Airdrop not working

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Level 1

8 points

Airdrop not working

My iMac (El Capitan 10.11.6) is not showing other Apple devices in the AirDrop window and the iMac is not an option on other Apple devices to send to. Also, the blue links titled "Allow me to be discovered by:" and "Don't see who you're looking for?" are not visible at the bottom of the Airdrop screen as shown in documentation and YouTube videos.

I can Airdrop between an iPhone and iPad but not to the iMac from either of those devices. After viewing many videos, I have tried the following:

-Confirmed Bluetooth is on

-Confirmed WiFi is on

-Confirmed Firewall is off

-Recycled WiFi off/on on all devices

-Recycled Bluetooth off/on on the iPhone and iPad (I did not do this on the iMac as the keyboard and mouse use Bluetooth and I am concerned about not being able to turn Bluetooth back on again once those devices lose contact)

-Rebooted all devices

Does anybody have any recommendations for what to try next?

iMac 21.5″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Oct 12, 2020 8:46 AM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,856 points

Oct 13, 2020 8:21 AM in response to Jones_Lake

I just got a 2020 27" iMac myself, I had a 2011 27" too. The 2020 works perfectly including the AirDrop feature. When you upgrade, if you are considering migrating from the 2011 it would be wise to use the Time Machine EHD and connect it to the 2020 before you turn it on for the first time. Use a simple USB cable. When the 2020 starts up, it will launch Setup Assistant, SA will get to a point where it asks if you are migrating from another Mac, select Yes and then follow the on screen prompts. This method works 100% of the time assuming your TM EHD is working correctly.

Also, it's a good idea to buy an additional 32GB of RAM (or more) from either Crucial.com or Macsales.com to upgrade the RAM. Do NOT buy from anywhere else, both of these vendors provide high quality RAM at reasonable prices that just works. I have already counseled many on these forums that have upgraded their RAM and bought cheap RAM that simply did not work. If you buy upgraded RAM install the original RAM in slots 1 & 2 (the top and 2nd down slots) and the upgraded RAM in slots 3 &4. Doing this will get you the best speed.

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