How to Turn On AirDrop on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Jul. 24, 2024

AirDrop is the easiest and fastest way to share files between Apple devices. You can easily transfer photos, contacts, links, documents, notes, Apple Maps locations, and more between nearby Apple devices. Before you send or receive items, you have to turn on AirDrop. If you’re new to the Apple ecosystem, you must be thinking about how to turn on AirDrop on iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Thankfully, it’s a super easy process that even beginners can master in seconds. This quick guide will tell you how to get AirDrop to work on your Apple devices. Without any ado, let’s begin!

How Does AirDrop Work?

Apple’s AirDrop uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to identify nearby Apple devices and transfer items between them. You can choose to accept files from everyone, or just from people who are in your contacts list. Also, you can choose to block all incoming AirDrop requests, so yourApple device can’t receive or send files over AirDrop.

Apple AirDrop offers three levels to control the visibility of your device:

If you selectReceiving Off, AirDrop won’t receive files on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. So, you must chooseContactorEveryonefor 10 Minutesto exchange files using AirDrop.

It’s super easy to turn on and use AirDrop on your iPhone and iPad. You can do it right from the Control Center or head to the Settings app. We’ve mentioned both ways below:

TheControl Centeroffers the quickest way to turn on or off AirDrop on iPhone and choose who can send files to you over AirDrop. Here’s how to turn on AirDrop in Control Center:

Another way to turn AirDrop on iOS devices is using the Settings app. Here’s what you need to do:

Just like iPhone and iPad, it’s super easy to turn on AirDrop on your Mac. Since AirDrop uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to exchange items, you must enable them on your device. Otherwise, you’ll be asked to turn them on when you try to send a photo, file, or any other item.

There are three ways to turn on AirDrop on a Mac. Let check them out at a time.

The latestmacOS versionsalso feature a Control Center, allowing you to quickly enable and adjust AirDrop settings on Mac.

The older versions of macOS do not feature a Control Center. In such cases, you can use the System Settings app or Finder to enable AirDrop on Mac.

That’s how you can turn on or off AirDrop on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Whether you activate it using Control Center, Settings app, or Finder (Mac only), you should be able to send and receive files. In case you can’t exchange files, visit our dedicated guide onhow to fix AirDrop not working problems.