air drop files not showing up on iPhone

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pici Author

Level 1

19 points

air drop files not showing up on iPhone

issue: air drop files from Photos on laptop not showing up in iPhone Photos app

related?: iPhone sees laptop in wifi settings but fails in trying to make connection

tried:

with phone connected via cable
exporting using Finder from laptop
using Air Drop several times from laptop

The Air Drop process looks like it's working; select files in Photos, select: File/Share/Air Drop; files preview show up in Air Drop window, destination icon (me) shows, I click on the icon and there's a "done" button lower right, which I click and the window closes, but files don't appear to have transferred to iPhone, either in the Photos app or elsewhere (AFAICT).

iPhone 12, iOS 16.5.1

MBP M1 13" OS 13.5.1

Posted on Sep 5, 2023 5:24 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

pici Author

Level 1

19 points

Sep 7, 2023 7:11 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Thank you. The reboot enabled me to Air Drop the files between Photos apps. There is a progress/confirmation in the Air Drop window below the destination icon that wasn't there during the previous unsuccessful attempts, and once that happened, the photos immediately previewed in the iPhone Photos app. Success.

However, if I go to Settings/Bluetooth/Other Devices on the iPhone, I see my laptop but it still will not "pair". If I turn off Bluetooth, I cannot do an Air Drop transfer. It will only Air Drop with Bluetooth enabled.

So it seems to be pairing at some level to enable the Air Drop, yet it is still not "paired"

Whatever.

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Answer 2

Sep 8, 2023 8:35 AM in response to pici

You cannot pair an iOS device with any computer, not even a Mac (except to use the phone’s personal hotspot), but there is no sharing or continuity function including AirDrop that requires the devices to be paired. However, Bluetooth must be turned on for both devices, as it uses Bluetooth Low Energy-BLE, which does not require or support pairing. BLE is just used for authentication; the actual transfer uses Wi-Fi.

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Answer 3

Sep 5, 2023 5:37 PM in response to pici

Update your iPhone to iOS 16.6 (unrelated to this issue, but it’s an important security update).

Reboot your router, then your iPhone, then your MBP and try again.

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air drop files not showing up on iPhone

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