For many Android smartphone users, sending documents and files over the internet is not particularly difficult. The android GUI (graphic user interface) is easy to use and efficient for initiating the different features required to get those files and documents across to friends, family members, business associates, and whoever else they need to go to.
However, like many other smartphone users, Android users also have to deal with the frustration that comes with a slow upload. Android users like yourself also hold their heads thinking about the many other things they could be doing instead of monitoring a file transfer process that seems to go on forever.
This article is all about giving tips regarding the nature of mobile file transfers. It contains guidelines on how to speed up file transfer and also provides answers to questions like “why is my download speed so slow” and “why is my upload speed so slow.”
This article also offers tips on how to send large files from android in an efficient manner that does not require you to tweak the firmware of your Android phone using suspicious APK files from God-knows-where.
Disclaimer: This article does not consider nearby sharing options such as Bluetooth, Xender, USB, and the rest. Instead, all we are concerned about are the dynamics of sending files, particularly large files, over the internet.
So, first, let us start with answering the question about why sending large files on Android drags on and on and on.
Why is My Upload Speed So Slow
If you are using an Android smartphone, it is not only your upload speed that is slow: the same can be said of your download speed. But if it is any consolation (it should not), other mobile OSs (operating systems) face the same problem. There might be slight differences in file transfer speeds between these OSs, but there are many factors in the mobile OS technosphere that affect file transfer speeds.
Regardless of these factors that define mobile OS ecosystems, there are 5 major reasons it takes so long for your smartphone to get something across the internet.
1. Your Internet Provider is Responsible
Sending something over the internet requires an internet connection. Many times, the time it takes for your smartphone to process the content of a file before it sends it over the internet is not the question. Instead, it is the strength of the internet connection that makes all the difference between rabbit-fast transfer speeds and turtle-slow transfer speeds.
So, if you notice that your Android smartphone takes too long to send a file of, say, 1 GB over the internet, first, make an appointment with your internet service provider (ISP). Maybe your ISP has placed a limit on your data usage or overhauled their cables and routers so that your connection only uses lower bandwidth.
In any case, if you notice that your file transfer speeds are slower than normal, contact your ISP first before anything else.
2. Your Firmware is Outdated, or Your Router Drivers are Outdated
Say you have contacted your ISP provider and everything is fine on their end, what do you blame next for your slow file transfer speeds? That is easy—your devices. Specifically, you blame the firmware or the drivers of your router. Until proven otherwise, these aspects of your file transfer life can also disturb the transfer process.
First, the firmware: in simple terms, it is the software on your smartphone that allows the different parts of the phone, software and hardware inclusive, to connect and let you use them. Expectedly, the internet-contacting elements are also included here. Thus, if your firmware is outdated or your version of Android is similarly out-of-date, your phone might take considerably longer to send things over the internet.
Likewise, the drivers of your router might be obsolete and require new updates. Until you initiate these updates for your smartphone’s firmware and OS version, not to mention your router drivers, you will continue to experience stretched-out file transfer sessions.
3. The Firewall on Your Phone is Keeping Everything Locked In
Android phones, like desk and laptop computers, also have firewalls. As the name suggests, a firewall offers protection against unwanted virtual guests that could constitute a threat to the integrity of your mobile phone system.
Now, phone makers don’t build in firewalls on Android smartphones. However, numerous third-party apps end up doing the same thing as firewalls—that is, locking in the delicate parts of your phone’s firmware and protecting it. VPN (virtual private network) apps are good examples of these third-party apps.
So, if these apps are running on your phone, you might need to suspend them temporarily before you can send large files over the internet.
4. Your Network Pathways are Clogged with Too Many Connected Devices
Have you ever connected to the internet using public WiFi? What did you observe about the internet speed? If you are like most internet users who have relied on public WiFis to surf the net, you did not enjoy the experience due to the slow, jerky, and fluctuating nature of the network.
The same principle applies when there are too many devices connected to the network you are using to browse. As we just highlighted, if you are connected to a public network, forget about speed and promptness when you try to send large files over the internet.
Similarly, if your private network has 3 to 5 devices connected to it, either you endure the long hours needed to send 1 GB of data over the internet or you reduce the burden on the network.
5. Malware is Choking Your Internet Connection
There is malware for everything. Those little guys are generally designed to steal user information or corrupt files, but they usually end up doing more. All you need to know about their effects on upload or download speeds is that once they get into your device, they don’t stop working and this puts a strain on everything, network operations, firmware recall processes, you name it.
So, these 5 factors and a few others are normally involved in delaying your file transfer processes. They are not excessively complex things that cannot be fixed and your ‘normal’ file transfer speeds restored.
But, rather than simply restoring the normal file transfer speeds, there are many ways you can speed up file transfer (over the internet) using your Android smartphone. You don’t have to learn and implement long coding sequences, not when all-around file-sharing services like FileWhopper are on hand. But the bit about using this particular service will come later.
How to Speed Up File Transfer
As we stated earlier, you can speed up file transfers on android using a variety of methods. You can simply flip the coin on the factors we highlighted as responsible for slow file transfer speeds. Thus, to speed up file transfer whenever you use your android smartphone to send large files, you can do the following:
1. Change Your ISP
Changing your ISP is a reasonable course of action to take if you find that the conditions/operations of your ISP are responsible for slow speeds. Of course, even if your ISP is not to blame, there are differences between ISPs in terms of the quality and speed of internet connections. So, explore your options and make your choice.
2. Update Your Phone’s Firmware, OS Version, and Router Drivers
Updating OS and router drivers is likely the easiest way to break free of sluggish file transfers over the internet. Smartphone makers generally provide regular updates so that your devices can stay relevant and not cause you too many headaches. So, make a point to update your Android OS to the latest version, the same with your network router.
3. Pause or Terminate Firewall Operations that Obstruct Speedy Internet Connections
Firewalls are great, but they are even better when you get them to do what they are supposed to be doing. So, if you find that one of the apps on your phone has started to limit your access to the internet (leading to slow transfer speeds), the only thing you can do is shut down that aspect of the app. This is common with VPNs, so you need to pay more attention to how those things run.
4. Reduce the Number of Devices Connected to Your Private Network
We have already provided good examples of the effect of running multiple devices on a single network. So, the way out of this problem is straightforward: reduce the number of devices using the same network as your smartphone (whenever you are sending large files over the internet).
You should also terminate the operation of apps that cause too much traffic on your network, especially while you are uploading to or downloading from the internet. Also, hold off on watching videos at the same time you’re sharing files—those things cost a lot of connection juice and slow down networks.
5. Remove Malware Files/Apps that Weigh Down Internet Connection
Remove malware files and apps that obstruct transfer speeds. Really, remove all malware, be they strings of code or background apps. This is not only so that you can send large files over the internet without growing old in the process, but it is also a healthy course of action for your smartphone.
6. Use Website Browsers Instead of Default Apps
Default apps for sending and receiving large files are great and all, but there are always better options from software developers dedicated to the science of speedy file sharing. Many of these developers have found ways to integrate their systems with website browsers. This is why sending and receiving files over the internet using browsers is generally faster than when you rely on a default app that does the same thing.
7. Use Dedicated File-Sharing Services Like FileWhopper
In the same spirit as the use-browser suggestion, you should rely on dedicated file-sharing services. These guys have devoted their time and work to provide options for file transfer that are efficient irrespective of ISP conditions and the like.
In the next section, we give a broad overview of FileWhopper, one of such dedicated file-sharing services.
Using FileWhopper to Send Large Files Over the Internet On Android
FileWhopper is one of the more innovative file-transfer services that entertain smartphone users and let them make safe and speedy transfers. File sharing using FileWhopper is efficient because the service does not only serve as a bridge or intermediary between your smartphone and the transfer destination, but it uses its framework to manage the transfer process
Thus, whenever you have to transfer a large file over the internet, the FileWhopper app accesses your phone, reads, encrypts, and prepares the data for upload. So, regardless of the size of your file, using FileWhopper still guarantees faster transfer speeds.
You should consider FileWhopper over default apps for mobile file transfers because:
1. FileWhopper is efficient
FileWhopper’s servers are optimized to provide as speedy a transfer process as possible. When you upload files, you don’t go through a complex process that requires more brain juice than you are willing to spend. Instead, it is a point-and-click thing. The same with when you are downloading. The FileWhopper mainframe supervises the whole thing. All that is required of you is patience while the system encrypts and decrypts your data, as the case may be.
2. FileWhopper is safe
FileWhopper uses a zero-encryption model, so hackers will not be able to touch the files you send over the internet. They have to know the password you generated and attached to the file(s), something even FileWhopper does not know.
3. You don’t have to download the FileWhopper app—you can use a browser
You can use browsers to access the services of FileWhopper. This saves you the little bit of storage space that the FileWhopper app will take. So, whether you use the app or the browser-enabled version, you need to make sure that only a handful of background apps are running on your phone. This is the only way FileWhopper can work as efficiently as possible.
4. FileWhopper is cheap
FileWhopper does not require subscriptions or added-value payments. You pay for its services whenever you need to use them, and it is free for files that are less than 5 GB. For transfers of 6 to 10 GB, you are required to pay $1.99. But you can only send 2 GB per time using your smartphone, so … you know what we mean.
Overall, using your smartphone to send large files does not need to be a herculean task or something that positively ages you. As long as you follow the tips presented in this article, you will have no cause to complain about file transfers on android smartphones.
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