How to change where AirDrop files are saved on macOS

rtaylor91355 wrote:

When I Airdrop something it goes in a folder called Private/TMP. I want it to go to Downloads folder. How do I change that? I am using Sonoma.

I never heard this before...

There is no setting to change the default location which you would expect it to be Downloads...

old issue, new issue, what changed?

third-party sync software like: OneDrive, GoogleDrive, BackBlaze or DropBox have options to usurp the Downloads and may be interferring(?)

The current stable release of Sonoma including bug fixes, security updates is macOS 14.3.1

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

The current stable release of iOS including bug fixes, security updates is iOS 17.3.1

Update your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

To trouble shoot further you can:

—A SafeBoot Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support will sort many anomalies

Does a quick disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled.

Login and test. Reboot as normal and test.

ref: Use AirDrop on your Mac

Just like leroydouglas, I have never seen what you are describing. The destination of files sent via AirDrop has alway been the Downloads folder.

Try this: restart your mac in Safe Mode and send a file via AirDrop. Where does it go?

Restart normally again. Does the problem recur?

If it works correctly in Safe Mode but not when booting normally, there is a third party software causing this.

Please run Etrecheck and post its full report here. Use the "additional text" button and paste the report into the text box.

I’m experiencing the exact same problem after upgrading to Sonoma 14.4. I’ve tried all the safe mode suggestions and even reinstalled the OS but airdrop persistently sends files to a private/TMP folder I never before knew existed.

I’m using Dropbox and AVG as the only third party software but I’ve used them long before this update of Sonoma.

Very annoying issue and with a bit of user sense, Apple would build in a feature allowing users to decide where airdrop files are dropped.

Try uninstalling AVG. It should not be there, anyway, and could well be blocking the moving of the files to the proper destination.

As the name indicates, /tmp is for temporary files, the system uses this area and then the finished files should be moved to ~/Downloads, but something is preventing that.

Effective defenses against malware and other threats

Why do you think AVG shouldn’t be there? I’ve been using it for virus protection for many years.

Torbinjo wrote:

Why do you think AVG shouldn’t be there? I’ve been using it for virus protection for many years.

Because it doesn’t do anything except make your Mac less secure.

Can you please expand on that? In which way does it make my Mac less secure and if that's the case, what should it be replaced with?

Any case...I now removed AVG and performed the safe mode procedure again...but the AirDrop issue persists to be there...it's dropping my files in the private/tmp folder instead of the downloads folder

You do not any third party security/antivirus apps. Those apps just slow your system down and can cause program running issues.

Thanks! That's great insight. I now offloaded AVG and only run on native Mac built-in security. Seems like it's something Apple could do a (far) better job at communicating. Still I have my airdrop private/tmp issue though.

Torbinjo wrote:

Still I have my airdrop private/tmp issue though.

I see now you are not the OP— disregard. Start your own thread.

ref:

Torbinjo wrote:

Can you please expand on that? In which way does it make my Mac less secure and if that's the case, what should it be replaced with?

Anything that can get as deep into the OS to make it effective necessarily introduces vulnerabilities. You don’t need to replace it with anything as the OS takes care of that more effectively than anything else.

Torbinjo wrote:

Why do you think AVG shouldn’t be there? I’ve been using it for virus protection for many years.

There is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.  

There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   

Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.

There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  

As mentioned in previous reply, I got the same issue on my MacBook Pro M2 Max running Sonoma 14.4 - as explained, I've uninstalled AVG and I tried starting in Safe Mode with the issue persisting. I've also reinstalled the OS and the issue is still there.

Interesting new development and insight: I have a slightly older MacBook Pro M1 which was running Sonoma 14.3.1 - on this MacBook I didn't experience the problem (before or after uninstalling AVG). Now I upgraded it to Sonoma 14.4 and...the same issue is now occurring on this MacBook!

With causality in mind, I think it's safe to conclude that the installation of Sonoma 14.4 on some MacBooks causes Airdrop to malfunction and no longer send the files to the Downloads folder but to a private/tmp folder!

Thanks for the advice about virus software - this was very helpful and I do feel an improvement in performance after removing it.

But the bottomline is...my Airdrop issue is still for real.

Problem solved!

Turns out that the problem was related to Dropbox!

After installing Sonoma 14.4, the only Downloads folder on my harddrive was the one pertaining to Dropbox. Seems like MacOS cannot send Airdrop files to this folder - I guess because it's not recognised as a "system" Downloads folder.

I renamed the Downloads folder under the Dropbox tree (I named it "Downloads db") and then created a new "system" Downloads folder in my root directory (I'm not a techie so don't know the right term...but right under the main folder carrying my name).

I then restarted my laptop and now Airdrop nicely sends my files to the "system" Downloads folder and Dropbox automatically created a linked folder to the Dropbox Downloads (db) folder meaning I can easily move files there for Dropbox sharing.

Seems like MacOS and Dropbox were not synchronised for this update which causes the problem in the original thread. As I'm not a techie, I don't know if this explanation is understandable, but it does solve the issue.