# I need to transfer files from my desktop to my iPhone w/o Internet. How? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896 "2012-10-16T16:20:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/21 "2012-10-16T17:01:15Z")
I just need to email the files, not use them. I feel like I should be able to use this complicated phone as a USB storage device, and the only reason I can’t is Apple is trying to force me to use ITunes. I dislike such tactics. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/22 "2012-10-16T17:05:22Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > Missed the no iTunes. Go to a public lab / Kinkos / Library with a USB key and download iTunes. If you want to drag files to the iPhone without an internet connection, there really is no other way around using iTunes unless you jailbreak. Still - I don’t know what apps you’d be using with Adobe Illustrator files. Jailbreaking would, itself, require an internet connection, no? ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/23 "2012-10-16T17:06:46Z")
If you’re going to regularly need to e-mail your files, you’ll probably want to just go ahead and get a wireless card for your computer, and then just tether when you need to do this stuff. Note: If you’re on AT&T, you need to have the tethering plan to tether (which is pricey at $50/mo for 5GB of data and tethering). Some other plans/carriers may not have any restrictions on tethering. If you’re on AT&T, you can switch to the tethering plan for one day, then switch back (and can even make this change with your phone through the AT&T app), so it won’t cost you that much if you only need to do it from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/24 "2012-10-16T17:07:47Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Jailbreaking would, itself, require an internet connection, no? Indeed, unless you went the USB key route of downloading Absinthe or redsn0w…and it would also require you are not on iOS 6 if using a 4S or 5…and there is no jailbreak at all for the 5 right now. The point was that drag and drop doesn’t exist natively with the iPhone. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/25 "2012-10-16T18:04:25Z")
Don’t confuse “network” with “internet”. It is possible to have a network without internet. If your computer doesn’t have a wifi card, borrow someone’s wifi router and set up a network, or have a friend with an Android phone connect to your computer with a USB cable, and set up a wifi hotspot with their phone. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/26 "2012-10-16T18:08:29Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > I feel like I should be able to use this complicated phone as a USB storage device, and the only reason I can’t is… because an iPhone isn’t a USB storage device. My camera isn’t a telescope and my toaster can’t make soup either. Also, you “had an android before but couldn’t get reception”? I don’t even know what that means. The OS of the phone shouldn’t have anything to do with the carrier’s signal strength (unless of course you have an iPhone 4 and you’re holding it wrong… :D). ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/27 "2012-10-16T18:23:35Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > because an iPhone isn’t a USB storage device. > > My camera isn’t a telescope and my toaster can’t make soup either. Of course an iPhone is a USB storage device (so is your camera, most likely). An iPhone is a general purpose personal computer running a \*nix operating system. Any standard computer protocol you can’t use on it is strictly because Apple has decided you shouldn’t. It wouldn’t even surprise me if Apple used USB Mass Storage protocols for the iTunes syncing, though it’s more likely USB Media Transfer Protocol. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/28 "2012-10-16T18:24:51Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > because an iPhone isn’t a USB storage device. > > My camera isn’t a telescope and my toaster can’t make soup either. > > Also, you “had an android before but couldn’t get reception”? I don’t even know what that means. The OS of the phone shouldn’t have anything to do with the carrier’s signal strength (unless of course you have an iPhone 4 and you’re holding it wrong… :D). No, but the phone’s hardware can certainly make a difference. She said in the OP she went iPhone because her sister’s iPhone worked in her house. She knew therefore that an iPhone would work without trial-and-erroring a stack of different devices. And as for not being able to access your iPhone as a USB Mass Storage device? I agree with her that it’s stupid. My old Nokia N95 (from March 2007) did it, and every other smartphone I’ve ever had since then has been able to do it. It would drive me nuts not to be able to on the rare occasions I’ve had to use my phone as a temporary storage device. And it’s a hell of a lot easier to drag and drop files onto an Explorer window than to deal with iTunes. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/29 "2012-10-16T18:29:28Z")
Some cell phones get better reception than others. We live in the boonies and get almost no cell service. The only phones that reliably work out here are AT&T iPhones. I would have prefered to get another android, but didn’t want to risk it not working at my house. I have an iPhone 4s. I’ll look into jail breaking it. And it is bullshit that apple doesn’t allow you to drag and drop files. They could easily have incorperated that functionality. I am surprised to find anyone defending the decision not to. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/30 "2012-10-16T18:34:51Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > I have an iPhone 4s. I’ll look into jail breaking it. And it is bullshit that apple doesn’t allow you to drag and drop files. They could easily have incorperated that functionality. I am surprised to find anyone defending the decision not to. [You might have a bit of a wait if you’re using iOS 6](http://www.informationweek.com/security/application-security/6-reasons-ios-6-jailbreaks-will-be-tough/240008996). ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/31 "2012-10-16T18:38:50Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Some cell phones get better reception than others. We live in the boonies and get almost no cell service. The only phones that reliably work out here are AT&T iPhones. I would have prefered to get another android, but didn’t want to risk it not working at my house. > > I have an iPhone 4s. I’ll look into jail breaking it. And it is bullshit that apple doesn’t allow you to drag and drop files. They could easily have incorperated that functionality. I am surprised to find anyone defending the decision not to. Yeah, a jailbreak for the 4S is available for iOS 5.1.1, but not for iOS 6. If you bought it very recently, or have performed an update to the OS in the past month, you are SOL until the iOS 6 jailbreak is out. When I had the 4S, I had it jailbroken, and I will jailbreak when it’s available on the 5, which I have now, though I prefer the non-jailbroken 5 to my jailbroken 4S. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/32 "2012-10-16T18:39:08Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > I am surprised to find anyone defending the decision not to. I’m not defending the decision not to include the functionality. I’m pointing out the idiocy of complaining about the lack of a superfluous function when, if you’d researched ahead of your purchase, anyone could have told you that function didn’t exist (if someone misled you that’s obviously a different story). Have you considered using the hotspot function of your phone, then tethering your computer to email the files, if it has a way to connect wirelessly, as **Szlater** said? ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/33 "2012-10-16T18:42:20Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Some cell phones get better reception than others. We live in the boonies and get almost no cell service. The only phones that reliably work out here are AT&T iPhones. I would have prefered to get another android, but didn’t want to risk it not working at my house. > > I have an iPhone 4s. I’ll look into jail breaking it. And it is bullshit that apple doesn’t allow you to drag and drop files. They could easily have incorperated that functionality. I am surprised to find anyone defending the decision not to. It’s one of those things. Apple has never liked to give outside access to their devices. It’s a pain in some situations, though it does help prevent iOS from having viruses and malware written for it. Frankly, it was a far bigger deal 2-3 years ago before all the cloud syncing stuff was available and good to go. Your situation is frankly unusual, as almost no one is without an internet connection on their home computer…and even fewer people who own computers AND smartphones fall into that category. And the very few that do, usually will have a tethering plan for their phone so they can connect their computer to the internet through the phone. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/34 "2012-10-16T19:05:02Z")
Use the app “Documents” from Olive Toast software. It will let you transfer files directly to the iPhone from a computer on a network, and you can email them from there. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/35 "2012-10-16T19:10:15Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Use the app “Documents” from Olive Toast software. > It will let you transfer files directly to the iPhone from a computer on a network, and you can email them from there. Have you read the thread? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/36 "2012-10-16T19:18:20Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > Have you read the thread? I think so. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/37 "2012-10-16T19:24:16Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I think so. > Why? If you had, you’d know the OP doesn’t have a home LAN. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/38 "2012-10-16T19:25:00Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I think so. > Why? Because the OP does not have a network. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/39 "2012-10-16T19:28:51Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Because the OP does not have a network. What I read was she isn’t “on the Internet.” She said she had WiFi. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896/40 "2012-10-16T19:30:16Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > What I read was she isn’t “on the Internet.” > She said she had WiFi. Nope. They didn’t set it up, that was one of the suggestions in the thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-transfer-files-from-my-desktop-to-my-iphone-w-o-internet-how/637896.md?page=3)