Support

Email support@echofiles.app or use the form. If a question is not covered below, ask.

Common questions

The computers cannot see each other.

They must be on the same network; a guest Wi‑Fi network is usually walled off from the main one. On Windows, the network must be set to Private, not Public (Settings › Network & internet › your connection › Network profile type), and Echofiles must be allowed through the firewall when Windows asks the first time. The passphrase must match exactly on every computer, or be blank on all of them. Some mesh Wi‑Fi systems have a "client isolation" setting that stops devices talking to each other; it needs to be off.

A file did not sync.

Files still being written are picked up once they have been unchanged for a couple of seconds. Temporary files, files ending in .tmp, .part or .crdownload, Office lock files (~$…), Thumbs.db, .DS_Store and desktop.ini are ignored on purpose. A file open in another program on the receiving computer cannot be replaced until it is closed; Echofiles keeps trying.

How do I get a deleted file back?

Deleted files, and earlier versions of files that were overwritten, are kept on each computer for 30 days. Choose Recovered files in Echofiles; each copy is named with the date and time it was set aside.

Two people edited the same file at the same time. What happens?

The version saved most recently wins everywhere, and the other version is kept in Recovered files on the computer that lost. Nothing is merged or silently thrown away.

How do I install it on a Mac?

Open Echofiles.dmg and drag Echofiles into Applications. The Mac version is not yet signed with an Apple developer certificate, so macOS asks you to allow it the first time, once. On macOS 10.15 to 14: in Applications, right-click Echofiles, choose Open, then click Open in the message. On macOS 15 or later: open it once and close the message, then in System Settings › Privacy & Security scroll to Security, click Open Anyway next to Echofiles, and confirm. It then appears in the menu bar and opens normally from then on.

Does anything leave my network?

No. Files move directly between your own computers over your local network. The privacy policy has the details.

Can I sync my whole Desktop or Documents folder?

Yes; those are the most common choices. Echofiles will not sync a whole drive, your entire home folder, or system and application folders.

Does it work between Windows and Mac?

Yes, in any mix. Windows shortcuts and Mac aliases only work on their own platform, so keep those out of shared folders.

Which versions are supported?

Windows 10 (version 1809) and Windows 11. macOS 10.15 Catalina and later, on Intel and Apple silicon.

Where are the settings and the log?

Windows: %AppData%\Echofiles, or for the Store version %LocalAppData%\Packages\Ontiqo.Echofiles_da44mj69t30y8\LocalState\Echofiles. Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Echofiles. The file echofiles.log in there says which computers it found and what went wrong.

How do I remove it?

Quit it from the tray or menu bar icon and uninstall it like any program. Your folders and files stay exactly where they are. The settings folder above can be removed by hand.