How to Share Files Between Computers on the Same Network

Easily transfer files over a network with another PC or Mac

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Megaera Lorenz, PhD

Last Updated: July 22, 2026 Fact Checked

• Windows
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• Mac
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• Sharing Between PC and Mac
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• Troubleshooting
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• Video

|Show more |Show less

If you want to transfer files between two Windows or Mac computers, network file sharing is a great option. It requires a little setup, but once you have the right settings enabled, it’s easy to share from PC to PC, Mac to Mac, or even between a PC and a Mac! In this article, we’ll explain how to set up network file sharing and walk you through common troubleshooting steps.

Sharing Files Between Computers on a Network

• In Windows, you’ll need to turn on file sharing, then select who can access the file or folder you want to share.
• On a Mac, set up File Sharing in System Settings.
• You can also share files between PC & Mac using SMB.

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

Windows

1. 
   1
   Enable network discovery. First, open File Explorer (press Win + E) and navigate to "Network." It's an option in the panel on the left side of the window.

   • If network discovery is off, a banner will pop up saying “Network discovery is turned off.” Click the banner, then click Turn on network discovery and file sharing.
   • It’s best to do this while logged in with an administrator account. If you’re not, you might be prompted to provide an administrator password when you try to enable network discovery and file sharing.
2. 
   2
   Right-click the file you want to share. Navigate to the file or folder you want to share and right-click on it. A menu will pop up.
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3. 
   3
   Hover your mouse over Give access to and select Specific People. The Give access to menu option will prompt another menu to open on the side. Click Specific People in the submenu.

   • A new window with the names of computers on your network will appear.
4. 
   4
   Click to select the name of the computer you want to share with. Once the file or folder is shared, the other person will find it in File Explorer > Network. They will also have to enable network discovery on their computer.

   • You can also select Everyone if you want to share the file or folder with everyone on the network.
   • To stop sharing, right-click the file or folder, then go to Give access to > Remove/Restrict access.
     • If you don’t see the Give access to option, you might need to click Show more options first.
   • If you’re having trouble sharing files or folders, jump to the Troubleshooting section.
   • There are many more ways to transfer files, including using a removable drive, wirelessly transferring, and sharing via Cloud services.
5. 5
   Drag files from the shared folder to the destination folder. Once you’ve opened the shared folder on the other PC, you can drag and drop or copy and paste shared files from the shared folder to your local hard drive.
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Section 2 of 4:

Mac

1. 1
   Open your Mac’s System Settings. To share files over a network on a Mac, you’ll need to enable File Sharing. To begin, click the

   

   Apple menu at the top left corner of the screen, then click System Settings.
2. 2
   Click General. It’s near the top of the left sidebar.
3. 3
   Select Sharing. You might need to scroll down to find it.
4. 4
   Click the

   

   Info button next to File Sharing. It’s at the top of the menu, under the Content & Media header.
5. 5
   Toggle on File Sharing. It’s at the top of the menu.
6. 6
   Enable Full Disk Access (optional). If you want other users on the network to have full access to your Mac’s hard drive, toggle this option on. This may be necessary if you want other users to be able to access all the folders on your Mac.
7. 7
   Select the folder(s) you want to share. To share a specific folder, click + at the bottom left corner of the Shared Folders menu. Navigate to the folder you want to share, then click Open.

   • The Public Folder for your user account is shared by default.
   • To stop sharing a folder, select it and click the - at the bottom of the Shared Folders menu.
8. 8
   Choose who has access to a shared folder. By default, anyone who is part of your computer’s Users & Groups will have access to the folder. To share with other people on your network:

   • Select the folder you want to share.
   • Click + at the bottom of the Users menu.
   • Select a user from Users & Groups or Contacts and click Select. Depending on how your computer is set up, you might also be able to select from Network Users or Network Groups.
     • You may need to create a new user account for the person you want to share with (they’ll log in with the username and password you created from their computer when they access the shared folder). Check out this guide from Apple to learn how.
   • To allow guest access for anyone on your network, right-click or Ctrl-click the shared folder under the Shared Folders header and select Advanced Options. Make sure “Allow guest users” is toggled on, then click OK.
9. 9
   Select what kind of access you want other users to have. Next to each user or group in the Users menu, use the dropdown to select their access permissions. The options are Read Only (users can view the contents of the folder but can’t add anything new to the folder), Read & Write (users can view folder contents and add new files to the folder), and Write Only (Drop Box) (users can add files to the folder but can’t see what’s in the folder).

   • When you’re finished, click Done to close the File Sharing menu.
10. 10
    Access the contents of the shared folder from another Mac. To access shared folders from another Mac on the network, open Finder and click Network in the left sidebar, under Locations. Click the name of the Mac you want to connect with and select how you want to connect.

    • If guest access is permitted, you can select the Guest option.
    • If you’re one of the allowed users or groups for the shared folder, select Registered User. Log in with the username and password for the account you want to use.
    • You can also select the option to Use an Apple Account. It must be an Apple Account that’s connected to an account in Users & Groups on both computers.
    • Select the shared folder you want to access.
    • If you can’t find the other computer in Finder, click Go in the menu bar at the top of the screen when you’re in Finder or the Desktop. Select Connect to Server. Enter the network address for the computer you’re trying to connect to.
      • To find your Mac’s network address, go back to Apple menu > System Settings > General > Sharing and select
        
        Info next to “File Sharing.” You’ll find the network address in small print under the “File Sharing” header at the very top of the window.
11. 11
    Drag and drop files from the shared folder onto the other Mac. If the other user has full access to the shared folder, they should be able to drag and drop or copy and paste files from the shared folder onto their local hard drive.
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Section 3 of 4:

Sharing Between PC and Mac

1. 1
   From Mac to PC To share from your Mac to a PC, you’ll need to turn on SMB (Server Message Block) sharing. Follow these steps:

   • Go to Apple menu > System Settings > General > Sharing and click
     
     the Info button next to “File Sharing.”
   • Make sure “File Sharing” is toggled on. Make note of your computer’s network address in the fine print at the top of the window.
   • Click Options.
   • Enable “Share files and folders using SMB.”
   • Check the box next to any user on your Mac that you want to be able to share files with a PC. You’ll see this list under the Windows File Sharing header. Enter the password for each user to confirm.
   • Click Done, then click Done again to close the File Sharing window.
   • Click Network in the left menu bar.
   • Select your current network connection (e.g., your Wi-Fi network).
   • Click Details and then select WINS in the left sidebar.
   • Enter the Workgroup name used by the Windows computer, then click OK.
     • The Windows user can find their workgroup name by pressing Windows key + r and entering sysdm.cpl, then pressing Enter. The workgroup name will be displayed in the System Properties window.
   • Tell the Windows user the network address you noted for your Mac. You’ll also need to create a user account for the Windows user on your Mac so they can log in to access your shared files. Follow the steps in the Mac section to set up their sharing permissions.
   • The Windows user can access your shared folder by entering the network address you gave them into the navigation bar at the top of File Explorer.
2. 2
   From PC to Mac On a Windows PC, follow the steps in the Windows section above to set up file sharing. Then, you’ll need to provide the following information to the Mac user so they can access your shared files:

   • Your computer’s workgroup name. You can find this by pressing Windows key + r and entering sysdm.cpl, then pressing Enter. The workgroup name will be displayed in the System Properties window.
   • The username and password they will need to access the shared files on your computer.
   • Your computer’s local IP address.
   • Once the Mac user has this information, they can open Finder and click Go at the top of the screen, then select Connect to Server > Browse. Have them double-click the Windows computer in the browser and select Connect As, then enter the credentials you gave them to log in.
     • They can also enter the network address you gave them in the Connect to Server menu, in the following format: smb://IPaddress/sharename. (Replace “sharename” with the name of the shared file or folder.)
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Section 4 of 4:

Troubleshooting

1. 1
   Make sure both computers are up to date. An outdated operating system can cause network sharing issues. Check if any updates are available for your Windows or Mac computer.
2. 2
   Ensure that both computers are on the same Wi-Fi network. If your computers are connected to different networks, they won’t be able to detect each other. Check your Wi-Fi settings and make sure they’re on the exact same network.

   • If your router offers both 2.4 and 5 GHz connections, make sure both computers are on the same band. One of the networks will likely have “5GHz” in the name.
3. 3
   Set your Wi-Fi network to private (Windows). When you first connect to any network on Windows, it will be set to “public” by default. However, file sharing might not work unless you change it to private. To do so:

   • Go to the Start menu and open Settings > Network & internet.
   • Select Wi-Fi and click your network.
   • Under Network profile type, select Private network.
4. 4
   On your PC, turn off password-protected sharing. Password-protected sharing may be interfering with your ability to share files in Windows. To turn it off:

   • Go to Start > Settings and search for manage advanced sharing settings. Select Manage advanced sharing settings from the results.
   • Under Private networks, make sure “Network discovery” and “File and printer sharing” are turned on.
   • Under All networks, make sure “Password protected sharing” is turned off.
5. 5
   Make sure sharing services are set to start automatically in Windows. If sharing services aren’t automatically enabled, you might run into problems. Here’s how to make sure the appropriate services are turned on:

   • Press Windows key + r and type in services.msc. Press Enter.
   • Find each of the following services, then right-click them and select Properties > Start and set Startup type to Automatic:
     • Function Discovery Provider Host
     • Function Discovery Resource Publication
     • SSDP Discovery
     • UPnP Device Host
6. 6
   Open TCP Port 445 on your Windows computer. Your firewall could be blocking file sharing, especially if you’re trying to share between a Windows PC and a Mac using SMB. You can avoid this by making sure TCP Port 445 is open. To do this:

   • Open the Start menu. Search for and open Windows Defender Firewall.
   • Click Advanced Settings.
   • Select Inbound Rules in the left menu.
   • Click New Rule.
   • Select Port > Next.
   • Select TCP and enter 445 into the Specific local ports text field.
   • Select Allow the connection > Next.
   • Make sure all the network profile options are selected, then click Next.
   • Give the rule a name like “SMB Port 445,” then click Finish.
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