If you'd like to ensure the smoothest possible upload for your files, and the smoothest possible download for your recipient, you should consider compressing your files into a .zip folder. Have no fear, though - it's a simple task, which we'll explain here:

For Windows 10:

• Open your ‘File Explorer’.

• Locate the file or folder that you want to zip.

• Right-click on the file or folder, select ‘Send to’, and then select ‘Compressed (zipped)’ folder.

• A new zipped folder with the same name is created in the same location. To rename it, right-click the folder, select ‘Rename’, and then type the new name.

For a Mac:

• Locate the items to zip in the Mac Finder (file system)

• Right-click on a file, folder, or files you want to zip.

• Select “Compress [file]" where [file] is the name of the file you want to zip.

• Find the newly created .zip archive in the same directory.

If you're on a mobile device, such as an iPhone or Android device, you won't be able to do this natively. Creating a .zip folder on mobile devices would mean that you need to install a third-party app. We'd recommend one called WinZip. You can find it in the Google Play Store here, or if you're on iOS, the App Store here.

To upload a folder, all you need to do is drag and drop the folder from your device onto the transfer page, or click the ‘Or select a folder’ option within the transfer window itself.

If you need to keep the structure of your files within your folder intact, we’d strongly advise that you create a .zip folder before uploading your transfer. If you don’t have a preferred method of creating a .zip, please do have a look here.

Also, if your recipient is having some trouble unzipping the .zip file, you’re more than welcome to send them this article, which will walk them through the process.

Please note that the process of uploading folders via both the Safari and Internet Explorer browsers is slightly different.

With Internet Explorer, we can’t guarantee that this feature will work consistently, as this browser is out-dated and isn’t the most compatible with our service. We’d recommend that you use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, instead.

With Safari, the ‘Or select a Folder’ option won’t display. You’ll need to either drag and drop the folder, or click the blue (+) button and select a folder manually. 

Here, we’ve explained how to send transfers using our web browser extension. It’s a free service, and you can send up to 2GB of whatever-it-is-you-wanna-send. We also have paid WeTransfer plans that allow you to send (and store) more.

Is your transfer upload speed slower than paint drying? Even worse, is your upload getting to 99% before suddenly crashing back down to 1%?

When this happens, it’s usually a case of something on your end preventing our uploader from properly reading all of your transfer’s data, causing the percentage to drop. This doesn’t always happen from 99% down to 1%, you may see this happen at any stage of the upload or experience slow uploads in general. Below are some tips and tricks to resolve this issue:

• First thing’s first, and as obvious as it is: have you tried the “turn it off and back on again” trick? Restarting your browser, computer, and router can often work wonders and will solve your upload issue quicker than anything else on this list.

• Check your upload speed. You can run a speed test on websites such as speedtest.net. We’d recommend that you have an upload speed of at least 5Mbps to use WeTransfer comfortably and without any interruptions.

• Double-check that none of your files are being used or opened elsewhere on your device, such as being used by a background application or being stored on an iCloud folder. You can also consider creating a .zip folder for this problem.

• Make sure you’re using the latest version of your browser, use a different browser entirely, or fire up your browser’s Incognito or Private browsing mode.

• If at all possible, temporarily disable your antivirus software or firewall. If you notice that your next upload makes it across the finish line, enable your antivirus again, contact our Support team and let us know which antivirus you’re using - we’ll help you out.

• If you’re working from home, and are connecting to your organization’s network via a VPN, try turning that VPN off, or ask your IT team or network administrator to look into things, or contact us directly.

• It’s very possible that one or more of your browser extensions or add-ons could be causing some slowness, especially if you’re using an ad blocker or a script blocker. To test this out, please re-try the upload in your browser’s Incognito or Private browsing mode, or after disabling all of your installed extensions.

• If your files are on an external hard drive, USB stick, or cloud folder, it helps to move them to your local drive before uploading. Make sure they’re not being opened or used by another app or programme running in the background, too.

If all else fails and you are desperately trying to send your transfer in time - you could also try your transfer on another browser, or via another network like a 4/5G connection on a mobile device. If this succeeds, this would suggest your browser's current settings are interfering with our connection. 

If you’ve already tried these steps, and can’t seem to get a transfer to complete no matter what you try, you can contact our Support team, and we’ll do our best to get you back on track. They’d love you forever and a day if you could attach a screenshot of the speed test result you got after going through with step number 2 above.