With iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, what many users have been waiting for has finally arrived. Apple united his devices as never before. The Continuity and Handoff features are clear evidence of this and Apple the products are now much closer. But it doesn't end with these functions. Apple quietly made it possible to start transferring your files between your iOS device and your Mac using the AirDrop feature. AiDrop has been on Macs since OS X 10.7 and on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch since iOS 7, but until now it could only transfer files between Macs or iOS devices, never across. Now, however, everything is connected and therefore much more comfortably handled. So let's show you how to get everything working properly, even if there is nothing difficult about it.
First of all, it's important to have a Mac with OS X Yosemite and an iOS device with iOS 8. AirDrop works on an iPhone since the iPhone 5, so if you have an iPhone 4S with iOS 8, then unfortunately AirDrop is not possible. All supported devices are listed below, so you can check if your Apple the product is supported or not. Interestingly, you don't need to have AirDrop open in the Finder like before, but you do need to have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on. Apple indicates that you don't need to be connected to any network, unfortunately AirDrop didn't work that way for me and I had to connect to one, but you don't need to be on the same one, as the device for AirDrop automatically sets up a direct wireless connection. The devices should be no more than 8 meters away from each other, mainly due to the Bluetooth range. Another condition is to have AirDrop turned on on your iOS device. This can be done in Controlling center, where after turning it on you will be asked if you want to enable AirDrop For contacts only and For all babies. Now all you have to do is select the desired file Share and here you will already see a list of contacts who have AirDrop enabled.
If you are transferring a file from a Mac to an iOS device, you just need to open AirDrop using a keyboard shortcut, for example ⇧ + ⌘ + R and move the desired file to the icon of the user to whom you want to send the file. You can also highlight the file(s) in the Finder and then click Share in the top toolbar and then select AirDrop, where the contacts you can send the file to will appear again. The same can be achieved, of course, by right-clicking on the file(s) and selecting Share -> AirDrop. The target iOS device must be active, i.e. not locked, otherwise it will not appear among the users to whom the file can be sent. It is also possible to send entire folders to the iOS device, however, to edit them, one of the third-party applications from the App Store is needed, if you want to transfer the entire folder, the iOS device will offer you the appropriate applications such as File Manager (FREE) and Documents 5.
AirDrop between iOS and Mac OS X essentially "destroyed" a quite useful and popular application Instashare for Mac and iOS devices, which I personally used quite often and it suited me. This application was able to transfer files between iOS and OS X even before the release of Yosemite and iOS 8. However, Instashare can still do something that neither OS X nor iOS can do and probably won't be able to do (support). Instashare can transfer files between Mac, iOS, Android and Windows (desktop) and thus it is still popular and popular. For users who only have Apple products, but now Instashare is no longer needed, as the AirDrop function has conveniently replaced this application. The fact that Instashare is in the Mac App Store for €3,59 also plays a role.
Supported iOS devices:
- iPhone 5 or later
- iPad (4th generation or later)
- iPad mini (1st generation or later)
- iPod touch (5th generation)
Supported Apple OS X devices:
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2011 or later)
- iMac (Late 2012 or later)
- Mac mini (Mid 2011 or later)
- Mac Pro (2013)
I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but it doesn't work for me. The devices are not visible at all.
grulkos: If you're using a firewall on your Mac and have Block all incoming connections enabled in the Security & Privacy panel of System Preferences, you won't be able to receive files via AirDrop.
And where are the supported devices?
Is Instashare also suitable for those who left iOS 6 on their iPad and Yosemite on their Mac?
I have the same problem, iPhone 5s and macbook pro can't be found...
I have a MacBook 13 Mid 2010, OS X 10.10 and nothing. Between an iPhone and another iPhone just fine, but not on a MacBook.
So it didn't work for me for a long time. After a while, I tried today and it works.
But I had to have the iphone unlocked for the mac to see it.
And when it went out during the transfer, the transfer ended. This is not Apple's choice.
But what happens to me - I have one appleid for iPhone, Mac and iPad, and the phone or tablet or even the computer is always identified the same as the tablet (while each device has its own name, somehow it chose the name of the tablet). Otherwise, this is a bit of a shame.
Those supported devices disappeared somewhere, I don't quite understand, but WordPress is sometimes hard to understand, sometimes it leaves something out, I definitely put them there. I will definitely fix it and post them there. I am sorry :-)
the article is confusing, devices that don't have bluetooth 4 LE Airdrop between iOS and OS X won't work please fix it thanks
nor fat. I have an iMac 21,5 yosemite 10.10 and an iPhone5s 8.1 and the device is not visible. firewall off blatouch on and still nothing
Rob75: you don't have Bluetooth 4 LE
Hello, practically none of the Handsoff functions (SMS, calls, airdrop) work for me. I have a MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010) and an iPhone 5S iOS 8.1. Does anyone have any idea what is going on? Thank you so much. I'm desperate, I'll probably do something :D
ratm: airdrop won't work for you, sms and calls you have to activate FaceTime on every apple device and be signed in to it (iphone, mac, ipad,...) for iphone activate handsoff in the settings, then you should be fine. Of course, the condition is at least one wifi network.
Why can't I Airdrop?
So at first I only received SMS. Now I can only make calls. I assume Airdrop won't work because the MacBook is old. I have everything logged in as needed. I swear I'm about to stab myself :D
Unfortunately, it doesn't work either for me... MacBook Pro (early 2011), I also can't pair with iP5s
skytnick: Thanks for the heads up, the information has been edited.
For others: Indeed, as skytnick writes, your device must have Bluetooth 4.0 LE, otherwise it won't work. Look again at the modified supported devices in the article.
The supported devices must have been adjusted because at the time I wrote my post it was 100% MacBook Pro 2008 and newer and now here it is 2012 :D :D :D So that's clear ;-)
ratm: "Thanks for the heads up, information has been edited."
what don't you understand about that?
How do I know that I have Bluetooth 4.0 LE? I own a MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) and an iPhone 5S with iOS 8.1, and I can't split Airdrop between the Mac and the iPhone. They just can't see it on MAC in AIRDROP...:D I don't know what to do with it. Thanks for any help.
Hello, I will definitely try. I have an iPhone 7 so I hope it will work :) if I write it here ;)
And if I may ask, does it also work on ois 14? :)
Thank you
Nela