[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Deleted member 8936679:
Hello developers, best regards from Venezuela.

This question will be long because I am providing a lot of detail, so this question is as clear as possible.

Brief introduction.

I have created an app that runs on Android devices, this app allows you to share files between devices that are connected to the same WI-FI network. but with a different methodology to that used by apps that are intended to fulfill this same purpose.

On the device where my app is running (which we will named device one), a url similar to http://192.168.1.102:7898 is generated, and said url must be entered in a web browser installed on the device with which you want to share the files (which we will named device two).

The main purpose is to offer a way to share files between devices, using WI-FI. without the need for device two, my app has to be installed.

You can find more information in https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.tecnoelias.ipfiles

...

So far everything works fine. But, it is annoying that every time someone wants to share files using my app, on device two, they have to enter the url described above. keeping in mind that said url will change as the WI-FI router decides, and therefore, you should not use shortcuts to the url (bookmarks or navigation history).

Having said all this, the following question arises.

Is there a way to get device two to access that url without having to type it manually by the user?

To accomplish this, three ideas occurred to me.

1: Generate a QR code in the app. but this requires that on device two, an additional app is installed that can read QR codes. which violates my purpose.

2: Implement in the app, a mechanism that allows you to find other devices that my app is working on, and in this way, interact with those devices (through my app, similar to how other file transfer apps do). This is a good idea, but it nevertheless requires that my app be installed on both devices.

3: My third idea and the one I would like to implement is the following:

On device one, it will open my app and then activate it.

When the app is activated, the app will search for other devices that are connected to the same WI-FI network, until it finds device two.

If successful, a SOMEWHAT will be sent programmatically to the device two, that SOMEWHAT can be, a message, a bit, a data packet, or anything else that helps to realize this idea .

After device two receives that SOMEWHAT, it will show a notification or a pop-up window, which will allow access to the url generated in my app (on device one).

Consider two things. 1: Additional app MUST NOT be installed on device two. and 2: Because device two can be running any operating system, the SOMEWHAT will be a different mechanism for each operating system, (operating systems can be, Android, IOS, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Phone, Windows, Linux, Mac, among others).

If for example, device two, runs Android 10 (not rooted), and has the most common applications installed, which can be: WhatsApp, Facebook Messeinger, Google Play Services, other Google apps, and system applications.

My thought is that you should be able to use one of those apps, to receive the url, and after clicking on that url, the web browser will open, and then it will load the corresponding webpage (which in this case, is to access the files shared by device one, through my app).

Any idea?

You can give me your opinion, or you can just tell me that this can't be accomplished.

Any response or suggestion are appreciated.