My iPhone 7 and Macbook Air are paired and connected via Bluetooth but nothing appears in AirDrop on my iPhone. I'd occasionally like to use Bluetooth as an alternative to Cloud or USB/backup for transferring files including Notes. Thanks for any advice.
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iPhone 7/Plus How do I transfer a note/pic/etc from iPhone to Mac via Bluetooth?
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Apple_Robert
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If I am not mistaken, you need WiFi turned on as well as Bluetooth on any devices you want to use AirDrop.
Yep, they're both connected to the same WiFi network and are both connected via Bluetooth.
What year is the Mac? What version of MacOS is it using? What version of iOS is the iPhone using?
AirDrop is a proprietary transfer protocol that is similar to wifi direct. Bluetooth is only used to establish the wifi connection between the 2 devices. You do not need to be connected to the same wifi network nor do you need to be paired via bluetooth (nor would you want to be). You will also need to have the AirDrop set to Contacts Only OR Everyone on both the Mac and iPhone.
If you are positive everything is set correctly do a quick reset on the iPhone and do an SMC/NVRam reset on the Mac. Also power cycle the router. While your wifi isn't used directly it's possible it can be interfering with the connection due to a bonjour conflict.
Good luck.
AirDrop is a proprietary transfer protocol that is similar to wifi direct. Bluetooth is only used to establish the wifi connection between the 2 devices. You do not need to be connected to the same wifi network nor do you need to be paired via bluetooth (nor would you want to be). You will also need to have the AirDrop set to Contacts Only OR Everyone on both the Mac and iPhone.
If you are positive everything is set correctly do a quick reset on the iPhone and do an SMC/NVRam reset on the Mac. Also power cycle the router. While your wifi isn't used directly it's possible it can be interfering with the connection due to a bonjour conflict.
Good luck.
I've never found AirDrop to be reliable. Sometimes it connects, often not. It always takes a long time to make a connection if it does at all
By far the best way to share Notes to all your devices in the Notes app is to link the Notes app to iCloud. I tried resisting Notes in iCloud for a long time, but once you get more than one device - resistance is futile (or foolish). Just do it. If you've got private notes you feel paranoid about, encrypt them with a password.
By far the best way to share Notes to all your devices in the Notes app is to link the Notes app to iCloud. I tried resisting Notes in iCloud for a long time, but once you get more than one device - resistance is futile (or foolish). Just do it. If you've got private notes you feel paranoid about, encrypt them with a password.
Apple_Robert
Contributor
Did you try rebooting both devices and trying again? I used to have problems with AirDrop being hit and miss. It was very frustrating. And often times, I had to reboot once or more to get it going. And a couple of times, I went as far as to wipe and reinstall the OS, in order to get AirDrop to start working like it should. The latter hasn’t happened in several years.
Today the devices connected by bluetooth perfectly, allowing AirDrop for photo and note transfers. Not sure when or why it started working; I don't think it ever worked on previous attempts.
