Transfer files from Windows to Mac via File Sharing

Both Windows and Mac has the built-in file sharing support allows other devices to connect to our PC or Mac for file exchange. For instance, you can transfer files between PC and iPhone iPad using Windows File Sharing. But if you want to share files and documents between a PC and Mac, it would be much easier to turn on the File Sharing on Mac, connect PC to Mac SMB shares and transfer files between them. Check out details as follows.

Step 1. Turn on File Sharing on Mac

First of all, make sure both Windows PC and Mac are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Otherwise you can’t turn on File sharing on Mac or connect PC to Mac file sharing server.

From the top Apple menu bar, click the Apple icon, choose System Settings from the drop-down menu. Click General > Sharing from the new window that pops up. In the Sharing screen, click to enable File Sharing.

Step 2. Connect PC to Mac File Sharing

On your Windows PC, you don’t have to install any SMB client or software. To connect to Mac SMB file sharing server, press the Windows+R key combination to open the Run dialog. Type in the Mac SMB server address behind double backslashes, such as \\192.168.1.2, then click OK button. An authentication dialog pops up. Type in the Mac account username and its password to connect.

Alternatively, open Windows File Explorer on your PC, type your \\Mac-ip or \\mac-name in the address bar and press Enter to connect. Again you’ll be required to type in your Mac username and password before connection.

Find Mac IP address

There are various ways you can find the IP address of your Mac computer. You can find your Mac IP address from the System Preferences or Terminal app. You can also find your Mac’s IP address by clicking on the Wi-Fi icon while holding down the Option key on your keyboard. When you do this, you will see a drop-down menu that displays additional information about your Wi-Fi connection, including your IP address, as well as other network-related details. Simply look for the “IP address” entry in the menu, and you should see your IP address displayed next to it.

Step 3. Share files between PC and Mac wirelessly

You will then be able to browse to Mac public folders and other shared folders in Window File Explorer, just like how you can access local hard drives. To transfer files from PC to Mac, simply copy files from your hard drive to the shared folders on Mac. To copy files from Mac to PC, make sure the files you want to share are already saved in the public folders on Mac, then copy them from Mac shared folder to folders on your PC.