"Cannot connect to helper application"

Hey, everyone!

I was recently gifted an iPhone XR. I had it all set up (no phone service yet) and using it like an iPad for the moment. In the beginning, I could transfer photos from the Photos app on the XR to both my MacBook Air and my MacPro via the Save to Files function. Suddenly, the Photos app can't connect to the Files app so I can transfer photos into a specific folder on either my laptop or my desktop.

And, yes, I know I can AirDrop pics to my laptop, but I would rather not do that. Using the Save to Files function allows me to save anything to any folder on my MacOS machines.

This does NOT happen with my 6th Gen iPad.

Any idea what is going on?

Thanks!