2010-09-09

Android App: WiFi Explorer PRO


I read about a new app called WiFi Explorer a few days ago.  I heard some goods things about it on the This Week in Google podcast and on Lifehacker, so I purchased the "PRO" version for a whole $1.07.  WiFi Explorer lets you connect to, browse, and manage your Android phone's SD card without a pesky USB cable.  It all works over WiFi and that's the great part about it, it just works.  The PRO version lets you upload, delete, stream and copy files.  The free version just lets you browse, download, and stream files only.

When you launch the app it starts the server and presents you with the IP address for you to browse to on your PC.


The server works really well.  I was able to take the above screenshot with ShootMe and I watched the screenshots appear in the \ShootMe\ folder on my SD card.  I was able to just click the screenshot I wanted and it downloaded to my desktop.  I was also able to easily delete a few files and perform some regular clean-up tasks without a problem.

The problem I ran into was connecting to the server a second time.  My phone became unreachable and I couldn't even ping the WiFi Explorer server or the phone's IP address.  After checking my router (a Netgear WNR3500L) I found my phone was no longer listed in the Attached Devices list.


This problem was not related to WiFi Explorer, but it's worth noting because it could be related.  There was some sort of issue with my router and my phone was not really connected to my network.  I resolved the issue by looking up my phone's MAC address, assigning a static IP address, and reconnecting.

This is a great app and I have no problem with supporting the developer by buying the PRO version.  For $1.07 it would have been silly not to and it would be silly for you to, too.



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