How to Get AirDrop

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posted on 5 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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If you have a few different devices in the Apple environment, sharing files couldn't be easier with AirDrop. This wikiHow will show you how to set up and use AirDrop on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. To be able to use AirDrop, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi must be enabled on both devices and they must be within 30 feet (9 meters) of each other.

Steps

Enabling AirDrop on an iPhone or iPad

Open Settings iPhone Settings App Icon. You'll find this gear app icon on the Home screen or in the Utilities folder.

Tap General. It's next to an icon of a gear in the third grouping of menu options.

Tap AirDrop. You can also access this from the Network Connections card in Control Panel.

Tap an option for visibility. You can either turn off receiving so you won't get any AirDrops, allow only people in your contacts list to AirDrop, or let everyone send you files. If "Receiving Off" is selected and you can't change it, go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Allowed Apps and make sure AirDrop is selected.

Sharing with AirDrop on an iPhone or iPad

Open the file you want to share. You can share all sorts of information, including photos, videos, and contacts.

Tap iPhone Share. It's the icon that looks like an arrow pointing up out of a square that represents the sharing feature.

Tap the AirDrop user or icon. In the top row, you should see contacts that have AirDrop enabled. If you don't see the person you want to AirDrop your file to, tap the AirDrop icon in the second row. After you tap the icon, you'll see a list of people that aren't in your contacts as well as people who are. If the person is not in your contacts, you'll see the default AirDrop logo as well as their phone's name; if they are in your contacts, you'll see their picture as well as their name. The person who is receiving the AirDrop can either tap Accept or Decline unless you're AirDropping between your own devices (iPhone to Mac), in which case it'll happen automatically.

Enabling AirDrop on a Mac

Click Go. This is usually a tab at the very top of your screen if Finder is the active application. If it's not, open Finder from the Dock.

Click AirDrop. You can usually find this menu option in the middle of the drop-down menu.

Click Android 7 Dropdown next to "Allow me to be discovered by". If you're prompted to turn on Bluetooth first, click Turn on Bluetooth in the AirDrop window.

Click to select either "Contacts Only" or "Everyone." If you can't change this from "No One," go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall and click the padlock icon. Enter your password when prompted, then click Firewall Options and deselect "Block all incoming connections."

Sharing with AirDrop on a Mac

Open the file you want to share. You can share all sorts of information, including photos, documents, videos, and other types of files.

Click iPhone Share. It's the icon that looks like an arrow pointing up out of a square that represents the sharing feature. If you want to share a file in Finder, press Control while clicking the file and choose "Share" from the menu.

Click to select AirDrop from the list. You can also use the sharing methods listed here if you cannot use AirDrop.

Click to choose an AirDrop contact. If that person is also in your contacts, you'll see their contact profile picture as well as their contact name; if they are not in your contacts, you'll see a generic profile picture and their name. You can also drag and drop items to the AirDrop window that you can open by pressing Shift + Command + R. Before anyone gets an AirDrop, they will be able to Accept or Decline the file share.