FAQ

It's a small Windows app that connects the computers in your home into one simple, private network. With it you can send popup messages between PCs, share folders, keep folders in sync, run programs from another computer, and, with permission, view or control a family member's screen to help them. There's no cloud and no account, and it runs quietly in your system tray.

No. HearthWire works over your home network (Wi-Fi or cable). There's no account to create, nothing in the cloud, and nothing to sign up for. Your computers talk directly to each other.

Any Windows 10 or 11 PCs (64-bit) on the same home network. Install HearthWire on each one and they find each other automatically.

Yes. HearthWire has to be on each computer you want to connect , that is how they find and talk to each other. There is no central box and nothing to install on your router. Set up the first PC, then the rest ask to join and you approve them (about a minute in total).

Install HearthWire on each PC. On the first one, choose Create a new network and give it a name. On every other computer, choose Join a network and pick it from the list. A short number appears on both screens, on a computer already in the network you approve it once the numbers match. That's the whole setup, no codes to type.

Click I need help, or Fix my network in the tray menu. The built-in Network Doctor checks and repairs the Windows settings that usually block a home network (network type, firewall, and discovery services). Also make sure every PC is on the same Wi-Fi, and not on a separate guest network, which keeps computers from seeing each other.

Some routers, especially mesh systems, block the automatic discovery between devices. HearthWire has a built-in fallback: on the joining computer, use the address box on the Join screen and type the address shown at the bottom of HearthWire on a computer that's already in the network (it looks like 192.168.1.20). The same approval with the matching number then runs as usual, so it's just as safe.

It's recommended on, so your computers stay reachable and messages and shared folders are always ready. You can toggle Start with Windows anytime in Settings.

Type a message and it pops up on the other computer. Tick Ask for a reply and your message stays on their screen until they answer, useful for something they shouldn't miss. Turn on Do not disturb in Settings and messages still arrive quietly, without a popup.

Into your Downloads, in a folder named "My Network Files." When a file arrives you get a popup with Open and Show in folder buttons, and the tray menu always has a Received files item that opens that folder.

Drag any file from your desktop straight onto a computer's card to send it in one motion, or use the Files and Send buttons on that computer. The other person gets a popup telling them it arrived and where to find it.

Yes. By default it keeps a history of the messages you send and receive, so nothing gets lost if you miss a popup or close it by accident. Open History from the top of the main window to read your past conversations as chat bubbles. You can turn this off anytime with Keep a history of messages in Settings.

It stays only on your own computer (under %LOCALAPPDATA%\HearthWire). It is never uploaded anywhere and the other computers never see your copy. Each PC keeps its own history of what it sent and received.

Yes. In the History window, Copy conversation copies the selected chat and Copy all copies everything, ready to paste anywhere. To erase it, use Clear message history in Settings.

HearthWire tells you. If you answer a message but the sender has gone offline in the meantime, the popup shows a note that they went offline and your reply couldn't be sent, and it stays open so your answer isn't lost. You can send it again once they're back.

When you share a folder you choose how: On my PC only lets others open your files while your computer is on, and nothing is copied to their machines (it saves space). Copy to everyone keeps a full copy on every computer, so the files are there even when your PC is off.

Map its folder as a network drive, using the Map folder button, or Map as drive while browsing that computer's files. It connects as a drive letter, so you can open and run programs installed on that other PC without reinstalling them.

Map the movies folder as a drive (the Map folder button), then play the movie straight from the other PC. It starts instantly, just like a local drive, with nothing copied. Opening a movie from an ordinary shared folder downloads it first, which is why mapping is better for video.

Yes. When you share a folder you can require a password, so only the people you give it to can open it.

One person starts it: click Share a folder and pick (or create) a photos folder. For a real shared album, choose Copy to everyone so a copy lives on every computer (and is there even when yours is off), and set access to View and add files so everyone can contribute, not just look. That folder is now your family album.

Two easy ways. (1) On the computer that owns the album, just drop photos into that folder in Windows, like any normal folder, and they appear for everyone. (2) From another computer, open that PC's Files, open the album, and click Upload file here to add your photos. That upload button only shows when the album was shared with "View and add files", so an album can be made contribute-friendly or view-only.

Open the album and click 🖼 Gallery at the top to see the photos as thumbnails instead of a file list, then click any photo to open it full size. If the album is set to "Copy to everyone", each computer keeps its own up-to-date copy, so the whole album is on everyone's PC and opens instantly.

Yes. On the PC the printer is plugged into, open Printers and choose Share this printer. On every other computer, open Printers and click Add next to it. From then on it shows up in every app's print dialog, just like a printer of your own. It's built on Windows' own printer sharing, so it works with the printers you already have.

Usually not. Many printers add with a single click. If yours needs its driver, HearthWire opens a small Windows window for you , just click Install driver (or Yes), and it finishes on its own. This is Windows' own safety step, and you only do it once; after that it just prints.

In the rare case Windows can't fetch the driver automatically , usually a very old or unusual printer , you can install that printer's driver once on this computer the normal way: from the printer maker's website, or with Windows' built-in Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → Add device, exactly as you would when setting up the printer on any new PC. Once the driver is on the computer, HearthWire connects to the shared printer with no extra steps, and it shows as connected. If you get stuck, the printer's model and "driver download" in a search usually leads straight to the maker's installer.

If every computer can already reach your Wi-Fi printer, you don't need to share it. HearthWire's printer sharing is mainly for a printer plugged into one PC (by USB), so the rest of the house can use it too. The PC the printer is attached to needs to be on for the others to print.

On the computer that needs help, they press I need help and choose whether to let you just see their screen or fully control it. You only get in after they approve. While it's active, a red bar with a Stop button shows them what's happening, and they can end it instantly.

Yes. It always needs the other person's explicit permission first, it works only over your home network, and they can stop it at any moment. You can also turn the whole feature off in Settings if you never want screen-help requests on a particular PC.

No. Messages and files travel directly between your computers over your local network, encrypted. There are no servers, no cloud, and no accounts, so we never see your messages, files, or settings. See the Privacy Policy.

Only a computer you approve. When a new PC asks to join, a prompt appears on a computer already in the network showing a short number, and you approve it only if it matches the number on the new computer's screen. Nothing can join, see your shared folders, or send you anything until you approve it, so HearthWire is built for a circle of people you trust , your own household. To keep someone out, simply don't approve them (and you can block a computer from the peer's menu at any time).

On your computer, under %LOCALAPPDATA%\HearthWire: your network name, this PC's display name, your shared-folder list, quick messages, and preferences. Files you receive go to Downloads\My Network Files. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.

No. It sits in the tray using very little, and only does real work while you're sending a message, moving a file, or sharing a screen. You won't notice it running.

HearthWire is fully translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Japanese, Hebrew, and Arabic, 11 languages in all. It follows your Windows display language automatically, and you can switch the language anytime in Settings.

Yes. Closing the window tucks HearthWire into the system tray near the clock, so messages and shared folders stay available. To quit completely, choose Exit from the tray menu.

Right-click HearthWire in the Start menu and choose Uninstall, or open Settings > Apps > Installed apps and remove it there. Your own files and folders are untouched.