Handoff not working in one direction iOS13 and iPadOS13.

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Level 1

14 points

Handoff not working in one direction iOS13 and iPadOS13.

Hi all

My issue is that Handoff works from iPad to iPhone, but not in the other direction (from iPhone to iPad).

Every other continuity feature works as it should in both directions (i.e. copy/paste between devices and AirDrop).

I have tried all troubleshooting I can think of on both devices; for example turning Bluetooth off and on, turning WiFi off and on, turning Handoff off and on, logging out of iCloud and back in again, restarting the devices, resetting network settings and combinations of the above.

There are only 3 ways I have got the app Handoff to start to work properly - from iPad to iPhone and iPhone to iPad:

Completely reinstall iPadOS via iTunes.
On my iPad, if I go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset all settings; and
On my iPad, if I go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase all content and settings

(With both the reinstall via iTunes and the erase all contents and settings methods, I have to set the device up as new - if I restore from an iCloud backup Handoff still only works from iPad to iPhone).

But I have found what causes Handoff to break. The issue arises again once the iPad is shut down and turned on again (or reboots, for example in the process of an OS update), then Handoff breaks in one direction. It will then only work from iPad to iPhone, but does not work from iPhone to iPad. Only one of the 3 methods listed above will get it to work again. (Although the ‘Reset all settings’ method is better than setting up the iPad from scratch again by totally erasing all content and settings, it’s still a nuisance to have to set up all the settings to my preference, as they obviously go back to default.).

As I’m able to copy/paste across devices and I’m able to Handoff from iPad to iPhone, it suggests to me that all settings are correct. My thinking is that there is an iPadOS bug which is triggered when the device has been shut down or rebooted and only a clean start of all the settings fixes.

Is anybody else encountering this problem, or have had the problem and have permanently fixed it?

For info, I’m on the public released versions, and it has happened throughout all iOS13 releases. I’m currently on 13.2.2 on both devices.

iPad Pro 2018 11”, WiFi only model

iPhone 11

iPad Pro, iOS 13

Posted on Nov 17, 2019 1:06 AM

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Answer 1

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13_paul_13 Author

Level 1

14 points

Nov 17, 2019 10:53 AM in response to QuickPost

Thank you for the response.

I posted a thread on Reddit as well this morning and a response on there has provided a workaround.

On my iPad, I have the Settings > Home Screen & Dock > Show Suggested and Recent Apps in Dock toggle turned off. If I just toggle it on and off again my iPhone apps then appear in the Dock to Handoff from.

Whilst not ideal that just switching the iPad off causes an issue with Handoff, it’s at least a simple and quick 2 second workaround and doesn’t involve resetting all settings or erasing all content and settings and the cumbersome set up that comes afterwards!

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Answer 2

QuickPost

Level 10

103,365 points

Nov 17, 2019 7:53 AM in response to 13_paul_13

Hello,

On occasion I will have an issue with Handoff.

I remedy it with the following on all of my devices:

• Disable Handoff in Settings > General > Handoff

• Sign out of my Apple ID in Settings > [Your Name] > Sign Out

• Disable Bluetooth & Wi-Fi in Settings not Control Center

• Restart the device(s)

• Re-enable Bluetooth & Wi-Fi

• Sign back in with Apple ID

• Re-enable Handoff

• Restart the device(s)

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Handoff not working in one direction iOS13 and iPadOS13.

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