotspot to go online (updates, cloud sync, open tabs), and that does count against your plan.
The transfer is slow. What can I do?
Check the hotspot’s band: 2.4 GHz is much slower than 5 GHz. On iPhone 12 and later, the hotspot’s “Maximize Compatibility” option limits it to 2.4 GHz: leave it off, unless an older computer can’t see the network. And keep the devices close to each other. All the settings to go faster.
Do I need a mobile signal (4G, 5G)?
Not for the transfer, which stays between your devices. But on iPhone, Apple asks for Cellular Data to be turned on for Personal Hotspot to work.
The other person doesn’t have the app. Does it still work?
Yes. Connect their phone to your hotspot, then have them scan GreySpace’s QR code: they receive your files in their browser, with nothing to install.
The transfer keeps dropping (“Connection lost”). Why?
On Android, check the Wi-Fi of the phone that shares. If it’s on and connected (home router, public Wi-Fi), the hotspot follows that Wi-Fi’s channel and restarts every time the phone switches access points: connected devices lose the network for a few seconds, and the transfer drops. Turn off the Wi-Fi of the phone that shares: the hotspot stays on, and it stops moving.
See also
Didn’t find your answer? Write to [email protected] or drop by Discord with your two devices, your network (home router, office, hotspot) and the message GreySpace shows.
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