How to Transfer Word Documents to Another PC, Account or Phone

The quickest way to transfer Word documents to another computer or phone is to save them to OneDrive, then sign in with the same Microsoft account on the other device and open them from File > Open > OneDrive. For a one-off copy without the cloud, put the files on a USB flash drive, send them with Windows Nearby sharing, or email them to yourself. Moving documents to a different account, or moving the Word app itself to a new PC, takes a few extra steps, which are covered below.

Applies to: Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024 and Word 2021 on Windows 11 (version 26H2) and Windows 10 (22H2), plus the Word and OneDrive apps on iPhone and Android. A Word document is an ordinary file (usually ending in .docx, or .doc for older files), so copying it moves all of its text, formatting, comments and tracked changes with it.

Which method should you use?

• You use the same Microsoft account on both devices: OneDrive. Nothing to carry, and the files stay in sync.
• The other PC is next to you, or has no internet: a USB flash drive.
• Two Windows PCs in the same room, one or two files: Nearby sharing.
• Sending a file to someone else: an email attachment or a share link.
• Moving from a work or school account to a personal one (or between two personal accounts): download and re-upload, or share and add.
• Setting up a new PC: move all of your documents at once, then install and sign in to Word (see Moving Word itself).

Transfer Word documents with OneDrive

This works between any mix of Windows PCs, Macs and phones signed in with the same Microsoft account.

1. Open the document in Word on the first computer.
2. Select File > Save As (or Save a Copy), then choose OneDrive – Personal. A work or school account shows as OneDrive followed by the organization’s name.

3. Give the file a clear name and select Save. To move many files at once, drag them into the OneDrive folder in File Explorer instead.
4. Wait for the upload to finish. The OneDrive cloud icon in the taskbar stops showing sync arrows, and each file shows a green check or a cloud icon in File Explorer.
5. On the other computer, open Word, check that the account shown at the top right is the same one, and select File > Open > OneDrive. Your documents are listed there.

The save steps match Microsoft’s Save your document to OneDrive in Word page. A bonus of keeping documents in OneDrive is AutoSave and version history, so an accidental overwrite can be rolled back.

Copy Word documents with a USB flash drive

1. Plug the USB drive into the first computer and open File Explorer (press Windows + E).
2. Go to the folder that holds your documents, usually Documents. If you’re not sure where they are, type ext:.docx in the search box at the top right; search again with ext:.doc for older files.
3. Select the files (hold Ctrl to pick several, or press Ctrl + A for all), right-click and choose Copy.
4. Select the USB drive in the left pane, right-click an empty area and choose Paste.
5. Close any open documents, then right-click the drive and choose Eject. Remove it when Windows says it’s safe.
6. Plug the drive into the other computer and copy the files from it into Documents. Open one from there, not from the USB drive, so edits are saved on the computer.

Copying leaves the originals in place, which is safer than moving them. If a file with the same name already exists, Windows asks whether to replace it, skip it, or let you decide for each file, so read that prompt before clicking.

Send a document with Nearby sharing (PC to PC)

1. On both PCs, open Settings > System > Nearby sharing. On Windows 10 the same option is under System > Shared experiences.
2. Choose Only your own devices if both PCs are signed in with your Microsoft account, or Everyone nearby for someone else’s PC. Everyone nearby makes your PC’s name and Bluetooth address visible to people around you, so switch it back off afterwards.
3. Make sure Bluetooth is on for both PCs. Wi-Fi sharing also works when both are on the same private network.
4. In File Explorer, right-click the Word document, choose Share, and select the other PC’s name.

5. On the receiving PC, select Save or Save & open in the notification. Files go to Downloads unless you changed the folder under Save files I receive to.

Microsoft lists the requirements, including Windows 10 version 1803 or later for the receiving PC, on its Share things with nearby devices in Windows page.

Email a document or share a link

Attaching a document to an email is fine for a few small files. Size limits count the whole message: Outlook.com allows about 20 MB, many business Exchange accounts default to 10 MB, and personal Gmail allows 25 MB (Gmail turns anything larger into a Google Drive link automatically). Microsoft’s Send large files with Outlook page suggests a cloud link or a zip file for anything bigger.

To send a link from Word instead, save the document to OneDrive, select Share at the top right of the Word window, enter the person’s email address, choose whether they can edit or only view, and select Send. For every sharing option, see how to share a Word document by link, email or copy.

Move documents to a different Microsoft account

OneDrive has no “transfer” button between accounts. Pick one of these routes.

Download, then upload

This creates fully independent copies and works for any pair of accounts.

1. In a browser, sign in to OneDrive with the old account.
2. Select the check circle on each file or folder, then select Download on the toolbar. Several items arrive as one .zip file in your Downloads folder.
3. Right-click the .zip file and choose Extract All.
4. Sign out, sign in with the new account, then select Add new (or Upload) > Files upload or Folder upload and pick the extracted items.

Microsoft explains the download options and limits on its Download files and folders from OneDrive page.

Share a folder, then add it

1. In the old account, create a folder, move the documents into it, select it and choose Share.
2. Enter the new account’s email address and select Send.
3. Sign in to the new account, select Shared in the left pane, open the folder and select Add to my OneDrive.

These steps come from Microsoft’s Move files to another OneDrive account page. Keep the share in place until you’ve confirmed the files open in the new account. If you plan to close the old account, use download and upload instead so the copies don’t depend on it.

Work or school account to personal account on one PC

If both OneDrive accounts are set up in File Explorer, select the documents in the work OneDrive folder, choose Copy, open your personal OneDrive folder and choose Paste. Microsoft recommends copy and paste over drag and drop because it’s less error-prone. Copied files count as new, so Date created and Modified By details reset, and anything you had shared must be shared again. Copy only your own personal files, and check your employer’s or school’s rules first.

Transfer Word documents to or from a phone

• Any phone: install the free Microsoft Word or OneDrive app and sign in with the same account. Documents you saved to OneDrive appear straight away.
• Android with a cable: unlock the phone, connect it to the PC, tap the Charging this device via USB notification, and under Use USB for choose File Transfer. Drag documents into the phone’s Documents or Download folder, then eject the phone in Windows. Google documents these steps on Transfer files between your computer and Android device.
• iPhone with a cable: on Windows, open the Apple Devices app, connect the iPhone, select Files, choose the Word app, then Add File. Files added this way live inside that app and are deleted if you delete the app, as Apple’s Apple Devices file sharing page explains. Other routes are in sending files from an iPhone to Windows 10.

Moving all your documents to a new PC

To move years of documents at once, copy the whole Documents folder (and Desktop, if you keep files there) to an external drive, or turn on OneDrive folder backup on the old PC: select the OneDrive cloud icon in the taskbar, then Help & Settings > Settings > Sync and backup > Manage backup, switch on Documents and select Save changes. When you sign in to OneDrive on the new PC with the same account, the backed-up folders appear there.

Documents scattered in other folders are easy to miss, so it’s worth following finding every Word document on your computer before you wipe the old machine. For photos, music and the rest of your files, see transferring files from PC to PC in Windows 11, or moving data from a Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 if you’re upgrading.

Bring your Word templates and default settings

Custom styles, default fonts and macros you saved to the default template live in Normal.dotm, which isn’t in your Documents folder. On the old PC, close Word, type %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates in the File Explorer address bar, and copy Normal.dotm to your USB drive. Templates you made yourself are usually in Documents > Custom Office Templates. On the new PC, close Word and paste them into the same locations. Replacing Normal.dotm overwrites any changes already made on the new PC; Microsoft describes the file on its Change the Normal template page.

Moving Word itself to a new computer

The Word program doesn’t copy over with your files. You install it fresh on the new PC, and what you do next depends on how you bought it.

Microsoft 365 subscription

1. On the new PC, go to m365.cloud.microsoft/apps, sign in with the account that has the subscription, and select Install apps > Install. You need to be an administrator on the PC.
2. Run the downloaded setup file and select Close when you see “You’re all set!”
3. Open Word, accept the license agreement and sign in if asked.

Microsoft’s install page has the full steps. You can be signed in on five devices at the same time, and Microsoft signs you out of older devices automatically to stay within that limit. Signing out of Word on the old PC (File > Account > Sign out) frees a spot; after that, the old PC can only view and print documents, as described on the Sign in to Microsoft 365 page.

One-time purchase (Office or Word 2024, 2021 and earlier)

Home and business one-time purchases can be installed on a single computer. If your product key has been redeemed to your Microsoft account (at microsoft365.com/setup), install it on the new PC from the same apps page. Microsoft says you can move it to a different computer under the license terms, but you must activate it by phone on the new PC and uninstall Office from the original one. Its Activate Office after installing on a different device page covers this, and you can read your own transfer rights in Word under File > Account > About Word. More install help is in installing Word in Windows 10.

Check the transfer, then tidy up

1. Open two or three documents on the new device, including your largest one, and scroll through them.
2. Make a small edit, save with Ctrl + S, close the file and reopen it to confirm the change stuck.
3. Only then delete the old copies, and keep one backup of important files somewhere else.

If something goes wrong

• Word isn’t installed on the new device yet: open the file with Word for the web by uploading it to OneDrive and selecting it in your browser.
• A document opens in Protected View: Word does this for files from email or the internet. If you trust the file, select Enable Editing in the yellow bar.
• OneDrive files won’t open offline: they may be online-only. Right-click the file or folder in File Explorer and choose Always keep on this device.
• The other PC doesn’t show up in Nearby sharing: check that both have it turned on, Bluetooth is on, and the option is set to Everyone nearby if they use different accounts.
• Word says the activation limit is reached: sign out on an old device (Microsoft 365) or use phone activation (one-time purchase), as described above.

Frequently asked questions

Will my formatting, comments and tracked changes survive the move?

Yes. Copying a .docx file moves everything stored in it. Differences show up only if the new PC lacks a font you used; Word then substitutes a similar one, which can shift line breaks. Install the missing font, or embed fonts under File > Options > Save before you send the file.

Can I open a Word document in Google Docs instead?

Yes. Upload the .docx file to Google Drive, then open it with Google Docs. Converting it creates a separate Google Docs copy, as covered in turning a Word document into a Google Doc.

Do old .doc files transfer the same way?

They do. Newer versions of Word open them in Compatibility Mode. To get every current feature, open the file and select File > Info > Convert, which saves it as a .docx.

Ready to start? Save one document to OneDrive, open it on the other device, and once that works, move the rest the same way.