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Guide

How to copy and paste between Android and Mac

Install Synqed on your Mac and your Android phone and pair them on the same network. Text and images you copy on the Mac are then on the phone's clipboard automatically. From the phone to the Mac, share text to Synqed from Android's share sheet, or turn on "Send copies automatically" in the Android app so copies made on the phone reach the Mac's clipboard by themselves.

Before you start

  • A Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple silicon and Intel.
  • An Android phone running Android 13 or later.
  • Both on the same local network: the same Wi-Fi, or the Mac joined to the phone's hotspot. Synqed has no relay server, so it does not work across the internet.

Steps

  1. Pair the phone and the Mac. Open Synqed on both devices, compare the numeric code on the two screens and confirm.
  2. Mac to phone: copy as usual. Copy text or an image on the Mac with Command-C. It is put on the phone's clipboard, ready to paste.
  3. Phone to Mac: use the share sheet. Select text on the phone, tap Share, and pick Synqed. The text lands on the Mac's clipboard. This needs no extra setup.
  4. Optional: send phone copies automatically. In the Android app's Settings, turn on "Send copies automatically". Android then needs two more switches: Accessibility access, so Synqed can notice a copy, and "Display over other apps", which is the only way an app can read the clipboard on current Android.

First time? Install the Mac app and the Android app, open both, and confirm that the numeric code matches on the two screens. That pairs them, and they reconnect on their own after that. If they can't find each other, see support.

What it does not do

  • Android 12 and later show a "pasted from your clipboard" message every time an app reads the clipboard, and no app can hide it. With automatic sending on, you will see it on each copy.
  • Automatic capture notices most copies, but some apps use their own text selection that it may miss. The share sheet always works.
  • Sharing an image from the phone sends it as a file to the Mac's Downloads folder rather than to the clipboard.
  • Android blocks apps from reading the clipboard in the background, so phone-to-Mac copying cannot be fully automatic without the two permissions above. That is an Android rule, not a Synqed setting.

Questions

Is this like Apple's Universal Clipboard?

It does the same job between an Android phone and a Mac. Mac to phone is automatic. Phone to Mac is automatic only if you grant the extra permissions, because Android restricts clipboard access.

Cost

The Mac app is free. The Android app has a 7-day free trial, then Synqed Pro is $20 once, plus tax. No account. Details on Synqed Pro.

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