MacOS does not remember the checkbox option 'Show this Iphone when on WiFi' under Locations

Hey there littlefooch, and funky snowman!

Just curious.....it sounds like you covered most bases already, so just wondering about a few settings on each device(s).

Do you have Screen Time enabled on either?:

Settings > Screen Time

System Preferences > Screen Time

In particular the Content and Privacy Restrictions?

Another setting on both devices I’m curious to see if on or not on is Handoff:

Settings > Airplay and Handoff

System Preferences > General (Allow Handoff)

A final question, do either of you use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac?

These could be unrelated to the issue, but considering the great isolation you’ve done so far, might.

Thanks! Happy to help out if I can.

I am having the same problem on an M1 macbook air. Macbook air running 11.4, iphone and ipad running 14.6. The Mac can't find either device over wifi.

1) I plug in iPhone, it pops up in finder

2) I check the "show this iphone when on wifi" box and press apply.

3) I unplug or dismount iphone (phone/ipad immediately disappears from finder)

4) I restart mac, neither device shows up over wifi

5) I plug in the devices using apple lightning/usb-c cables and the "Show this iPhone when on Wi-Fi" box is unchecked again.

6) I recheck the box and try again

...rinse and repeat x100

This behavior is the same for both my iphone 12 and ipad air 4 when trying to sync to the M1 MBA. I can sync all devices just fine using a wired connection. All devices are on the same wifi network. My 2017 Macbook Pro 13" (running and older version of MacOS) has absolutely no problem wifi syncing with the same iphone 12 and ipad air 4.

Troubleshooting so far:

1) I have reset everything there is to reset re network settings, device trust settings, and all other settings.

2) I have done a factory restore on all devices 2x. On the last restore, I did not restore any software from any backups, and I tried to sync the iphone and the mac first thing before manually loading any software or changing any settings. I didn't even sign into itunes initially!

3) I reset my wifi network. I even tried another wifi network.

I've spoken to multiple tech support people, and have a follow-up call next week, but so far nobody has any idea what's going on.

Pretty disappointed because this feature is the primary reason I switched to iPhone from Android, and Apple doesn't seem to have any solutions. I really have no interest in subscription music, so if they can't find a solution I'll just go back to android.

There are no screen time content and privacy restrictions enabled in screen time on the M1 MBA, or either iOS device. Both iOS devices can sync with my 2017 MBP 13 no problem, even when iOS devices are initially paired with the M1 MBA, so this is definitely an issue on the Mac side specifically.

Handoff is enabled on all devices.

I can even airdrop files to my other devices from my M1 MBA.

This is a bug

Since I’ve factory restored all devices without backups, and tried to sync without even being signed into an Apple ID, we can pretty safely rule out a setting or account issue. I’ve covered this.

As I said, I’ve tried multiple networks, my MBP can sync fine regardless of network, but my M1 MBA can’t sync over any of them. This pretty well rules out the network.

The fact that both my iPhone 12 and iPad Air 4 can sync perfectly fine with my 2017 MBP via WiFi, but not with the M1 MBA, is a very strong indicator that the problem is specifically with the M1 MacBook, and not with the network or iOS devices. I don’t have a bunch of additional m1’s laying around to test against.

Like the OP, My primary concern at this point is why the setting “Show this iPhone when on Wifi” will not stay checked. Seems like Finder isn’t actually* activating the feature on the devices, and it just doesn’t figure it out until you disconnect then plug the phone in again after a few min.

Hey again!

Could be, the M1 has new hardware, which may be a factor, I’d suspect if everyone with an M1 had the same problem, it would’ve been posted here already. So since it’s working for some and not for others, My first instinct was a setting whether that be fore the device, or an account on the device. Also two devices are involved so that adds to the troubleshooting spectrum.

I know you’ve done clean installs, as you noted before, are you able to test on another iOS device on this Mac, OR your iOS device on another M1 Mac? And likewise on another network and/or even a different location?

Well done, well as you’ve seemed to rule everything out, I might contact Apple directly, perhaps this is a bug they aren’t aware of and should be made aware of, this isn’t the place for that, unless someone has a workaround for the problem, maybe it could be a simple thing, but it seems you’ve already ruled out the hardware, software, environment, OS versions, network, System, user, and account based questions. Not sure what to look for after that 🙂

If it is something on the OS side, I would call them though, for sure, hope it works out okay!

Hi, the same issue here... I am using MBPro M1 with 11.4 MacOS and iPhone witch 11.6 iOS. I am struggling with the issue since I wipe out and reinstall my MBPro M1. I am desperate, because I've tried almost everything. I have done all the thing that @funky_snowman has done and also I've tried to remove finder .plist preferences file - no result. I am wondering if there is some other .plist files which are responsible for saving the settings showen when iphone is connected by wire.

Same issue here. It was working until I had to restore my Mac (for a separate issue). Ever since then, I can't get the iPhone to show up over wi-fi. And every time I restart my Mac and plug my iPhone in, the "Show this iPhone when on Wi-Fi" box is unchecked. If anyone found a solution please let us know!

Yeah, I’m at a loss. We’ll see what they say I guess. I’ll update this if I ever find a solution. Thanks for the input!

Sounds good, whatever it is, hope it helps @littlefooch, as well. I’d be curious to know as well, so thanks.