Airdrop Not Working Here Are 10 Fixes To Try

1. Check if Your Device Supports AirDrop

If AirDrop is not working for you, one of the first things to check is whether your device supports AirDrop or not. Here are the devices that support AirDrop:

iPhones running iOS 7 or later iPads running iPadOS 13 or later Macs released in 2012 or later, and running OS X 10.10 or newer macOS versions

2. Ensure Your iPhone is Unlocked

If your iPhone supports AirDrop but isn’t showing up in the list of available devices, it could be because it’s either powered off or locked. Make sure you unlock your iPhone, and it should show up on the list of devices for AirDrop. On the other hand, if you have sent an AirDrop and it is stuck on waiting, ask the receiver to keep their iPhone unlocked as well.

3. Check AirDrop Settings

Another reason why AirDrop might not be working on your iPhone or Mac is due to your AirDrop settings. There are three options you can choose from:

Receiving Off: No one can AirDrop files to you Contacts Only: People saved in your contacts can AirDrop content to you Everyone for 10 Minutes: Everyone nearby can AirDrop files to your device

In case your AirDrop is set to “Receiving Off” you will not be able to receive any files on your iPhone or Mac. Here’s how to adjust AirDrop settings on your Apple devices:

Adjust AirDrop Settings on iPhone

Go to Settings -> General -> AirDrop

Select “Everyone for 10 Minutes” to ensure you can receive AirDrop files

Adjust AirDrop Settings on Mac

Go to System Settings -> General -> AirDrop & Handoff

Select “Everyone”

4. Enable Bluetooth and WiFi

AirDrop uses Bluetooth and WiFi to discover devices and share files. So, if AirDrop is not working for you, it’s possible that your Bluetooth or WiFi is turned off. Here’s how to enable Bluetooth and WiFi on your devices:

Enable Bluetooth and WiFi on iPhone

Go to Settings -> WiFi. Turn on the toggle to enable WiFi

Go to Settings -> Bluetooth. Turn on the toggle to enable Bluetooth

Enable Bluetooth and WiFi on Mac

Go to System Settings -> WiFi and turn on the toggle to enable WiFi

Go to System Settings -> Bluetooth and turn on the toggle to enable Bluetooth

5. Turn off Personal Hotspot

Since AirDrop depends on WiFi and Bluetooth to share files, you can’t use it while Personal Hotspot is turned on. If you have Personal Hotspot enabled, here is how you can turn it off:

Go to Settings -> Personal Hotspot. Here, turn off the toggle next to “Allow Others to Join”

6. Bring Your Devices Closer

Even though iOS 18 brings support for continuing AirDrop transfers over the internet, you do need to start them off while both the sender and the receiver are close, and within Bluetooth range of each other. So, if AirDrop is not working for you, try moving your devices closer to each other and see if that solves the issue.

7. Remove AirDrop Restrictions

If you can’t enable AirDrop on your iPhone or Mac, or the AirDrop option is greyed out, it is likely due to the Content and Privacy restrictions on your devices. Here is how to remove AirDrop restrictions from your iPhone and Mac.

Remove AirDrop Restrictions on iPhone

Go to Settings -> Screen Time -> Content & Privacy Restrictions

Tap on “Allowed Apps & Features” and enable the toggle next to AirDrop

Remove AirDrop Restrictions on Mac

Go to System Settings -> Screen Time. Click on “Content & Privacy“

Click on “App & Feature Restrictions“

Enable the toggle next to AirDrop

8. Restart Your Devices

The old cliche of turning your devices off and turning them back on is a useful one for solving many (maybe even most) software issues. If AirDrop is not working on your iPhone or Mac, you should try to restart your iPhone or Mac and see if that fixes the problem.

9. Update iOS and macOS

One often overlooked reason behind AirDrop not working is usually outdated software. So, if you’re experiencing persistent issues with AirDrop on your devices, make sure that your iPhone, iPad, and Mac are all running the latest versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS respectively.
You can check for updates by heading to Settings -> General -> Software Update on your devices. If there are any pending updates, you will be able to install them right there.

10. Reset Network Settings

If nothing else has worked so far, it’s time to take a nearly nuclear step — resetting network settings. This can ensure that any issue with an obscure network setting gets resolved and can fix issues with AirDrop as well. So, if you’ve tried everything else and AirDrop still isn’t working, go ahead and reset network settings on your iPhone, which should resolve the problem.