Guides

Copy and paste between any of your devices

Straight answers on sharing a clipboard between Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Mac: what each one does on its own, where it stops, and how to fill the gap.

• How to copy and paste between Android and iPhone

  Neither phone can do it on its own: Apple’s Universal Clipboard only links Apple devices, and Android’s clipboard stays on the phone. The quickest way is a clipboard app on both phones. With UniClip, sign in on both with the same account, send the text from Android’s selection menu or the iPhone’s share sheet, then tap it on the other phone to copy it.

• How to copy and paste between an iPhone and a Windows PC

  An iPhone and a Windows PC have no shared clipboard: Apple’s Universal Clipboard only links Apple devices, and Windows syncs its clipboard only with Android phones. Phone Link connects an iPhone for calls, messages and notifications, not copy and paste. To copy between them, open the UniClip web app on the PC, scan its QR code with the iPhone app, and send text, links, photos or files either way.

• How to copy and paste between an Android phone and a Mac

  Android and macOS have no shared clipboard: Apple’s Universal Clipboard only links Apple devices, and Android’s clipboard stays on the phone. To copy between them, open the UniClip web app in any browser on the Mac, scan its QR code with the Android app, and send text, links, photos or files either way, over the internet. On the same network, KDE Connect is a free alternative.

• How to send text or a link from your phone to your computer

  The way that works with any phone and any computer is a cross-device clipboard: open the UniClip web app on the computer, scan its QR code with the phone app, then send text or a link from the phone and click it in the browser to copy it. Built-in options cover some pairs only: Apple’s Universal Clipboard for iPhone and Mac, and Windows clipboard sync or Phone Link for Android and Windows.

• Is there a Universal Clipboard for Android?

  Not built in. Apple’s Universal Clipboard only works between Apple devices, and Android’s clipboard stays on the phone you copied on. To copy on Android and paste on an iPhone, iPad, Windows PC or Mac, you need an app. UniClip adds Copy to Universal Clipboard to Android’s text selection menu and sends the text to your other devices over the internet.

• Universal Clipboard not working? How to fix it

  Apple’s Universal Clipboard only works when every device is signed in to the same Apple Account, has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Handoff turned on, and is near the others. Most failures come from one of those: Handoff off on one device, a different Apple Account, or devices too far apart. Check each one, turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off and on again, and restart both devices.

• How to share a clipboard between Windows and your phone

  Apple’s Universal Clipboard doesn’t work on Windows, and Windows shares its clipboard only with Android phones, through Microsoft SwiftKey or Phone Link, never with an iPhone. To copy between a Windows PC and any phone, open the UniClip web app in your browser, scan its QR code with the phone app, and text goes both ways with nothing to install on the PC.

• How to see your clipboard history on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac

  Windows keeps a clipboard history you open with Win + V, and a Mac on macOS Tahoe or later keeps one in Spotlight. On Android, Gboard and Samsung Keyboard keep recent clips in the keyboard. An iPhone or iPad keeps only the last thing you copied. Each history stays on its own device; UniClip Pro keeps one searchable history of the clips you send, on every device.

• Alternatives to Apple’s Universal Clipboard for Android, iPhone and Windows

  Apple’s Universal Clipboard only works between Apple devices near each other. To reach Android or Windows, the main options are UniClip (Android, iPhone, iPad and any browser, over the internet), Windows clipboard sync with Microsoft SwiftKey and Phone Link (Android and Windows only), and KDE Connect (free, on the same network). Which fits depends on the devices you own.