A Useful Nearby Share Feature Is Making A Comeback On Quick Share

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Ryan Haines / Android Authority

TL;DR

Google will now let you resume Quick Share file transfers over mobile data or Wi-Fi if a direct connection is lost.
This tweak comes via the latest Google Play Services update.
This would be useful if you’re transferring a large file or plenty of files and the connection suddenly cuts out.

Quick Share is a handy tool for transferring files between two nearby Android phones. Now, Google is making the feature more convenient with an update to Google Play Services.

Google recently announced a second February 2025 Google Play Services update (version 25.04), and one new addition is the ability to continue Quick Share transfers over mobile data or Wi-Fi if a direct connection is lost.

It sounds like the sharing process will pick up where it left off rather than forcing you to start over. That would be a handy tweak, especially if you’re transferring a particularly large file or a series of files. However, this won’t be ideal if you’re dealing with a slow Wi-Fi or cellular connection, so I hope Google lets you disable this fallback option.

If this feature sounds familiar, that’s because Samsung’s Quick Share feature lets you transfer files over the internet if a local connection is unstable or unavailable. But we’re nevertheless glad to see Google embrace a similar feature. It also comes months after we first discovered evidence that Google could revive internet-based file transfers in Quick Share. This option was previously present in Nearby Share before Google and Samsung merged their sharing solutions.

You can check out the full changelog for the new Google Play system update below:

Account Management

[Phone] With the new entry point for Family Link in Google Settings, you can now manage your family group more easily.

Developer Services

[Auto] New developer features for Google and third party app developers to support Machine Learning & AI related processes in their apps.

Device Connectivity

[Auto, Phone, TV, Wear] Bug fixes for Device Connections related services.
[Phone] With this new feature, you can continue your Quick Share transfers over Wi-Fi or mobile data even if the sender or receiver loses direct connection.