How to Transfer Files from Mac to Windows

Moving files from a Mac to a Windows PC should be simple, but the two systems don’t share a built-in way to do it. AirDrop only works between Apple devices, and Windows’ Nearby Sharing only works between Windows PCs. So you have to pick a method.

Here are the four that work, what each is good at, and the Mac-specific problems that turn up on the Windows side.

The four ways to do it

Method	Best for	Setup	Size limit
Browser transfer (BoltShare)	One-off transfers, any network	None	None
Network file sharing (SMB)	Regular transfers on the same Wi-Fi	10 minutes, once	None
USB drive	No internet, or a very slow connection	Drive must be formatted right	The drive’s size
Cloud storage (iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive)	Files you want in the cloud anyway	Same account on both	Your storage plan

Browser transfer

Open boltshare.in on the Mac, drop in the files, and open the link on the PC. The download starts straight away and goes to the PC’s Downloads folder. Nothing to install on either computer, and the two machines don’t need to be on the same network. It’s the quickest choice when you just need to move something now. Both computers need to stay on until it finishes.

Network file sharing (SMB)

Built into both systems, and the best option if you move files between the same two computers every week.

1. On the Mac, open System Settings → General → Sharing and turn on File Sharing.
2. Click the ⓘ next to it, then Options, and turn on Share files and folders using SMB. Tick your user account and enter your Mac password when asked.
3. Note the address shown, something like smb://192.168.1.20.
4. On the PC, open File Explorer and type \\192.168.1.20 in the address bar. Sign in with your Mac username and password.

Your shared Mac folders now show up like a network drive. It only works while both computers are on the same local network.

USB drive

The format matters. Drives formatted on a Mac as APFS or Mac OS Extended can’t be read by Windows at all. NTFS drives are read-only on a Mac, so you can’t copy onto them. Use exFAT: both systems can read and write it, and it handles files over 4 GB (the old FAT32 format can’t).

To format a drive as exFAT on the Mac, open Disk Utility, select the drive, click Erase and choose exFAT. This deletes everything on the drive.

Cloud storage

iCloud for Windows, OneDrive and Google Drive all have Mac and PC apps. This is a good choice if you want the files backed up in the cloud anyway. It’s slower than the other methods for big files, because everything is uploaded and then downloaded, and large amounts need a paid plan.

Mac quirks that show up on Windows

Whichever method you use, these are the things that most often confuse people once the files land on the PC.

• Files starting with ._. When a Mac copies to a non-Mac drive or share, it can create hidden companion files like ._photo.jpg that hold Mac-only metadata. Windows shows them as small, useless files. You can delete them safely. Browser transfers don’t create them.
• .DS_Store files. The Mac stores folder view settings in these. They’re harmless on Windows and safe to delete.
• HEIC photos. iPhones and recent Macs save photos as HEIC. Windows 11 can open them once the free HEIF extension from the Microsoft Store is installed. Alternatively, export as JPEG on the Mac first (in Photos: File → Export).
• Characters Windows won’t allow in names. A Mac lets you use : ? * " < > and | in file names, but Windows doesn’t. Files named this way may fail to copy or get renamed. Rename them on the Mac first.
• Apple-only file types. Pages, Numbers and Keynote files won’t open on Windows. Export to Word, Excel or PowerPoint format before sending.

Which should you use?

For a one-off transfer, or when the two computers aren’t on the same network, use the browser. If it’s a weekly routine at home or in the office, set up SMB file sharing once. Reach for an exFAT USB drive when there’s no usable internet connection.

Going the other way? See Windows to Mac file transfer, which has a few differences. And if the Mac files came from an iPhone, our guide to getting iPhone files onto a Windows PC without iCloud covers the phone side.