Continuity Camera fail - "Device timed out"

I have the same issue.

Originally it was timed out.

Then it said I needed to activate two-factor authentication (which is already enabled).

Now it's back to timed out. Happens both on my iphone to mac and ipad to mac.

Here's the solution. Given that you satisfy all conditions in this support doc: Use Continuity to connect your Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple Watch - Apple Support, then all you have to do is go to your Mac's Bluetooth preferences, and connect the iPhone from the scanned list. You can also do it from your iPhone. Go to Settings -> Bluetooth, connect the Mac from the scanned list. This step about connecting directly between the 2 devices via bluetooth is not mentioned at all in the doc and after doing that, all features of Continuity works. No need to sign out/ sign in iCloud.

After sooooo many deep dives into different apple discussions, taking to three different 'Advisors', three hours of my life, and one burrito, I found a solution.

After the Apple Pay on my pre-touchbar era Mac wasn't working, and then the continuity camera wasn't working, I decided to talk to chat with the apple powers that be. After resetting wifi/bluetooth/Mac/iphone/icloud didn't work, they recommended the MacOS Reinstall for a 'fresh, new' OS.

Re-installing macOS. It sounds complex, but its fairly simple.

Re install does not delete anything on your computer. You simply reboot, and press/hold down the command and r buttons. You click re-install Mac OS and get dinner because it takes an ungodly amount of time. But it works, and you pray that the next update isn't as troublesome.

How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

What worked for me was doing all of the following:

• Making sure both devices were on the same WiFi network
• Sign out of iCloud on iPhone
• Sign back in
• Connect iPhone to bluetooth on Mac
• Restart Mac and iPhone

I think fixing this mostly had something to do with connecting the iPhone via Bluetooth and then restarting the Mac and the iPhone.

I originally had this problem but found a way to make it stop. First, make sure both Mac and iPhone is up to date (Mojave and IOS 12). Second, make sure both device is connected to the same Wi-Fi. Third, make sure to ENABLE bluetooth on both device. If you don't turn bluetooth on both device, it will not work. Hope this helps!

Tried that - still not working....

iPhone 6s, iOS12. 2015MBP, MacOS Mojave 10.4. Same AppleID on both devices with 2FA active. BT enabled and devices paired.

Could not import from “<name of iPhone”

The device timed out

Tried that - still not working.... (but I have now fixed the issue, see the end)

iPhone 6s, iOS12. 2015MBP, MacOS Mojave 10.4. Same AppleID on both devices with 2FA active. BT enabled and devices paired.

Could not import from “<name of iPhone>”

The device timed out

Continuity Camera works with my 2018 iPad, which has identical settings to the 6S.

However... a reboot of the phone cured the problem.

Having the same problem on iMac 27 inch Late 2013 and iPhone SE. 2FA on - Bluetooth on on both devices - Both on the same Wifi network - Both on the same Apple ID.

I tried logging out from Apple ID from both devices and log back in - Didn't work

I tried rebooting the Mac - Didn't work

I tried to pair my iPhone manually over Bluetooth - Didn't work...

...it really should not be this difficult. Hope Apple issues an update soon or provides a solution of some sort. A lot of people seem to have the same problem

I couldn't get Continuity Camera to work between my 2014 15" MBP (Mojave) and my iPad Air 2 (iOS 12). Initially I repeatedly got "The device timed out." error. But then I after reading more about continuity camera I finally turned on my MBP's Wifi (I normally connect via Ethernet only). Afterwards, it works! Though it took me a while to realize you also need to press the "use photo" button on the iOS device to actually send the photo to the Mac.

Probably the most potentially useful new feature in Mojave I've found so far!

lambanlaa wrote:

"Use Photo" means Continuity Camera did work, and you should select that button to paste the photo.

Please click helpful if my answer did help you. Thanks.

I did.

By the way, I think what got it working for me was actually restarting my iPhone.

When I asked what "Use Photo" was, I was not seeing it; now I do, and it works perfectly :-)

You may care to try resetting the "bluetooth cache", as described in e.g.

http://osxdaily.com/2015/12/15/reset-bluetooth-hardware-module-mac-osx/

As a final step after trying most of the advice in this thread, this allowed my use of "continuity camera".

My sympathies with your attempt not working.

If the bluetooth cache is corrupt there is little prospect of any further progress, so no harm in trying.

Resetting the bluetooth cache is not a first, (nor the only) action that may be required.

At a minimum pairing you Mac and iPhone following a bluetooth cache reset is a needed step.

Signing-out and resigning-in from iCloud may also be needed. (Not for the feint hearted, nor those in a rush. Make a backup of all iCould data before signing out, if you value your data).

I wish you better luck with any next attempt you might make to get the feature functioning.

I had the same problem with both my iPhone SE and iPad Air 2.

The one point missing here was that my MBP was just connected via Ethernet (WiFi off).

Once I set up WiFi, it worked smoothly.

Fanny enough: wasn't just required you are on the same WiFi?

Seems to be a blutooth issue.

My phone won't stay connected to the Mac. It'll connect for a moment, then disconnect.

I'm using an iPhone 7 Plus and MacBook Pro, both updated to the latest OS. Using Apple's Pages app.

The iPhone connected to the MacBook but I'm getting the "device time out" as well.

Hope they get the bug fixed. It seems like a cool feature.

It worked!

I made sure my iPhone and MacBook were both connected via bluetooth.

Rebooted my MacBook.

Made sure again that they were both connected via bluetooth.

Opened Pages.

Clicked "insert" then "import from iPhone"

Chose "take photo"

The camera app opened on my iPhone

Took the picture, then saved, and there it was--in my Pages document.