Preface

I think one of the most headache-inducing problems we usually face is file sharing between our different devices: between mobile phones and computers, between mobile phones and iPads, and between computers and computers (with the same or different operating systems). What I used to encounter most often was sharing issues between iOS and macOS. Although Apple has some of its own solutions, they generally have limitations and must meet many conditions (turning on Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi, or being in contacts, or even distance), which led to a period where, even at home, the most common way to transfer text and files between different devices (between iOS and macOS, or macOS and macOS, or macOS and Windows) actually became WeChat's File Transfer Assistant or copying to a NAS shared directory first, and then copying from the shared directory on another device... It was quite uncool and the experience was extremely poor. Later, I was forced to look into some LAN transfer methods, such as LocalSend:

To be fair, it is usable, as long as the devices that need to transfer files to each other within the LAN have the corresponding client installed, and its client supports many platforms:

You just need to do some simple initialization for each client first: such as starting with the system boot, setting the default folder for receiving files, turning on the automatic receive function, etc.:

Then you can select the file (or text) through the send function menu, and click on a discovered device to send it:

On the computer, you can configure settings to choose whether to send to a single person or multiple people at the same time, or even whether to send files or links:

But the problem is, it only works within the LAN! What if I want to transfer files to my home devices when I'm outside? Moreover, this transfer method is not seamless: after all, you have to perform several operations in LocalSend, and you also need to install the client and perform initial configuration first.

Is there a more convenient, basically ready-to-use cross-device file sharing method that is not limited by distance?

Of course there is! Otherwise, I wouldn't have anything to write about in this article!

Cross-device text (and image) copy-paste

Actually, Apple's ecosystem itself is decent. Copying and pasting between devices under the same iCloud account (Universal Clipboard) still works for text, but sometimes it's not that responsive or there is a delay—if I copy here, it might not show up immediately over there. Furthermore, after a certain version, as soon as it detects content in the clipboard, apps on the phone start asking whether to allow pasting, which annoys me to death. There is no system-level switch to turn off this feature globally; you have to turn it off app by app, which is very user-unfriendly. In the end, I gradually stopped using this feature, and text transfer between my phone and computer went back to WeChat's File Transfer Assistant.

But now this situation has changed, thanks to the cross-device feature built into the WeChat Input Method:

Having used it for a few months, the experience has been excellent. Now I rely on it to copy text between Windows, Mac, and iOS. The awkwardness of copying text on a remote device via Jump Desktop but not being able to paste it locally is finally gone. At the same time, copying a link on the computer and then pasting it directly into the browser on the phone works flawlessly.

P.S. At that time, I was already dissatisfied with Sogou Input Method and was planning to replace it on both my phone and computer. Just then, the "cross-device" feature of WeChat Input Method came along—it was like being handed a pillow just as I was getting sleepy.

Currently, client support is also quite good:

Just missing Linux now. Keep up the good work, young man!

Cross-device file transfer

Actually, there are many ways to choose from online for this kind of need, whether web-based or app-based, with the most common being WeChat-based, none of which I will cover this time. What I am introducing this time is not actually an app specifically designed for this kind of need. Its main purpose is actually for virtual networking (and of course, it can also be used for intranet penetration): it is Tailscale, which is based on the WireGuard protocol and used for multi-device virtual networking.

I won't waste time introducing the role of virtual networking here. Interested friends can read my other article:Home Data Center Series: The Application of Virtual Networking Technology. Today, I am mainly introducing the cross-device file transfer feature that comes with Tailscale.

For my daily applications, in order to meet my requirement of being able to access important home devices at any time and from anywhere using my phone or iPad for operations and maintenance (for the reasons behind the choice of O&M methods, please refer to my other article:Home Data Center Series: Operations & Maintenance Tools Edition), my phone, iPad, MacBook, Mac mini, as well as all Windows VMs, QNAP NAS, Linux VMs, two Apple TVs, the ASUS AC86U used for bypass routing, and even my Tencent Cloud host have Tailscale installed:

So for me, Tailscale is already a must-install software, and file transfers between these devices of mine rely on Tailscale's built-in feature. Taking transferring files from my MacBook to my Mac mini as an example to demonstrate the required operations, you only need to:
Right-click on the file and select Share:

Then select Tailscale:

From all of my online devices, select the target you want to transfer to, such as mac-mini in this example:

Success:

At this point, if you go to the "Downloads" folder on the Mac mini, the transferred file is right there:

And with this kind of sharing, no matter where your device is in the world, as long as it can connect to Tailscale, you can transfer files at will. Isn't this much better than those other methods? Moreover, if you have intranet penetration needs (such as connecting a cloud host with your home intranet environment and publishing home applications through the cloud host's reverse proxy), software like Tailscale is already a must-install. Besides, Tailscale is so powerful: virtual networking resources of different users can be shared with each other, and it can also be used to connect your own intranet environments across different network segments (equivalent to using a site-to-site VPN), etc. These features are simply incomparable to simple intranet penetration software... Crucially, these features are available in the free version. Isn't that amazing?

At the same time, the clients supported by Tailscale are already very mature, basically covering all commonly used terminal devices:

Huh, why am I talking more and more? I was only introducing cross-device file transfer this time... Oh well, I'll write a dedicated article to systematically introduce it next time~.

Summary

For now, if it is cross-device copy-pasting of text and images, the best experience should be the "cross-device" feature built into the WeChat Input Method. And if you are using Tailscale, then the most convenient way for cross-device file transfer should be Tailscale.

However, nothing is perfect, and Tailscale has a huge drawback that directly blocks the vast majority of Chinese users who use Apple products: that is, it is no longer available in the Mainland China App Store for iOS and macOS (it seemed to still be there early last year~~~). Therefore, friends who want to experience this feature and use Apple devices need to have advanced skills, namely: having and knowing how to switch to a non-Mainland China Apple ID. Windows and Linux users are not subject to this restriction, though accessing Tailscale's official website also seems to depend on luck, so you might also need advanced skills in bypass routing or "magic" tools...

These days, even if you just want to experience free products from the normal world, you might not be qualified without advanced skills, such as Tailscale, or Cloudflare... So, brothers and sisters, study technology hard, strive to break through the US technological blockade, and win glory for the country!