Personal Hotspot v AirDrop

Hello Ewan Lamont,

That's a great question! When using Personal Hotspot you wouldn't be able to use AirDrop at the same time since it requires an Wi-Fi connection to be used. If you want to transfer photos from your iPhone to your Mac when an internet connection isn't available, you'll want to follow the steps listed below. You can also find these steps outlined in the following article.

1. "Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac with a USB cable.
2. Open the Photos app on your computer.
3. The Photos app shows an Import screen with all the photos and videos that are on your connected device. If the Import screen doesn't automatically appear, click the device's name in the Photos sidebar.
4. If asked, unlock your iOS or iPadOS device using your passcode. If you see a prompt on your iOS or iPadOS device asking you to Trust This Computer, tap Trust to continue.
5. Choose where you want to import your photos. Next to "Import to," you can choose an existing album or create a new one.
6. Select the photos you want to import and click Import Selected, or click Import All New Photos.
7. Wait for the process to finish, then disconnect your device from your Mac."

Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac or PC

Take care!