You’ve been there. You're standing in a crowded coffee shop or at a family wedding, trying to get that one perfect photo from your friend’s phone to yours. You tap the share icon, wait for that little circle to appear, and... nothing. It’s just spinning. Or worse, you see "No People Found." It’s frustrating because how to send with AirDrop is supposed to be the "it just works" feature of the Apple ecosystem. But software is fickle. Between Bluetooth handshakes, Wi-Fi frequencies, and those pesky "Contacts Only" settings, a lot can go wrong. Honestly, AirDrop is basically magic when it works and a total mystery when it doesn't.
Most people think it’s just a simple file transfer. It isn’t. AirDrop uses a proprietary combination of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to discover devices and peer-to-peer Wi-Fi to actually move the data. This means you don't need a router, but you do need both radios functioning perfectly. It’s a sophisticated dance of hardware and software that Apple first introduced back in 2011 with Mac OS X Lion and later brought to iOS 7. Since then, it has become the gold standard for quick sharing, even if it occasionally refuses to acknowledge your best friend is standing two inches away.
The Basic Mechanics of How to Send With AirDrop
Before we get into the weeds of troubleshooting, let’s talk about the standard workflow. To start, you need to be within about 30 feet of the person you’re sending to. That’s the limit of Bluetooth. Open the file you want to share—maybe it’s a 4K video of your dog or a PDF for work—and hit that square button with the upward arrow. That’s the Share Sheet.
If everything is aligned, your friend’s name or device icon should pop up immediately. Tap it. They get a prompt. They hit "Accept." Done.
But wait. What if they aren't showing up? This is where 90% of the "how to send with AirDrop" issues live. Check your Control Center. Swipe down from the top right of your iPhone (or up from the bottom if you’re rocking an older model with a Home button). Long-press the square with the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth icons. You’ll see the AirDrop icon there. If it says "Receiving Off," well, there’s your problem. You have three choices: Receiving Off, Contacts Only, or Everyone for 10 Minutes.
Apple changed the "Everyone" setting a while back—specifically starting with iOS 16.2—to limit it to ten minutes. Why? Because people were getting "AirDropped" unsolicited memes and... less savory images in public places like subways or airplanes. It was a privacy nightmare. Now, if you want to receive something from someone who isn't in your contacts, you have to manually toggle that "Everyone" setting, and it’ll revert to "Contacts Only" automatically once the timer runs out.
👉 See also: British Inventions: Why the UK’s Best Ideas Are Probably Sitting in Your House Right Now
Why Your Contacts List is Actually the Problem
A huge misconception about how to send with AirDrop is that having someone’s phone number is enough. It isn't. For the "Contacts Only" setting to function, both the sender and the receiver must be signed into iCloud. More importantly, the sender must have the receiver’s Apple ID email address or phone number in their Contacts app, and vice versa.
If you have your friend saved as "Dave" with just a random burner number, but his Apple ID is linked to a Gmail address you don't have, the "Contacts Only" filter will block the connection. It’s a security measure. It prevents strangers from spoofing a contact name to get you to click a malicious link or file.
If you're struggling, just tell everyone to switch to "Everyone for 10 Minutes." It bypasses the contact verification entirely. It’s the "turn it off and back on again" of the AirDrop world. Honestly, it fixes the issue nearly every single time.
Moving Massive Files: The Hidden Power of AirDrop
AirDrop isn't just for photos. You can send entire folders on a Mac, or massive 10GB video files from an iPhone to an iPad. Because it uses a direct Wi-Fi connection (point-to-point), the transfer speeds are significantly faster than anything you'd get over a standard Bluetooth connection or even some home Wi-Fi networks.
I’ve seen people try to email themselves large videos or upload them to WeTransfer while standing right next to their computer. That’s a waste of time. On a Mac, you can just drag and drop files directly onto a person’s face in the AirDrop window in Finder. It’s arguably the most underutilized feature of macOS.
Pro Tip for Mac Users
Open a Finder window. Click "AirDrop" in the sidebar. This actually makes your Mac "discoverable" even if your settings are usually restrictive. It’s like opening the front door so the guest knows they can come in.
When Things Go South: Troubleshooting Like a Pro
If you've toggled the settings and it's still not working, there are a few "ghost in the machine" issues that might be happening.
- The Personal Hotspot Trap: You cannot use AirDrop if your Personal Hotspot is turned on. Both features need exclusive control over the Wi-Fi radio. If you're tethering your laptop to your phone, AirDrop is dead in the water. Turn off the hotspot, send the file, then turn it back on.
- The "Bring Devices Together" Feature: Introduced in iOS 17, Apple added a feature where you can initiate an AirDrop by literally touching the top of two iPhones together. It uses the NFC chip to trigger the handshake. It’s flashy. It feels like the future. But sometimes, it triggers when you don't want it to, or it fails if you have a super thick, military-grade phone case.
- VPN Interference: Some VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) mess with local network discovery. If you’re running a strict VPN on your iPhone or Mac, it might be "hiding" your device from the local peer-to-peer network AirDrop creates.
- Device Sleep: If your iPhone screen goes black while you’re waiting for a transfer to start, the connection can sometimes drop to save power. Keep the screen awake until you see the "Sending" progress bar.
The Privacy Factor: Who Can See You?
There is a legitimate concern about privacy when discussing how to send with AirDrop. When you have AirDrop set to "Everyone," your device name is visible to anyone within a 30-foot radius. If you named your phone "John Doe’s iPhone 15 Pro Max," you are broadcasting your name and your exact phone model to everyone on the bus.
Change your device name. Go to Settings > General > About > Name. Change it to something generic like "Blueberry" or "The Mothership." It’s a small step, but in an era of digital tracking, there’s no reason to give strangers your full name just because you wanted to share a photo of your lunch.
Beyond the iPhone: AirDrop on Mac and iPad
The iPad handles AirDrop almost identically to the iPhone, but the Mac is where things get interesting. On macOS, you can receive files even if you don't have a specific app open. The files usually just land in your "Downloads" folder.
However, if you are AirDropping between your own devices—say, from your iPhone to your MacBook—you won't see an "Accept" prompt. As long as both devices are signed into the same iCloud account, the transfer happens instantly. This is part of Apple’s "Continuity" suite. If you are getting a prompt to accept a file from yourself, it means one of your devices isn't properly logged into iCloud, or there’s a sync error with your Apple ID.
The Future of AirDrop: Cellular Transfers
One of the coolest updates in recent years is the ability to finish an AirDrop transfer over the internet. Previously, if you started sending a 2GB file and walked away from the person, the transfer would fail. Now, as long as you are both signed into iCloud, the transfer will continue over your cellular data or Wi-Fi once you're out of range.
This requires the "Use Cellular Data" toggle to be on in your AirDrop settings. It’s a lifesaver for professional photographers or videographers who need to dump footage to a client’s device but don't want to stand awkwardly next to them for five minutes while the bar fills up.
Actionable Steps to Master Your Transfers
To ensure you never struggle with a failed transfer again, follow this mental checklist. First, verify that both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are toggled on—not just "connected" to a network, but actually active in the hardware. Second, kill the Personal Hotspot; it’s the most common silent killer of AirDrop sessions. Third, if the person isn't appearing, have them open their AirDrop settings and tap "Everyone for 10 Minutes" to force the device to broadcast its presence.
If you’re on a Mac, keep a Finder window open to the AirDrop tab to boost discoverability. For those worried about security, always revert to "Contacts Only" after you've finished your transfer with a stranger or acquaintance. Finally, remember that if a file is massive, you can now walk away and let the cloud finish the job, provided you’ve enabled cellular transfers in your settings. This makes the process significantly less tethered and far more reliable for modern workflows.