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Yosemite 'Handoff' Feature Likely Limited to Macs with Bluetooth LE
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The hack to get AirDrop working on older Macs wasn't quite as good as the officially supported method.
On supported models, AirDrop between two Macs only requires Wi-Fi to be enabled on both Macs. They can be connected to different Wi-Fi networks, or to no Wi-Fi network at all, and a Wi-Fi Direct network will be established automatically for the AirDrop discovery and transfer, without interfering with any other active network connections.
With the hack method, the two Macs must be connected to the same network (Wi-Fi, Ethernet or whatever), and the hack must be done on both so they know to look for AirDrop participants on any active network. That means more setup, e.g. creating an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network and getting the other computer to join it before you can copy files via AirDrop.
The iOS variant of AirDrop uses a combination of Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi Direct, so it requires hardware support for those features and the device must running a new enough OS. OS X 10.10 Yosemite will be adding this AirDrop variant, but it will only be available on Macs that support those hardware features (same ones listed in this article as supporting Handover).
All Mac models with hardware support for the original Mac version of AirDrop in Lion to Mavericks should still be able to use that method (Mac to Mac only) when upgraded to Yosemite, because if Apple removed it, there would be no way to AirDrop between Yosemite and older OS X versions.
The hack method for Mac-to-Mac AirDrop over any network will probably still work (as long as Apple doesn't remove the hidden support for that feature).
A software hack on older Macs won't be sufficient to enable Mac-to-iOS AirDrop, because the iOS device will only be using Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi Direct, so the Mac needs hardware support for those features. Add-on hardware to add those features plus software hacks might do it.
Jailbreaking the iOS device might make it possible to AirDrop over a regular Wi-Fi network, but every device would need software hacks.
What are the steps to actually getting HandOff to work?
Should it be 1) Enable in System Preferances/General, enable bluetooth and be on same Wifi & Sign into both Mac and Phone with same iCloud address?
In Yosemite SP1 I saw a bluetooth device for my iPhone which was not able to be deleted as it was associated with my iCloud login (which I presume was for hand-off) but now in SP2 I no longer see that. I can attempt to pair my Macbook Air (2011) and iPhone 5 and they pair to start with but then will never say connected
Should it be 1) Enable in System Preferances/General, enable bluetooth and be on same Wifi & Sign into both Mac and Phone with same iCloud address?
In Yosemite SP1 I saw a bluetooth device for my iPhone which was not able to be deleted as it was associated with my iCloud login (which I presume was for hand-off) but now in SP2 I no longer see that. I can attempt to pair my Macbook Air (2011) and iPhone 5 and they pair to start with but then will never say connected
You're right that Bluetooth LE is required for this feature in order to detect proximity. But you wouldn't have someone else in the office be able to pick up your stuff as they are not logged into the same Apple ID.
Calls work on wifi 
I have got an iMac 2011 and an iPhone 5 . They worked with phone calls while connected on same wifi network
Phone handoff doesn't REQUIRE bluetooth LE/
1.the bluetooth requirement is mentioned in iOS 8 beta 2 notes as being a bug and a known issue
2. Its even mentioned on Apple website See pic
I have got an iMac 2011 and an iPhone 5 . They worked with phone calls while connected on same wifi network
Phone handoff doesn't REQUIRE bluetooth LE/
1.the bluetooth requirement is mentioned in iOS 8 beta 2 notes as being a bug and a known issue
2. Its even mentioned on Apple website See pic
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In the same boat. I think a nice Broadwell rMBP may be on my shopping list next year...
Plus my dGPU has failed, so this has just pushed me over the edge.
Oh please....let this be an example of not easily identifyable sarcasm...else my trust in human sanity will be reduced further...
I'm another one a little hacked off that relatively new machines may be being left out of a lot of the new features of Yosemite. 2-3 years is not old for a device that costs upwards of $2000. I know I for one can't keep up with the pace if it means a new machine is needed every couple of years. I was worried when Apple announced they'd be releasing a new major OS X update every year, just like iOS, that it would mean quicker machine obsolescence but I foolishly thought that they'd consider this and allow for more longevity with computers than phones and tablets. Yeah, so much for optimism.
As an aside, if things like call and SMS relay are going to require the phone being plugged in to work, then that's something else that will get little use. Certainly in my house. Just because I'm at home and on the computer doesn't mean I've got the phone on charge. Theoretically I guess it shouldn't need to be. When the phone rings the wifi chip must wake up with the phone, so we might get lucky there. If not, it'll only be of use to me overnight which is when I charge the phone. Oddly, it's also when no one calls me
I can't help thinking that more and more the Apple techs are designing stuff and features for the way they work, not necessarily how normal Mac and iOS users live their lives.
Oh well, I'll go and enjoy the fact that I'll now have an iMac that will support this stuff, an MBP that won't and that the MBP - going off what someone posted earlier - may also now lose it's current ability for AirDrop.
As an aside, if things like call and SMS relay are going to require the phone being plugged in to work, then that's something else that will get little use. Certainly in my house. Just because I'm at home and on the computer doesn't mean I've got the phone on charge. Theoretically I guess it shouldn't need to be. When the phone rings the wifi chip must wake up with the phone, so we might get lucky there. If not, it'll only be of use to me overnight which is when I charge the phone. Oddly, it's also when no one calls me
I can't help thinking that more and more the Apple techs are designing stuff and features for the way they work, not necessarily how normal Mac and iOS users live their lives.
Oh well, I'll go and enjoy the fact that I'll now have an iMac that will support this stuff, an MBP that won't and that the MBP - going off what someone posted earlier - may also now lose it's current ability for AirDrop.
See, this is exactly what I don't get within the Apple-Community...
"If a Feature does (or even may) have some drawbacks, let's not give the user a choice to use it anyway but flat otu prohibit it."
While I tend to think more along the lines of "Hey, if you turn this feature on, your battery may drain twice as fast. Want to do it anyway?"
(For example that is how the step counter in the withings health app works...with an iPhone 5 or earlyer it has to keep location services on all the time to work propperly and thus trashing battery life to bits...with later phones it works fine without this limitation...but wikthings gives me a choice to accept this tradeoff while they could have just said "well, you want to know how far you have wlaked? Buy the withings pulse!")
Ah, enough ranting for today...sorry
The computer you bought is still capable of doing exactly what you bought it for. Just because it can't do new things doesn't mean its obsolete at all.
There is another reason why it only works with Bluetooth LE: security.
It's similar to why Apple didn't implement AirDrop between Mac and iOS right away. While on a Mac, it used the wifi, on iOS, it always relied on Bluetooth LE. If AirDrop was turned on via Wifi on iOS device, and since there may be hundreds of iOS devices nearby that is connected to same wifi network, there were high risk of accidentally dropping a file into a random phone. Bluetooth LE prevents this by making sure the devices have to be very close together in order to work.
Same reason for Handoff. If everything was regulated to wifi only, there may be risk of accidentally handing it off to a wrong Mac. Bluetooth LE prevents this by forcing the device to be close by, but not too close. For the phone call handoff, it still works on wifi because the phone number is tied to Apple ID. (and the user logged into Mac must be logged into that Apple ID as well)
PS: Bluetooth LE provides better encryption as well, compared to normal bluetooth. And yes, from what I have heard from my friend who went to WWDC, and had the chance to talk with Apple technicians, yes, dongle will work.
It's similar to why Apple didn't implement AirDrop between Mac and iOS right away. While on a Mac, it used the wifi, on iOS, it always relied on Bluetooth LE. If AirDrop was turned on via Wifi on iOS device, and since there may be hundreds of iOS devices nearby that is connected to same wifi network, there were high risk of accidentally dropping a file into a random phone. Bluetooth LE prevents this by making sure the devices have to be very close together in order to work.
Same reason for Handoff. If everything was regulated to wifi only, there may be risk of accidentally handing it off to a wrong Mac. Bluetooth LE prevents this by forcing the device to be close by, but not too close. For the phone call handoff, it still works on wifi because the phone number is tied to Apple ID. (and the user logged into Mac must be logged into that Apple ID as well)
PS: Bluetooth LE provides better encryption as well, compared to normal bluetooth. And yes, from what I have heard from my friend who went to WWDC, and had the chance to talk with Apple technicians, yes, dongle will work.
bing bing bing you DO understand why the continuity iphone feature utilizes BT4.
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Reinforcing that this is a business decision
Not really. You can go buy a 3 year old used ebay MacbookAir or Mac mini. Apple makes nothing on 3 year old used hardware.
Anyone getting these features working on an MBA 2011? Supposedly has all the hardware but having no luck between my MBA 2011 and iPhone 5, both with latest betas, handoff enabled, both with wifi and bluetooth on. No luck with airdorp, handoff, phone calls.
Which is exactly the same trick they pulled with stereo A2DP BT, on the original iPhone, which I enabled thanks to the wonderful JB community back in the day. Just Apple being Apple yet again.
I'll give you that one, but it doesn't negate the fact that only 2 years after the model of MBP I've got stopped being sold the newest OS update might (I'm willing to see what final builds bring before getting too annoyed) limit big new features to iCloud Drive and a new appearance.
In Apple's eyes it seems that 2 years could be "obsolete" for full feature support of a new OS. However, if they allow use of external dongles in the final build to bring non BT LE machines up to scratch then I'll happily admit I was wrong. Deliberately blocking the use of such dongles, if they could work but are software locked out, would be a hint that they don't want slightly older machines to use the features, and would prefer us to fork over another few thousand dollars into their ever growing mountain of cash.
A 2011 computer may not be "obsolete" by 2014, and undoubtedly it will last longer than three years, but I don't think anybody should expect it to support bleeding edge features until the end of its service life. That goes triple for that PowerMac G5, even though I'm sure it handles everyday computing needs just fine.
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And IMO Handoff is by far the least essential of these, and possibly the OS update in general. Even accounting for confusion, I'm not sure why everybody is up in arms. Though I guess it is a MR forum, and it's a day ending in 'y'....
Could someone try this to see if it works?
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Thanks very helpful post.
For me the must have feature is the phone calls so I'm glad that doesn't require bluetooth 4
