How to Sync Clipboard Between Your Phone and PC

Syncing the clipboard between your mobile device and PC can be extremely convenient, since you can copy text from one device and paste it to another for easier access. This can be especially useful when what you need to copy is a large wall of text or an intricate web address. If you’d like to learn how to do that yourself, this guide shows you how to sync clipboard data between your devices.

Sync Your Android and Windows PC Clipboards with Microsoft SwiftKey

Microsoft recently added this ability in its SwiftKey app for Android. The option is called Cloud Clipboard and has arrived with the 7.9.0.5 update. The feature is only compatible with Windows 10 PCs (2018 update or later) for now. Mac and Linux are not supported. You’ll need to enable the feature on both devices before you can sync data between them. Below you’ll find the steps to enable Cloud Clipboard on your phone.

1. Open the Microsoft SwiftKey app on your mobile device.
2. Select “Rich input.”

3. Tap on Clipboard.

4. Toggle on the “Sync clipboard history” option, which is off by default.

5. You’ll need to log in with your Microsoft account even if you have done so previously.
6. The feature is now enabled on your phone. Make sure you leave the “Show last copied item as quick paste option on prediction bar” option enabled as well.

Next up, you have to activate Cloud Clipboard on your Windows 10 PC. Follow the instructions below:

1. On your Windows 10 PC, go to “Settings -> System -> Clipboard.”

2. Enable the “Clipboard history” option.

3. In the “Sync across devices” section, “Sign in” with your Microsoft account once again. Note that you need to log in with the same account that you used on your mobile device.

4. Once you’ve done that successfully, you should be able to see the “Sync across devices” option enabled in Clipboard. At the same time “Automatically sync text that I copy” should now be enabled too.
5. At this point in the tutorial we recommend restarting your computer so that the changes take effect.

Now whenever you copy a piece of text, phone number or take a screenshot on your PC, the data will show up in your keyboard app’s clipboard.

The selection will only be saved for an hour, after which, SwiftKey will automatically delete it.

The option works both ways, so if you copied a piece of text on your phone, you should be able to see it on your desktop’s clipboard by pressing the Win + V shortcut that reveals the clipboard.

From there you can right-click, then paste the text into your browser or any other program you may be using at the time.

Sync Your Android’s and Windows/Mac PC’s Clipboards with Clipt

Microsoft’s SwiftKey app offers seamless clipboard syncing between Android devices and select Windows computers. Given that PCs running older Windows versions are left out of this equation, owners could turn to an alternative app. For example, Clipt – an app that you can get on your phone for free – also offers a way to sync your Android clipboard with a Mac computer and between Mac and Windows.

1. Open the Clipt app on your Android device.
2. Log in to your Google Drive account.

3. To get Clipt on your PC, install its dedicated browser extension for Chrome.
4. Once installed, log in with the same Google Drive account you used in the Android app.

5. With this setup in place, select a block of text on your Android device.
6. A pop-up menu will appear above. Tap on the three-dots on the right.

7. Tap on Clipt to copy the text to the clipboard.

8. Revert to your desktop browser and tap on the extension to view the text.

9. The reverse is also possible with Clipt. On your desktop browser, select a block of text, right-click to bring up a list of options, and click on “Clipt selection.”

10. Check the Android app to see if the text is there. From here you can copy the text and paste it anywhere else.

Other Options for Syncing Your Clipboard Across Devices

Universal Clipboard

When it comes to Apple devices, users can use the Universal Clipboard to copy and paste between their devices. It’s possible to sync clipboards across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, so you can easily copy text, images, photos, and videos.

Like before, each device involved in the exchange has to be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID.

Alt-C

To copy and paste between an Android device and a Mac, users will have to install a third-party app like Alt-C on their Android to get started. At the same time, they need to download the macOS client to their Mac. A Windows option is also available.

Once the setup process is complete, users will be able to copy text on either of the two devices for it to appear in both clipboards. In addition, it’s possible to have more than one Mac computer connected to the app.

KDE Connect

KDE Connect is another service designed to help users integrate their workflow across devices. It can be used on Android, Plasma Mobile, Sailfish OS, Windows, Mac, and Linux, although iOS is the notable absentee here. A pre-release testing version of the iOS native port of KDE Connect is available, however.

Once two devices are connected via KDE Connect, which also needs to be installed on the computer, they can share clipboards. The option is enabled by default, so you won’t have to do anything else. Other handy features such as remote control are available with the service, as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. I can’t get Microsoft SwiftKey to show me the text I copied on my PC. What I am doing wrong?

First, make sure you have the correct Windows version on your PC. To check, go to “Settings -> About -> Windows specifications.” Additionally, once you’ve logged in with your Microsoft account in the Clipboard section under Settings, restart your computer.

2. How can I delete my clipboard history on Windows 10?

After all that copy and pasting between devices, you may want to clean up anything left behind and get rid of your clipboard history.

3. How can I use my Android clipboard most effectively?

Be sure to read this guide to learn how make the most of your Android clipboard.

Now that you’ve learned how to sync your clipboard between phone and PC, perhaps you’d like to expand your knowledge and read further on the topic of synchronizing data across devices. For example, get up to speed with how to sync Chrome tabs between your devices. You may also be interested in learning how to sync your game progress between Android phones.