Do digital frames need Wi-Fi?
Most premium digital frames use Wi-Fi quite extensively. Many of the most versatile and useful features on these frames rely on Wi-Fi connectivity – and cloud capabilities in some cases. Wi-Fi is an especially important feature for high-end frames as it makes them suitable choices for big families. Wi-Fi is what makes digital frames relevant in 2021 and beyond. Frames that don’t use Wi-Fi are naturally at a significant disadvantage.
Top digital frames like the Pix-Star use Wi-Fi for sending and receiving pictures, videos, and other media. Wi-Fi unlocks access to the Pix-Star Snap mobile app. You can remotely take control of any connected digital Pix-Star frames through the web interface. The web interface offers an intuitive and familiar way to control up to 25 connected Pix-Star digital frames. Here you can change settings, start slideshows, manage local & cloud storage, and much more.
Wi-Fi is the foundation that many of the best digital frames base their features and functionality. It’s the basis for cloud storage and sets the stage for versatile features like the ability to remotely control a frame. While Wi-Fi isn’t needed all the time, it’s essential for frames that compete with tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs.
That being said, almost all digital frames with Wi-Fi have some form of offline functionality. In most cases, they use a combination of internal storage and USB/SD card support to receive and display pictures & other media. This is done without needing to connect to Wi-Fi. With digital frames like the Pix-Star, all received pictures are saved to the 8GB internal storage. This even includes linked web albums from social media and photo-sharing sites. Once any picture has been saved to internal, it can be included in slideshows while the frame isn’t connected to Wi-Fi.
To summarize, while many premium digital frames have offline functionality, effective Wi-Fi connectivity provides a massive boost in functionality and versatility. It’s what makes these digital frames modern and competitive enough to go against smartphones and tablets.
How do digital frames with Wi-Fi work?
Most digital frames with Wi-Fi use the enhanced connectivity to make sharing pictures, videos, & audio much easier. In many cases, you can send pictures from anywhere in the world using a combination of photo email, mobile apps, and web interface. Not every frame offers all of these features, and they’re not offered equally extensively.
Most digital frames connect to home & office Wi-Fi networks. This gives them access to cloud storage if it’s available. Additionally, once registered on the web interface or the supported mobile app, you can start to send pictures right away.
Digital frames with Wi-Fi connectivity and a web interface/mobile app can often be remotely controlled. In several cases, you can adjust settings, start & manage slideshows, and more. This remote-control function is usually controlled through the web interface, though some frames are controlled via a mobile app.
Cloud & storage management is another feature that’s enabled through Wi-Fi connectivity. Wi-Fi enables cloud storage and new pictures to be automatically saved and updated. This storage can then be managed remotely – allowing you to control what pictures are available on which frames.
How to send pictures to digital frames with Wi-Fi?
The most common way to send pictures to digital frames over Wi-Fi is by email. You simply have to load the pictures as attachments and send the email to your frame’s unique email address. This isn’t a universally offered feature but is arguably the most common.
Perhaps the best method is using a mobile app – though these apps don’t come with every digital frame. It offers an intuitive and convenient way to send pictures as we almost always have our smartphones with us. Pictures are sent quickly and the limits are a lot more flexible when compared to photo email. For example, the Pix-Star Snap mobile app lets you send up to 250 pictures to multiple Pix-Star frames at the same time. You can often also send videos and audio messages to your digital frames through the mobile app.
With digital frames like the Pix-Star, you can import picture albums and collections via the web interface. Here you can select up to almost a dozen supported social media and photo-sharing platforms to link and sync photo albums from. These web albums are automatically saved to the Pix-Star frame’s internal storage and can be viewed offline. Web albums are automatically updated whenever you add new photos to any linked album. Additionally, you can import photos directly from your computer to your Pix-Star frames using this method.
What are the best digital frame Wi-Fi features?
Wi-Fi connectivity offers digital frames a ton of new and handy features. Arguably the best of these is cloud storage as you can easily backup and store all your favorite pictures. On top of this, you can remotely manage and perform bulk actions on cloud storage from anywhere in the world. Pix-Star’s digital frames offer free-for-life cloud storage – a unique feature among most premium digital frames. Some top frames like Skylight and Nixplay require additional annual subscription fees to unlock or expand cloud storage.
Another excellent Wi-Fi-enabled feature is a remote-control function. This lets you use either the mobile app or the web interface to remotely access & control your digital frames. With the Pix-Star frame, you can manage & control up to 25 connected frames from a single user account. Here you can remotely start & manage slideshows, adjust display settings, change the frame’s settings, and more. It’s an excellent feature for elderly users as it makes photo-sharing and staying up to date effortless – they don’t even need to lift a finger to see the latest and best pictures.
How to set up a digital frame’s Wi-Fi?
Connecting to Wi-Fi is usually the first thing you’ll do when setting up your new digital frame. You will usually guide through this process by the setup wizard – especially if it’s your first time. Frames like the Pix-Star have a very simple setup process that only takes a few short minutes.
Make sure you connect to a home or office Wi-Fi network that you have the password and username. You can’t connect to Wi-Fi networks that require web authentication through an internet browser. This is usually the case with a coffee shop and hotel Wi-Fi. Digital frames don’t have inbuilt web browsers, which is why you can’t connect to these types of Wi-Fi networks.
