AirDroid – Remote control of Android from a computer

We checked AirDroid  some time ago, when the functionality of the program was simpler. Then we limited ourselves to the process of transferring files between the computer and Android, but now we will look at all the functions of the service, through which you can access the basic functions of the phone or tablet directly from the computer.

Previously it was an internet service, now available  at http://web.airdroid.com/  . It is quite possible to use them, although most basic options are only available in the program itself. This is a tool, not an internet version, which I recommend.

The AirDroid installation file for Windows or OS X can (and should) be downloaded from the  official site  . Depending on the operating system, clicking the green “Download” button will prompt you to download the PC or Mac version.

When installing problems should not appear – the “package” does not go to the junk software.

Then open AirDroid and click “Register”. Think about your nickname and password and enter your email address.

Now just log in to the newly created account. Don’t forget to select the “Stay logged in” check box to avoid having to log in again after closing each program.

On the Android device, install the AirDroid app  from Google Play  . Log in to your account, thereby synchronizing your smartphone or tablet with the computer.

Now your device will appear in the device list on your device list.

AirDroid will immediately prompt you to activate the display of notifications from your smartphone on your computer in real time.

You will be moved to “Notification Access” and there you should select “Notification mirroring service”.

Also go to Settings → Security → Device administrators to activate AirDroid. If you are only interested in sending documents, photos, videos, music and other things, you can not do it, but if you also want to manage your smartphone from a computer, you must grant access to the device.

And so we went to the most interesting: what can AirDroid? Let’s see. In the side menu there are 5 items: “File sending”, “Notifications”, “SMS”, “Call history” and “Contacts”. Maybe start in order.

In “File Transfer” select your device and you will see something like a correspondence window. Below is a list of options, and the first sends regular files. By clicking on it, you can choose several documents, videos, photos etc. and send them to your smartphone or tablet.

The next item is sending folders. It works similarly, but instead of files, you can select several folders and send them to Android.

The third option (scissors icon) was very useful to me. With it, you can take a screenshot of any part of the screen and transfer it to a mobile device.

Then appears “Recycle Bin” – clearing all logs, i.e. deleting the history of sent messages and files.

By the way, thanks to AirDroid you can send text messages between your computer and Android.

On the right there are 3 more icons. By clicking on extreme (“Binoculars”) you can activate the functions “AirME” and “AirMirror”. The first is to manage the smartphone from the computer keyboard, and the second is the complete Android Device Manager on the computer (requires  Ruth right  for wireless connection or use  USB debugging enabled  ).

Nearby are the usual “Copy” and “Paste” buttons.

All transferred to an Android smartphone or tablet are already on the way «airdroid» → «transfer». From there, you can move them to the selected location on the memory card.

But how do files transfer in reverse order? To do this for a few minutes, forget about the computer and pick up the smartphone.

Click “Transfer Files” and then select “AirDroid on your computer”.

You can send documents, send back received files, write a message and take a picture on your camera and attach them.

It is worth mentioning that the free version of the program has no restrictions when all devices are connected to the same network. But here the limit of remote transfer is limited to 200 MB. The size of each file should not exceed 30 MB, and only 2 devices can be connected.

However, you can click the “Bonus” label and slightly extend the capabilities of AirDroid and free for a period of 14 days. Or you can pay $ 2 a month and get the maximum set of options.

Let’s return to the program menu. The next item is “Notifications” and all alerts displayed on the smartphone are displayed there. Unwanted, you can just block it.

Then come “SMS”. Here you can see your messages and receive them on your computer! But they cannot be deleted because AirDroid does not support deleting SMS on Android 4.4 or later. If you want, you can do it with AirMirror.

The fourth menu button is Call History. Unfortunately, “forcing” the phone to ring, like sending messages, you will not succeed.

The last element is “Contacts”.

But the ability to quickly manage notifications, SMSs and calls is really cool.

Imagine the situation: your smartphone is not known where in the other room and you are called, but in order not to look for it, you can answer the call from the computer, reset the connection or simply reduce the volume of the call.

Similarly with SMSs and notifications. You don’t have to take your smartphone every time, now all information will automatically appear in the right corner of the screen.

In addition, the AirDroid functionality on Android has extended many additional features. For example, there is a  cliner  , something like  Explorer  , application manager and the ability to create  a Wi-Fi or USB modem access point  .

But what is really cool – you can track and lock your device in case of loss. That is why we have provided AirDroid with access to administration.

Have a program and settings. You can activate the automatic launch of AirDroid every time you turn on the computer, select the folders in which you want to save the received documents, audio and photo / video, configure notifications, remote sending and display of contacts.

There are also many points in the application settings, but many of them duplicate those from the program. You can enable encryption of the outgoing zip archive, keeping the screen at all times, to send error reports to AirDroid developers providing access to location data and more. We won’t think about the settings for long – you can explore them yourself.

By the way, I forgot to say about the floating icon, which after clicking with the mouse quickly turns into a panel with all the main functions.

Now we need to summarize some results. AirDroid has evolved over the years from development enthusiasts to a successful project with many possibilities. Developers have been able to intelligently implement file transfer and remote control of mobile devices from a computer, as well as add many cool tokens that many of them will like. In general, AirDroid definitely deserves your attention and for such software it is not even a shame to pay an additional 2 bucks a month for using the maximum set of functions.