AirDrop is not working after new iOS 17 update

Let's try formatting this in a way Apple can possibly use.

Summary:

Attempting to send a password from an iPhone 13 Pro Max ("sender iPhone") to an iPhone X ("recipient iPhone") via the AirDrop function encounters a critical issue. When initiating the AirDrop transfer, the sender iPhone, running iOS 17.1.1, is required to select the recipient iPhone's corresponding saved contact name under the "People" section of the recipient selection screen. Selecting the recipient device name directly instead of choosing the corresponding contact under "People" results in an instantaneous and automatic decline of the password transmission.

Device Information:

- Sender iPhone: iPhone 13 Pro Max

- iOS Version: 17.1.1 (latest available version as of writing)

- Recipient iPhone: iPhone X

- iOS Version: 16.7.2 (latest available version as of writing)

Steps to Reproduce:

1. On the sender iPhone, initiate an AirDrop transfer of a password from the iCloud Keychain.

2. When prompted to select the recipient, ensure the corresponding saved contact name of the recipient iPhone is chosen under the "People" section.

3. Observe successful password transmission.

Expected Behavior:

The AirDrop functionality should allow the sender iPhone to transmit a password from the iCloud Keychain to the recipient iPhone seamlessly.

Actual Behavior:

On the sender iPhone: Selecting the recipient iPhone's corresponding saved contact name of the recipient iPhone flashes "Waiting..." After 30 seconds, "Failed" is displayed, indicating the timeout of the transmission.

On the recipient iPhone, nothing happens. The device is unlocked and is idling with the screen on the entire time.

Additional Notes:

- The issue appears to be unique to AirDrop to "People".

When sending other . types of files (e.g., images, videos, apps) using AirDrop, the sender iPhone can select the device under "Devices" and be able to successfully send the aforementioned types of files.

- When the recipient iPhone (or a device running iOS 16.7.2) AirDrops a password or any other file to the sender iPhone (or a device running iOS 17.1.1,) by any means, this issue does not apply in this case.

Relevance:

This bug report aims to highlight a specific issue that may be overlooked when users claim the problem is resolved. The inability to send passwords and files through AirDrop by selecting the recipient contact under "People" could affect the overall user experience and needs attention for a comprehensive resolution. This is especially important for functionality of sending passwords via AirDrop, where the only acceptable transmission of a password is to a contact under "People."

Attachment:

No specific attachment is required as the issue is related to the AirDrop functionality within the iCloud Keychain on the mentioned iOS devices.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I hope this detailed report aids in the investigation and resolution of the identified issue.

Got same problem with the airdrop and currently in contact with Apple support collecting some of data from my iPad. Idk where or how they will respond to it since our conversation is still on going. I hope this issue will be handled or be fixed anytime soon..

this problem is funny and ridiculous since seamless connections in between various Apple devices is not being maintenance well by the iOS developer.

Thanks for the tip 75Westy, but that did not work for me I am running the most up to date IOS 17.2 that was release today and I am still unable to airdrop between all of my Apple devices. This has become beyond an inconvenience as it is starting to disrupt productivity and is costing me time as well as money! Apple I need you to address this, as this is the third time writing on this support board for a solution.

Air drop is constantly failing to transfer data after receiving of ios 17.1. Neither hard reset nor other alternative methods are working. Airdrop on 16.3 works like a charm. Please sort this bug asap.

my last post was done when I was away from home on cell coverage. I stated I was able to transfer photos as long as I turned cell off. Now I’m home and tried transferring photos from my iPhone to iPad and the reverse and I can even when cell is turned off. So it appears that it’s something to do with not being connected to WiFi, not hotspot.

Nope that didn’t do it.

i’m having problems getting my phone recognized by an iMac. I can upload a file from my phone to the iMac which is at 13.6.1 but I can’t send a file from the Mac to my iPhone which was just upgraded to 17.

I'm unable to use Airdrop after updating to iOS 17.1.1 to share document from my iPhone SE to a Mac Air Early 2015.

The iPhone just not find the Mac anymore. I already tried to reset the phone, settings, etc. I feel like this is a bug on the code. It is incredible and frustrating that there is always something wrong on every iOS update. PLEASE HELP!

I tried switching airplane mode on and off and that didn’t make any difference.

I still can’t transfer from iMac to iPhone with 17

I tried resetting my iPhone to the previous backup and the software would not let me do that and I didn’t want to lose all the data on my phone again so Im waiting until they fix this however I have deadlines that are coming up and I need to be able to airdrop instead of waiting an hour for a 4.4 gig file to upload.

AirDrop is not working for me trying to send photos I take with iPhone 13 Pro to a MBA M1 or iMac M1. I have the latest updates on all devices. I select the photo(s), my MBA/iMac AirDrop shows up as the very first entry in quick buttons, but when I touch it, it attempts to send and pretty soon after gives the word "FAILED" in red. I do not have a VPN and have tried pretty much everything listed in this thread, nothing can get it to work. Pretty frustrating.

Thanks for trying @DantiX, but those of us with problems are way past the basic steps in the video you posted. The transfer fails. btw - sending photos via AirDrop used to work, just not since the latest updates.

Now IOS 17.2. Problem still NOT fixed! Airdrop stooped to work properly on my iphone 12 after installing ios17.

Inside PHOTOS or MESSAGE apps I can no longer transfer photos to other people from my contacts OR everyone. The app just freezes and becomes NON RESPONSIVE when you try to airdrop the photos.

I have also wasted my time trying everything I could find in the apple and internet sites!

Very unfortunate this lack of care with customers that have slightly older phones (iPhone 12)!

Apple should pay more attention to these feedbacks!

For one, I will be very cautious with ANY new update from this point on …

Not worth if we lose previously available functionality and time to try to fix a problem that DID NOT EXISTED BEFORE!

Now IOS 17.2. Problem still NOT fixed! Airdrop stooped to work properly on my iphone 12 after installing ios17.

Inside PHOTOS or MESSAGE apps I can no longer transfer photos to other people from my contacts OR everyone. The app just freezes and becomes NON RESPONSIVE when you try to airdrop the photos.

I have also wasted my time trying everything I could find in the apple and internet sites!

Very unfortunate this lack of care with customers that have slightly older phones (iPhone 12)!

Apple should pay more attention to these feedbacks!

For one, I will be very cautious with ANY new update from this point on …

Not worth if we lose previously available functionality and time to try to fix a problem that DID NOT EXISTED BEFORE!

After the latest update every time I share a video from my Sony to my iPhone it saves it on the files app instead of photos, nothing has change on both devices, I try also to airdrop it from my Mac and the same issue… does anybody else have this issue and how you solve it?

@Maksi When you say "hard reset" do you mean erase your device? Then manually sign in with your Apple ID, do not restoring anything, and then reinstall every app from scratch and enter your logins for every app? That is very laborious and time consuming.

I use AirDrop infrequently. A better solution for me for the time being is to just text the photos to myself that I want to transfer from one device to another.

@Dasi22ind you may be on to something about clearing space in iCloud. I'm near max storage on my 200GB plan with 5 family members. Twice in the past month I've had to delete picts/videos as my storage was full and I'm probably 99% full now.

@75Westy I turned off cellular on my iPhone when trying to transfer to iMac/MacBook Air and it flashes "waiting" for a period of time then eventual comes back with the word "Failed" in red font, so that is not a universal solution.