AirDrop not working between your Mac and iPhone

Steps

1. 01

   Turn both radios on at both ends

   AirDrop needs Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, even though no network is involved

   • It finds devices over Bluetooth and moves the file over Wi-Fi, so it fails silently if either is off
   • Apple states the devices must be within 30 feet (10 metres) of one another

   ✓You should see: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth both on, on the Mac and the iPhone.

   Why?

   No internet connection is required at all, so there is no point troubleshooting your router for this.

2. 02

   Make each device visible to the other

   Visibility is the setting that hides devices from each other

   • On the Mac: open Finder, click AirDrop in the sidebar, and set 'Allow me to be discovered by' to Everyone while you transfer
   • On the iPhone:Settings›General›AirDrop, then choose Everyone for 10 Minutes
   • Contacts Only needs both devices signed in to iCloud with each other saved as contacts, which is why it so often shows nothing

   ✓You should see: The other device appearing in the AirDrop window within a few seconds.

   !Careful: Set discovery back to Contacts Only when you finish, or anyone nearby can send you files unprompted.

3. 03

   Send the thing

   Two routes, depending on where the file is

   • From the Finder: click AirDrop in the sidebar, then drag the item onto the recipient. Or Control-click the item,then choose Share›AirDrop
   • From inside an app: open the item, click the Share button in the toolbar, click AirDrop, then select the recipient
   • On the iPhone the Share button is the square with the arrow coming out of it, and AirDrop sits in the row of sharing options

   ✓You should see: The recipient's name or picture in the AirDrop sheet, with a progress ring while it sends.

   Also see: Universal Clipboard: copy on one device, paste on another

4. 04

   Accept it at the other end, and know where it goes

   Nothing arrives until the receiving device says yes

   • Tap or click Accept on the AirDrop notification
   • Apple notes that when both devices are signed in to the same Apple Account the item is accepted and saved automatically, with nothing to tap
   • On a Mac, items are saved to the Downloads folder, though you may also be offered a choice of where to put them
   • On an iPhone, an item opens in the app it was sent from — a photo lands in Photos — and some items go to the Files app instead

   ✓You should see: The file in Downloads on the Mac, or in the matching app on the iPhone.

   Why?

   This is the step people miss when a transfer 'fails': it went through, and it is sitting in Downloads rather than on the desktop where they were looking.

5. 05

   Rule out the two things that block it silently

   Both look like AirDrop is broken when it is not

   • Unlock both screens — a locked iPhone does not appear as a target
   • Switch Personal Hotspot off on the iPhone, because an active hotspot takes over the Wi-Fi radio and blocks AirDrop completely

   ✓You should see: The devices finding each other once both screens are awake and the hotspot is off.