Airdrop from iOS 14 to macOS Big Sur: files never show up on Mac

Question

Airdrop from iOS 14 to macOS Big Sur: files never show up on Mac

This has been an issue since the Big Sur beta was available. Now in production, the problem persists. If I airdrop a file (video, image, text) from my iPhone running iOS 14.2 to my MacBook Pro running macOS 11.0.1, the iPhone thinks the files transferred, and the MacBook displays a notification that the files arrived, but the files are not in Downloads, nor are they anywhere else on my filesystem.

This has been repeatable for a months now.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.0

Posted on Nov 14, 2020 7:53 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Dotdatt

Level 1

14 points

Dec 20, 2020 10:39 PM in response to emilio-lizardo

Sure Fix!!

I went into Firewall and clicked options and deselected "Block all incoming connections and checked Automatically allow built-in software to receive incoming connections.

Reply

Answer 2

Jan 10, 2021 2:58 PM in response to MiszMelissa14

Actually I found a fix to my problem! Turn off Bluetooth. Then delete the com.apple.Bluetooth.plist file from your Library under the Preferences folder on your Mac. Reboot and then enable Bluetooth again.

Reply

Answer 3

bnew13

Level 1

4 points

Jan 24, 2021 7:29 PM in response to emilio-lizardo

Turn off bluetooth, then go to the Finder, click on the "Airdrop" icon, turn the Bluetooth back on from that screen, and then change the "Allow me to be discovered by" from "No-one" to "Everyone".

Reply

Answer 4

lokilina

Level 1

4 points

Dec 19, 2020 4:12 PM in response to sphinxx

This didn't work for me. I contacted support & it was the firewall, incoming connections were blocked. Unfortunately there isn't a fix for it yet so every time I want to airdrop from phone to mac, I have to disable this.

Reply

Answer 5

dialabrain

Level 10

137,277 points

Nov 16, 2020 3:36 PM in response to emilio-lizardo

FWIW, I have rarely used AirDrop. However, I just AirDropped files from my iPhone 6s running iOS 14.2 and my 12.9" iPad Pro running iPadOS 14.2 to my iMac Pro running Big Sur 11.0.1. Unfortunately I have no troubleshooting steps to offer.

Reply

Answer 6

Randi-dk

Level 1

4 points

Dec 10, 2020 11:52 PM in response to emilio-lizardo

I use Airdrop all the time, so it's really annoying this basic function doesn't work. Airdrop from my iPhone simply doesn't show my mac as found in the list, and I need to email stuff to myself instead. Sigh.

Reply

Answer 7

sphinxx

Level 1

62 points

Dec 19, 2020 5:24 AM in response to emilio-lizardo

Not sure if this helps you all but it worked for me.

I switched off wifi and bluetooth on my iPhone and iPad, then switched them back on.
I then did the same on my MacBook Pro (do this in bluetooth preferences in the system preferences and not just in the toolbar).
I then restarted my MacBook and it all started working again.

Hope this works for you

Reply

Answer 8

Jan 10, 2021 2:44 PM in response to marybeth240

My firewall is off and I still can’t use Airdrop or Universal Clipboard between my iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro and 2018 MacBook Pro with Big Sur. My devices don’t even show up as options in the list 😩

Reply

Answer 9

STUchida

Level 1

9 points

Nov 15, 2020 8:16 PM in response to emilio-lizardo

Every time I try, it says that it has been cancelled.

I'm sending from iPhone xR w/iOS 14.2 to Mac mini (late 2014) w/MacOS 11.0.1

This "big" upgrade is proving to be quite rediculous.

Reply

Answer 10

tkunkler

Level 1

4 points

Nov 16, 2020 3:16 PM in response to emilio-lizardo

Yes, I too am having difficulty in airdropping from iPhone 12 Pro to the new Big Sur OS. I show up on the AirDrop screen. Tried AirDropping a larger (not HD) video without success.

Reply