AirDrop require turning off the firewall on Mac mini

"AirDrop require turning off the firewall on Mac mini: This isn't a big deal, but I am curious. AirDrop from my iPhone & iPad to my Mac Mini (Tahoe 26.2) quit working about a month ago after I created a new user profile for myself and deleted the old profile. Turning off the firewall on the Mini solved the issue. Any ideas why, and is there a way to add my iDevices to the allowed incoming connections?"

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Avoiding AirDrop Requiring Firewall:

A. Disable "Require Password" for AriDrop and Handoff:

1. Go to: System Settings
2. Toggle Off: Require password

B. Rid of Security Software:

As for the Firewall, keep it on through your macOS, and don't use any third-party software for it.

C. Reconfigure the Profile:

You might need to add or remove restrictions, depending on the options, such as [allow incoming connections, without prompt]

FWIW for a long time I enabled macOS built-in Firewall and wondered why it was off by default. But lately some knowledgeable forum members have persuaded me to accept that macOS Firewall is only cosmetic, and serving no real benefit so I have turned it off.

Screen time versus MACOS Firewall - Apple Community

Firewall Issues - ssh_dispatch_run_fatal … - Apple Community

dgerety wrote:

AirDrop from my iPhone & iPad to my Mac Mini (Tahoe 26.2) quit working about a month ago after I created a new user profile for myself and deleted the old profile. Turning off the firewall on the Mini solved the issue.

No idea why that was your experience. I have the firewall enabled on all my Macs and have no problem doing Airdrop. But I'm using Monterey, Sonoma & Sequoia. Perhaps it's a Tahoe issue.