Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the need to quickly transfer photos, videos or heavy documents to another device. Using Bluetooth for this purpose has long been irrelevant due to low speed, and transmission via Internet messengers compresses the quality of media files and requires a stable connection to the network. This is where the technology originally known as Mi Drop, which evolved into the ShareMe application, comes to the rescue.
The principle of operation of this system is based on the creation of a local wireless connection, which allows you to achieve data transfer speeds ten times higher than the capabilities of classic Bluetooth. Mi Drop works without using mobile traffic, creating a direct connection between devices via Wi-Fi Direct. This makes the process of copying files not only fast, but also completely secure, since the data does not leave the perimeter of your gadgets and is not downloaded to third-party servers.
Understanding how this protocol works will help you avoid common transmission errors and significantly speed up content sharing. Unlike cloud storage, it does not require authorization or permanent access to the global network, which is especially true in low-signal conditions or when working with sensitive information.
Technology Basis: Wi-Fi Direct vs Bluetooth
To understand why Mi Drop (now ShareMe) works so fast, you need to understand the physics of the transmission process. Traditional Bluetooth uses a narrowband radio channel that was originally designed to transmit audio and small amounts of data, such as contacts. The bandwidth of this channel is limited, making it extremely slow and energy-consuming to transfer video in 4K or archives of several gigabytes.
Mi Drop uses Wi-Fi Direct technology. It's a standard that allows devices to connect to each other directly, without the need for a wireless router or access point. When you initiate a transfer, your smartphone actually becomes a mini router, creating a local area network, and the connection speed can reach theoretical values of up to 40-100 Mbps, which is comparable to a wired connection.
- 🚀 Speed: File size transfer 1 GB takes about 1-2 This process could take more than an hour on Bluetooth.
- 🔒 Security: Connection is protected by encryption protocols WPA2, and the connection requires confirmation on the receiving device.
- 📶 Independence: No internet, router or mobile network is needed to work, saving battery power and traffic.
⚠️ WARNING: Although Wi-Fi Direct consumes more power than Bluetooth, short-term use to transfer large files saves overall battery life compared to waiting hours for download completion via mobile internet.
It’s important to note that Wi-Fi Direct is not the same as Hotspot. When using Mi Drop, your device doesn’t give access to another smartphone, but only creates a channel for file sharing. This means that while the transfer is underway, you can continue to use the mobile Internet for other tasks if the network configuration allows, but the Wi-Fi module will be busy creating a tunnel.
Brand Evolution: From Mi Drop to ShareMe
Users are often confused about the names, as the feature application has repeatedly changed its name and visual design. Initially, the service was known exclusively as Mi Drop and was part of the MIUI ecosystem. However, over time, Xiaomi decided to bring the product to the global market, where the brand "Mi" could be less recognizable or already occupied by other associations.
The app was rebranded and named ShareMe. Despite the change in the icon and the name, the engine remained the same, and the developers added cross-platform support, allowing files to be transferred not only between Xiaomi smartphones, but also to devices from other manufacturers, as well as to computers running Windows and macOS.
The modern ShareMe (formerly Mi Drop) supports FTP for managing files from a PC and can run in the background, which means that even if you fold an application or lock the screen, the copying process will not be interrupted, which is a critical feature when working with large amounts of data.
Why aren’t there Mi Drops on some phones?
Step-by-step: how to start file transfer
The process of setting up and using the application is as simple as possible for the end user, but knowing the exact sequence of actions will help to avoid pairing errors. Before starting work, make sure that both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled (Bluetooth is only used for initial detection of the receiving device).
Open the ShareMe (or Mi Drop) app on both smartphones. On the device you're sending from, select files from the gallery or file manager and click "Send." The app automatically scans the airwaves for available devices.
☑️ Checklist before transfer
On the receiving device, you need to go to the Get tab and press the scan start button. Once the sender name appears in the list, you need to tap it. The receiver's screen will pop up a request for confirmation of the connection - it must be accepted. Once the handshake is established, automatic data transfer will begin.
For advanced users, the transfer function is available to the computer. To do this, the application selects the "Connect to the computer" option, after which the smartphone creates a local server. FTP-address (e.g, ftp://192.168.4.1:2121), to access the phone's file system.
| Parameter | Bluetooth | Mi Drop / ShareMe | Cloud storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum speed | ~2-3 Mbps | ~40-100 Mbps | Depends on the tariff. |
| Internet requirement | Not required | Not required | I'll be sure. |
| Photo/video compression | No. | No (original) | Often there (in messengers) |
| Radio of action | Up to 10 meters. | Up to 10-15 meters. | Globally |
⚠️ Note: When transferring files to a computer through FTP-The antivirus protocol on the PC may block the connection, considering it suspicious, in which case you need to add an exception to the firewall settings or temporarily allow the connection to the private network.
Compatibility and cross-platformity
One of the key advantages of the technology is its versatility. Although originally designed as an exclusive to the Xiaomi ecosystem, Mi Drop now supports file transfers to Android devices of any brand, as well as iOS and desktop operating systems. iPhone or iPad devices need to install the appropriate application from the App Store, since native support for the protocol in iOS is not.
When working with devices of different brands (for example, Xiaomi and Samsung), the discovery process can take a little longer, as devices need to “negotiate” encryption protocols. In some cases, non-Xiaomi devices may need to install the ShareMe application manually, since it is not built into the system.
💡
If you often transfer files to your computer, create a shortcut FTP-This will allow you to open your smartphone files like a regular folder on your hard drive without unnecessary action.
For Windows users, there is a separate client program that simplifies the pairing process. FTP-Addresses are often more reliable and do not require additional software installation on the PC, the main thing is that the computer and smartphone are on the same local network or connected via Wi-Fi Direct.
Typical problems and methods of their solution
Despite the technology, users may experience disruptions, and the most common problem is that devices can't see each other, and 90 percent of the time, this is because one smartphone has turned off Bluetooth, which is essential for the initial handshake, or has power saving mode on, which blocks the background operation of the Wi-Fi module.
Another common mistake is 99 percent progression interruption, which can occur if one of the devices goes to sleep and the system aggressively turns off Wi-Fi to save power, and may be caused by a physical obstacle or distance greater than the permissible 10 meters, especially if there are capital walls between the devices.
- 📱 Reboot Service: Try turning on and off Airplane mode on both devices to reset network settings.
- 🔋 Turning off savings: In battery settings, make sure that for the app ShareMe/Mi Drop set limit No restrictions".
- 📂 Memory: Check for free space on the receiving device. If the memory is full, the transmission will be interrupted.
In rare cases, the problem is that versions of an app are incompatible. If you're using a very old version of Mi Drop on one device and the latest ShareMe on another, encryption protocols can conflict. Updating an app to the latest version via GetApps or Google Play usually solves the problem.
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Connection stability is directly dependent on the power saving settings. If the transmission is constantly disrupted, add the application to the battery optimization exception list.
Optimization of transmission speed and safety
To achieve maximum performance, it is recommended to turn off other heavy network tasks, such as streaming videos or downloading game updates, while Wi-Fi Direct runs on a separate channel, overloading the smartphone processor with background tasks can lead to buffering and lowering the final speed.
Security issues when using Mi Drop are often overlooked. As the device becomes visible to everyone within range, it is not recommended to keep the "Get" mode active in public places unnecessarily. Attackers may try to send a malicious file or spam request, which, although it requires confirmation, can be an annoying factor.
It is also worth considering that when transferring over a local network without a password (in guest mode), it is theoretically possible to intercept traffic by specialists. For critical documents, it is better to use built-in file encryption tools or transfer them through secure channels with mandatory checksum checkouts.