Chrome Send to Device Feature How to Use

Chrome send to device feature how to use is something many people wonder about when they want to move something they are viewing on their computer to their phone, or vice versa. This handy feature lets you send links, tabs, and even entire articles from one device to another in just a few clicks. If you have ever wanted to start reading something on your laptop and continue on your phone, or send a map location from your phone to your desktop, this feature does exactly that.

Let me explain how it works, why it is useful, and how you can start using it today.

What the Send to Device Feature Does

The Send to Device feature in Chrome allows you to take whatever you are viewing in your browser and instantly send it to another device where you are signed into the same Google account. It works across computers, phones, and tablets that have Chrome installed and are connected to your Google account.

This feature is part of Chrome is built-in sync capabilities. When you sign into Chrome with your Google account, your browsing data, including open tabs and bookmarks, can be shared across all your devices. The Send to Device function takes this a step further by letting you deliberately choose which specific tab or link you want to transfer right now, rather than waiting for sync to catch up.

The feature is particularly useful for several everyday situations. You might find an interesting article on your work computer that you want to read later on your phone during your commute. You might be planning a trip and find a hotel or restaurant on your phone that you want to look up in more detail on your larger computer screen. Or you might be working on a research project and find pieces of information on different devices that you want to gather in one place.

Using the Send to Device feature from your computer to your phone is straightforward. Here are the steps to follow.

First, make sure you are signed into Chrome on both devices with the same Google account. You can check this by clicking your profile picture in the top right corner of the Chrome window. If you see your name and account picture, you are signed in.

Next, open the page you want to send. This could be a website, an article, a map location, or anything else you can view in your browser.

Now look for the menu button in Chrome. It is the three dots icon in the top right corner of your browser window. Click on it to open the menu.

From the menu, look for the option that says “Send to your devices” or “Send tab to device.” The exact wording may vary slightly depending on your Chrome version. When you hover over or click this option, you will see a list of your other devices that are signed into the same Google account.

Select the device you want to send the page to. You might see names like “Mike is iPhone” or “Mike is Pixel” depending on what you have named your devices. Click on the device name, and the page will be sent immediately.

On the receiving device, you will get a notification letting you know that a tab has been sent to you. If Chrome is open on that device, the tab will appear in your recently closed tabs or you may see a notification at the bottom of the screen.

Sending something from your phone to your computer follows a similar process. Open Chrome on your phone and navigate to the page you want to send.

Look for the share button. On most Android devices, you will find it in the top right corner of the screen, usually represented by three connected dots or an arrow. On iPhones, you might need to tap the share button at the bottom of the screen, which looks like a square with an arrow pointing up.

When you tap the share button, you will see a list of options. Look for “Send to your devices” or “Send tab to device.” Tap on it, and you will see a list of your other devices that are signed into Chrome with the same account.

Tap on the device you want to send the page to, and it will be sent immediately. On your computer, you will see a notification that a tab has been sent to you, and you can open it right away.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Sometimes the Send to Device feature does not work as expected. Here are some common problems and what you can do about them.

The most common issue is that the device you want to send to does not appear in the list. This usually means the device is not signed into Chrome with the same Google account, or it is not connected to the internet. Double-check that you are signed in on both devices and that both have an active internet connection.

Another issue is that you do not receive the notification on the receiving device. This can happen if notifications are turned off for Chrome. Make sure Chrome has permission to send you notifications on the device where you expect to receive the sent tabs.

If you have sent a tab but cannot find it, check your recently closed tabs. In Chrome on your computer, you can press Ctrl+Shift+T to reopen recently closed tabs. On mobile, you can find recently closed tabs in your browser history or by looking in the tabs section of your Chrome menu.

Sometimes the feature might be slower than expected, especially if you are sending a page with a lot of images or complex content. In most cases, the transfer happens within seconds, but heavy pages might take a bit longer.

Making the Most of Chrome is Sync Features

The Send to Device feature works best when combined with other Chrome sync features. When you enable sync in Chrome, your browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, and open tabs are automatically shared across all your devices. This means that even without using Send to Device manually, you can start something on one device and pick it up exactly where you left off on another.

To enable sync, click your profile picture in Chrome and turn on “Sync.” You can choose what data gets synced, so if there are certain things you prefer to keep only on one device, you have control over that.

If you find yourself frequently sending tabs between devices, you might also benefit from using tab management extensions. One option worth exploring is Tab Suspender Pro, which helps keep your tabs organized by automatically suspending ones you have not used recently. This can be especially helpful if you tend to keep many tabs open across different devices. Tab Suspender Pro is not the only solution available, but it is one option that many users find helpful for keeping their browsing streamlined.

Tips from the team behind Tab Suspender Pro and the Zovo extension suite at zovo.one