AirDrop stuck forever in "Preparing..." stage

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Level 1

38 points

AirDrop stuck forever in "Preparing..." stage

I'm trying to transfer a video clip from my iPhone 7 to my MacBook using AirDrop.

AirDrop is stuck on the message "Preparing..." for half an hour now! The indication that something works isn't clear: the pie symbol doesn't change for many minutes, but I think it changes every 5-10 minutes or so.

It was stuck a very long time (5-10 minutes) in preparing stage for a short clip of less than two minutes, but at the end it made it through. Now I'm trying to transfer a clip of almost 30 minutes.

I tried Image Capture, but that too doesn't work well: it simply doesn't show some of the photos and videos I took recently, so I can't download them with Image Capture.

Help 😐

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), Traktor Pro 2 software for DJ's

Posted on Apr 12, 2018 10:37 AM

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Answer 1

Kenny1000 Author

Level 1

38 points

Apr 12, 2018 11:07 AM in response to Kenny1000

After AirDropping 3 videos of about 10 minutes each in a very short time each, the 4th video now got stuck in the Preparing... stage, and we're back to the same issue! What's going on?

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Answer 2

Kenny1000 Author

Level 1

38 points

Apr 12, 2018 12:20 PM in response to Kenny1000

That video finally failed to transfer. Took an hour to get to this conclusive decision. But, hey, a minute later it loaded fast without the Preparing... sign. Strange! And so did another video of a few minutes that loaded quickly. But the third video I tried to load is stuck no in the Preparing... stage!!

Ouffff!!

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Answer 3

Kenny1000 Author

Level 1

38 points

Apr 12, 2018 11:04 AM in response to Kenny1000

Suddenly, after hours of attempts and waits, AirDrop started working fast! Without Preparing... time at all!

What's going on? I didn't change anything since writing my above first message. I just started browsing the internet for some info, and the 30 minutes clip was progressing very slowly, and suddenly I notice that it's been sent. Something strange is happening.

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Answer 4

Apr 12, 2018 11:06 AM in response to Kenny1000

Check AirDrop System Requirements > Use AirDrop to send content from your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 5

Apr 12, 2018 11:09 AM in response to Kenny1000

Use AirDrop on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

"I just started browsing the internet for some info"

Try not using other system resources while using AirDrop.

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AirDrop stuck forever in "Preparing..." stage

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