SanDisk Connect 64GB Wireless Flash Drive Review

Windows and Android Connectivity

Windows

While the SanDisk Wireless Flash Drive is compatible with the PC, it is meant to be used as a USB device for Windows systems. When using a Windows 8.1 tablet, I was able to connect to the flash drive, however there wasn’t an app to browse the files on the drive. Instead, opening a web browser and going to www.sandisk.com/wfd/ allowed me to browse the files. This is a very limited type of access, there was no upload option. A Windows 8 app would be a nice addition.

Android

When starting the application it will automatically search for the SanDisk Wireless Flash Drive, if it finds one, you simply tap the drive you wish to connect and it does the rest. On the main menu screen, you also have two options to browse local files, either though the download folder or the photo gallery. This is available so you can upload files to the wireless flash drive; two way communication! The first time the Android app connected to the SanDisk Wireless Flash Drive it prompted for a Firmware update.

The first time you connect to the SanDisk Wireless Flash Drive, a warning pops up alerting you that the internet has been automatically disconnected while connected to the flash drive. However, within the settings you can give it a preferred wifi network and it will act as a relay for the wifi signal.

By default the files are able to be browsed in a folder view with folders at top, and files at the bottom. While SanDisk has done a great job of making folders for the various types of media, you are not restricted to those folders, the software recognizes the file type and will take appropriate action to use the filetype.

When looking at Photos and Music you will see a thumbnail that is associated with the file. For music, you will see any cover art tied to the file; when looking at photos a thumbnail of the photo is shown. For Documents and Video’s a generic graphic is shown indicating the file type. Also, unlike Pictures, Videos and Music, Documents are saved to the smartphone or tablet for viewing, and not streamed.

In the settings menu, you can configure the Wireless Flash Drive for your specific settings. A password to access the files on the flash drive can be set in the Network section, which happens to protect the drive with 128-bit AES, while a preferred WiFi network is configured in the Internet Connection section. The software automatically configures the download folder to the local device, ignoring any additional storage media. However, SanDisk has provided a way to change that. There are a few other options on the Settings menu, however they are pretty self explanatory.