Can I connect Surface RT and PC with USB cable?

Anonymous
2012-11-30T00:08:13+00:00

I have a Toshiba Thrive running Android. I can connect it to my PC with a USB cable and access files on my Thrive on the PC. The PC treats the Thrive as a hard drive. Can I connect my Surface in the same way? I have tried and the PC does not appear to see the Surface.

This is a pain, one of the reasons I bought the Surface was to be able to do this type of hard connection and not have to use "iTunes" or the Cloud.

Surface | Other

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Anonymous
2013-03-05T02:57:40+00:00

Greetings SaeedR_706,

That is a good question, however I would suggest rather then using the USB cable, to transfer files over your WiFi network to a shared folder on your Windows 7 Laptop.

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Anonymous
2012-12-05T00:46:39+00:00

Hello Rrccw,

No, you cannot connect the Surface to the PC via USB. However, you can setup Shared folderson your PC. Once you have that, have the Surface connect to the same network via WiFi and then go into Network from the Desktop app, select your PC and then see the Shared Folders. From there, the Surface should have Read/Write access if you gave the permissions on the PC.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-10-24T12:04:14+00:00

    This is really depressing news, I have been backing Microsoft for years putting up with poor windows phone software and ever more bloated pc software, I bought the surface thinking maybe they have finally done something which is good and professional.  The connectivity between the Surface and PC is practically non existent unless you want to share things over wifi  which is not an option for many security conscious people and it is awkward and inefficient if transferring large files. In these days of Security breaches the most easy and secure option if you want to transfer local files is by cable. It is also the quickest and most environmentally best option. The Bluetooth on the surface is absolutely rubbish with the pc and surface not seeing each other. other than single file transfer. I didn't think it possible but Microsoft have taken 1/2 a step forward and 3 steps back. I had better connectivity on my xp laptop to xp pc. I think I should start listening to the rest of my family when a next upgrade is required and go with android cheaper and improving all the time instead of going backwards and more restrictive.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-04-05T20:34:14+00:00

    It may work with a transfer cable but you have to turn on "sharing" through the "Network and Sharing Center".  You can go to the Control Panel and find it there.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-04-05T19:53:34+00:00

    I also just bought a PC to PC transfer cable to do the same, but since its a RT Surface it will not run the software needed for the exchange. I'm also looking for the same answer.

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