AlexWoodblock
Level 1 (17 points)

Q: Handoff and AirDrop not working in El Capitan

After upgrading to OS X 10.11 El Capitan, my Handoff and AirDrop stopped working between iOS 9.0.2 on iPhone 5S and my MacBook Pro Late 13. I've tried logging out of iCloud account on both devices numerous times, it didn't help.

 

For my friend with MacBook Air and iPhone 5S with same iOS version it works flawlessly.

 

Did anyone encounter similar issue, and if so, how did you solve it?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, iOS 9.0.2, plus iPhone 5S with iOS 9.0.2

Posted on Oct 1, 2015 6:18 AM

by donkermo,Solvedanswer
donkermo donkermo
Level 1 (10 points)
A:

I got my Handoff and Instant Hotspot working for now, AirDrop still does not work.

  1. Turn off Bluetooth on your Mac
  2. Delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist
  3. Turn Bluetooth back on

Perhaps someone figures out if something similar is to be done for AirDrop to breathe again?

Posted on Oct 21, 2015 10:16 PM

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AlexWoodblock

Q: Handoff and AirDrop not working in El Capitan

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  • by braden85,Helpful

    braden85 braden85 Oct 1, 2015 10:56 AM in response to AlexWoodblock
    Community Specialists
    Oct 1, 2015 10:56 AM in response to AlexWoodblock

    Hey there AlexWoodblock,

     

    I understand that you are seeing some issues with AirDrop and some Continuity features like Handoff as well. I have a couple of suggestions for troubleshooting these issues, the first of which can be found here:

    Tips for sending items

    If you don't see the recipient in the AirDrop window or sheet:

    • Make sure that both devices have AirDrop turned on and are within 30 feet (9 meters) of each other.
    • If you're sending to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: 
         
      • Your Mac needs to be a 2012 or newer model with OS X Yosemite or later.
        •  
      • The iOS device must have Personal Hotspot turned off in Settings > Cellular. 
    • If you're sending to a Mac: 
         
      • If the receiving Mac is using OS X Mavericks, Mountain Lion, or Lion, it needs to have an AirDrop window open: choose Go > AirDrop from the menu bar in the Finder. 
        •  
      • If the receiving Mac is a 2012 or older model, click “Don't see who you're looking for?” in the AirDrop window or sharing sheet of the sending Mac. Then click “Search for an Older Mac.” 
        •  
      • Find out if the Mac has “Block all incoming connections” turned on in Security & Privacy preferences. A Mac won't receive items using AirDrop if this setting is turned on.
    • If AirDrop on the receiving device is set up to receive items from contacts only, make sure that both devices are signed in to iCloud. Also make sure that the email address or phone number assocated with your Apple ID is in the Contacts app of the receiving device.

    Use AirDrop to send content from your Mac - Apple Support

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203106

     

    Next, use these steps to troubleshoot your Continuity features:

     

    Get help using Continuity with your iOS device or your Mac - Apple Support

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204678

     

    Take care, and thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities.

  • by am285,Helpful

    am285 am285 Oct 1, 2015 12:07 PM in response to AlexWoodblock
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Oct 1, 2015 12:07 PM in response to AlexWoodblock

    I'm having the same problem. Continuity works on the iPhone and iPad, but doesn't on the Mac with El Capitan, meaning I can see on my iPhone when I have Safari tabs open on the Mac, but not the other way around. The Hotspot option in the WiFi menu is also gone on the Macbook, but it works from iPad to iPhone, so my guess is that it is related to El Cap.

     

    Everything is on the same network.

     

    Tried the following on the Mac, but it didn't help:

     

    • Restarting
    • Disabling and enabling WiFi
    • Disabling and enabling Bluetooth
    • Disabling the firewall
    • Logging in and out of iCloud

     

    Specs:

    • iPhone 6+, iOS 9.0.2
    • iPad Air, iOS 9.0.2
    • late 2013 rMBP 13", OS X 10.11

  • by MickNL,Helpful

    MickNL MickNL Oct 3, 2015 6:35 AM in response to am285
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 3, 2015 6:35 AM in response to am285

    Here exactly the same problem. Tried all of the above too... Very annoying!

     

    OS X El Capitan

    in combo with

    iPad & iPhone both on iOS 9.0.2

  • by DSalpeter,

    DSalpeter DSalpeter Oct 3, 2015 2:30 PM in response to MickNL
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 3, 2015 2:30 PM in response to MickNL

    Same exact issue.  MBP late 13 on El Capital, iPhone 6 on iOS 9.0.2.  Most of continuity features seem broken, can't use iPhone to dial out from MBP, can't use airdrop.

  • by Vladimir74,

    Vladimir74 Vladimir74 Oct 4, 2015 4:12 AM in response to DSalpeter
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 4, 2015 4:12 AM in response to DSalpeter

    Same for me, handoff work betwin iphon and iPad but not for My mac, before the upgrade all works great

  • by Mr Sciarri,

    Mr Sciarri Mr Sciarri Oct 4, 2015 5:11 AM in response to AlexWoodblock
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 4, 2015 5:11 AM in response to AlexWoodblock

    Same here. Tried everything except resetting the phone. Everything works fine between iPhone 5s and iPad mini but not with my mac Book pro. Handoff and personal hotspot are not being found.
    Everything worked with Yosemite.

  • by harmeet15,

    harmeet15 harmeet15 Oct 4, 2015 5:33 AM in response to braden85
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 4, 2015 5:33 AM in response to braden85

    hi, i had tried all said above and still can't use the AirDrop and Handoff feature.

    any suggestions?

  • by DSalpeter,

    DSalpeter DSalpeter Oct 4, 2015 7:55 AM in response to DSalpeter
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 4, 2015 7:55 AM in response to DSalpeter

    Update:

    -I am able to use airdrop, no issues, and handoff works sometimes.

    -To try to get to the bottom of the FaceTime calling issue, I logged in w my wife's account and tried to use FaceTime iPhone calling w her iPhone and iCloud account.  That worked fine; it showed the "iPhone Cellular Calling" toggle on FaceTime, and I was able to make calls using the mac.

    -I also tried using my phone and iPad to see if the iPad could make cellular calls using my iCloud account, and that worked fine too.

    -Lastly, I reset my router and tried signing out and in from my iCloud account on my mac... that did not work.  So my conclusion is there is something specific to my particular mac account's configuration that is preventing the "iPhone Cellular Calling" toggle from working.  I suppose I could delete my user account and create a new one and that would probably work, but then I'd have to download all my data again and reinstall my software, which is obviously less than ideal!

     

    Any help appreciated!

  • by DSalpeter,

    DSalpeter DSalpeter Oct 4, 2015 9:28 AM in response to DSalpeter
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 4, 2015 9:28 AM in response to DSalpeter

    Another update.  I created a new user account and linked it to my iCloud account.  With that, I got the checkbox in FaceTime for "iPhone Cellular Calls" and was able to do those calls.  So something is screwed up w my user account.  It was restored via time machine not to long ago so it is possible that something got screwed up then.  Could I potentially delete the user account but keep my data, recreate my user account, and see if that fixes it?  I just want to avoid having to reinstall apps and redownload all my iCloud data (144GB worth of photos).

  • by MickNL,

    MickNL MickNL Oct 4, 2015 9:47 AM in response to DSalpeter
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 4, 2015 9:47 AM in response to DSalpeter

    With all due respect:
    DSalpeter, to me this now seems a individual case for Apple Support.

     

    The issue of this thread is Handoff and Airdrop features not working anymore between OS X and iOS after updating to El Capitan (actually, they stopped working in my case after upgrading to iOS 9; I thought it would get repaired with the launch of El Capitan, but it didn't...).

     

    Anything new from Apple on this broader issue? Hope the fix arrives soon!

  • by cabakroll,

    cabakroll cabakroll Oct 4, 2015 9:56 AM in response to AlexWoodblock
    Level 3 (840 points)
    Oct 4, 2015 9:56 AM in response to AlexWoodblock

    check if time zone is the same on iOS and OS X

  • by AlexWoodblock,

    AlexWoodblock AlexWoodblock Oct 4, 2015 10:06 AM in response to braden85
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Oct 4, 2015 10:06 AM in response to braden85

    Hi, I've already tried these steps and they didn't work. Right now I was able to pinpoint the problem, but I can't fix it. The problem is the following:

    When I try to send file via AirDrop, the following message from "sharingd" daemon pops up in Console.app twice:

    SDBonjourBrowser::failedToStartAdvertisingWithError
    Error Domain=NSMachErrorDomain Code=8 "(os/kern) no access"
    UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=wirelessproxd can't start advertising at this time.}

     

    I've already filed bugreport to Apple, but maybe this discussion will also be seen by Apple employees and necessary measures will be taken.

  • by HaraldS,

    HaraldS HaraldS Oct 4, 2015 10:32 AM in response to AlexWoodblock
    Level 2 (324 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 4, 2015 10:32 AM in response to AlexWoodblock

    Same here on one of my systems:

    - Messages and phone/facetime handoff works

    - Application handoff does not

     

    It works booting into Yosemite.

     

    I am hesitant to reset iCloud on all my systems, since I will have to download several GB of mail all over again and it did not fix it last time i had trouble.

  • by haginile,Helpful

    haginile haginile Oct 4, 2015 3:29 PM in response to HaraldS
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Oct 4, 2015 3:29 PM in response to HaraldS

    Exactly same issue here. Messages/Phone/Facetime, even Safari works for me, but not other apps.

     

    I've already tried resetting iCloud and mine is a clean installation, so no reason for you to try resetting.. Won't fix the problem. Filed bug report with Apple and we'll see how to they respond.

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