What is android beam

Links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more. Android Beam itself has been part of the Android OS since version 4. However, your device may not have NFC hardware, or if it does, it may be turned off by your specific wireless carrier. If NFC is enabled you should see a slider that can turn it on or off on your phone.

If you want to make sure Android Beam is working, you can also go to its specific feature in the Settings menu as well and turn it on or off. The other device should automatically open the YouTube app and the video should begin playing, though you may get a notification asking if you want to approve opening the link.

Both devices have to have NFC, one device may not accept large file transfers, and the NFC tag may be placed in different locations, which requires people to rub their phones together until they find it.

The latter can be a bit awkward. What is Android Beam? Previous Next. The best Animal Crossing games, ranked from best to worst. Amazon is letting subscribers easily share clips from its Prime Video shows. The best inch laptops for Package visibility. Intents and intent filters. User interface. Add motion to your layout with MotionLayout. MotionLayout XML reference. Improving layout performance. Custom view components. Look and feel. Splash screens. Add the app bar.

Control the system UI visibility. Supporting swipe-to-refresh. Pop-up messages overview. Adding search functionality. Creating backward-compatible UIs. Home channels for mobile apps. App widgets. Media app architecture. Building an audio app. Building a video app. The Google Assistant. Routing between devices. Background tasks. Manage device awake state. Save to shared storage. Save data in a local database. Sharing simple data. Sharing files. Sharing files with NFC.

Printing files. Content providers. Autofill framework. Contacts provider. Data backup. Remember and authenticate users. User location. Using touch gestures. Handling keyboard input. Supporting game controllers. Input method editors. Performing network operations. Transmit network data using Volley. Perform network operations using Cronet. Once it's enabled, you can use Android Beam by simply holding your phone against another phone that has Beam enabled. Android Beam works using near-field communication NFC chips, which can send data over short distances.

Not all Android devices have Android Beam built-in. Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. Emma Witman is an Asheville, NC-based freelance journalist with a keen interest in writing about hardware, PC gaming, politics, and personal finance. She is a former crime reporter for a daily newspaper, and has also written extensively about bartending for Insider.

She may or may not judge your drink order when behind the bar. Follow her on Twitter at emwity. Insider Inc. Additional comments.