Airdrop not working

Question

Level 1

9 points

Airdrop not working

Hi, I have a Macbook Pro 2016 (the model is the one right before the touchbar one) with the OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 version and I can´t seem to connect it to any iPhone (8 and 8Plus). I´ve tried everything, disconnecting the firewall, resetting the Bluetooth and WiFi, I´ve even signed out and signed back on iCloud, but it is not working. I´ve always made sure that both the iPhone and the Macbook had BT and Wifi were turned on, on the same network and set as "visible to everyone" on all devices. It only worked once for a couple of minutes and then stopped working. Any ideas of what might be going on here? It´s driving me crazy...

Thank you,

Pablo

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), null

Posted on Mar 5, 2018 12:56 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Mar 5, 2018 1:01 PM in response to pablocalca

You do not connect the phone to the computer. You just have Wi-Fi and BT enabled on both. See (How to) Use AirDrop to wirelessly share content and Mac Basics- AirDrop lets you send files from your Mac to nearby Macs and iOS devices.

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Answer 2

pablocalca Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 5, 2018 1:06 PM in response to Kappy

Hi Kappy, thanks for your answer. I know that I don´t have to connect the phone to the computer and I just have to enable wifi and BT on both devices. The problem is that when I do that, the devices don´t "see" each other, so there is no way to transfer a file via Airdrop. Any other ideas?

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Mar 5, 2018 2:34 PM in response to pablocalca

I have Wi-Fi and BT enabled on my Touch. When I open the BT preference panel on my machine eventually it picks up my Touch and displays it with a Connect button. I click on the button then I have a window with a number in it. The Touch displays the number and I click on the Pair button. In a short while, the two devices are connected. I don't have a phone to test but shouldn't be any different than on my Touch.