User profile for user: jameskachan
jameskachan Author
User level: Level 1
23 points

AirDrop doesn't see other devices when set to "Contacts Only"

My Mac (10.12.4 Sierra) doesn't see any contacts with AirDrop when set to "Contacts Only"


AirDrop will only work when both devices are set to "Everyone", I have tested this with known Macs and iOS devices. "Contacts Only" used to work, but stopped 1 or 2 MacOS updates ago…


I've Googled around a lot, trashed pref files, tried everything I can think of or find.

Any thoughts?


My guess is that it's an iCloud/Contacts issue rather than AirDrop but not sure… and not sure how to fix it.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013), macOS Sierra (10.12.1)

Posted on May 4, 2017 4:30 PM

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User profile for user: brenden dv
brenden dv
User level: Community Specialist

May 5, 2017 11:02 AM in response to jameskachan

Hi jameskachan ,

I understand that when you have AirDrop set to "Contacts Only", you are unable to send files between your own Mac and iOS devices. I'm happy to provide some help for this issue.

Because this option tells AirDop to look for people specifically in your contacts, make sure that you have your own contact card set up :

Contacts for Mac: Set up your me card in Contacts
Set your contact info - iPhone User Guide

Share content with AirDrop on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Contacts Only: Only your contacts can see your device.



Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Cheers!
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User profile for user: chris_g1
chris_g1
User level: Community Specialist

May 5, 2017 11:28 AM in response to jameskachan

jameskachan ,

Thanks for following up with that additional information. To further isolation this issue, I would recommend testing this issue in a new user account:

How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac - Apple Support

If you continue to have this issue in a new user, then you may want to contact Apple Support.

Cheers!
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User profile for user: babowa
babowa
User level: Level 9
78,489 points

Jul 23, 2017 2:22 PM in response to jameskachan

On my devices, it has never worked reliably when set to Contact only - when I switched to "Everyone", it worked and still does. And, the recipient's device should be set to Everyone as well. However, it is never 100% reliable which is not surprising.


Share content with AirDrop on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

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User profile for user: jameskachan
jameskachan Author
User level: Level 1
23 points

May 5, 2017 11:23 AM in response to brenden dv

Thanks — however my contact cards are set correctly and iCloud is unified across my devices, my iOS devices are able to see my other iOS devices, as well as other Macs belonging to other contacts. The problem is with my Mac being unable to recognize my contacts with AirDrop.


All this used to work great till a few months ago. I'm not sure what changed.


Can anyone point out all the system files that AirDrop uses?

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User profile for user: jameskachan
jameskachan Author
User level: Level 1
23 points

May 5, 2017 12:46 PM in response to chris_g1

I tested it as suggested in a test user account, and sure enough AirDrop does work… so, there is some issue with my user account — any idea how to wipe it and what to wipe? — I've tried deleting a number of plist files that might be related including finder and sharingd … restart, same issue.

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User profile for user: jameskachan
jameskachan Author
User level: Level 1
23 points

May 8, 2017 7:19 AM in response to AppleJoe

I was able to correct the problem (mostly, my Contact Photo for my iPhone isn't quite correct).

I logged out of iCloud, deleted everything stored locally, logged into my second iCloud account (which I never really use), Logged out again, and relogged in with my proper iCloud account, restarted my Mac, and that seemed to fix things. It is for sure some weird iCloud issue.


Any thoughts on how to get AirDrop to see my current iCloud photo when my iPhone shows up? My iPhone sees my current one when it sees my Mac or iPod.

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User profile for user: Community User
Community User

Jun 15, 2017 3:43 PM in response to jameskachan

I can also confirm that logging out on my Mac solved the same problem I had as well. I couldn't get my iDevices to see my Mac mini either, so I logged out, restarted my Mac and then logged back in. Now when set to Contacts Only on the Mac, my iPhone immediately sees it and I can quickly send files.


As far as the photo, when sending for example from iPhone to Mac, my current photo from Contacts is shown. When sending from Mac to iPhone, I will also see the current photo, but it's not cropped and is instead show in its entirety.

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User profile for user: adam875
adam875
User level: Level 1
4 points

Jul 23, 2017 1:57 PM in response to Community User

Same problem here, but logging out of and back into iCloud didn't solve it. NONE of my devices can see each other. iPad, iPhone, Mac Mini, MacBook. All running the latest OS (non-beta), all set to Contacts Only. My contact card is set on all. It works fine if I change AirDrop to Everyone, so I know it works in general. It's weird.

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AirDrop doesn't see other devices when set to "Contacts Only"

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