JALCK

Q: Why does Airdrop disappear after first use?

Hi all,

 

I've a 2013 MacBook Pro with an up to date OS X El Capitan and some iOS devices (iPad mini, IPad Air, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6). When I try to send files from any of those iOS devices, the Mac cannot be found. A transfer between the iOS devices is however possible. I've spent some time now browsing the web to find a solution for this problem. And one hint is actually working quite good. The problem is: After the first transaction is done, the Mac disappears from the recipient list on the iOS device and no more device is listed in the Airdrop window on my Mac and you have to do the whole procedure again. And that is what I've done: Activated Bluetooth and Wifi on both, Mac and iOS device. Set Airdrop visibiity to "none" on both systems. Reboot both systems and set visibility of Airdrop to "all" again.

As you can image this is not a very convineint solution. Can anyone help?

 

Best,

Jens

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on May 1, 2016 11:07 AM

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Q: Why does Airdrop disappear after first use?

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  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis May 1, 2016 12:34 PM in response to JALCK
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    May 1, 2016 12:34 PM in response to JALCK

    Please read this whole message before doing anything.

    This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

    The purpose of this test is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account. Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

    While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

    Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

    After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

    *Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault in OS X 10.7 or later, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The "Guest User" login created by "Find My Mac" is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.