How to AirDrop from iPhone to Mac

AirDrop moves files between an iPhone and a Mac over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, with no cable or cloud upload. Both devices need Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on and need to be within about 30 feet of each other.

Make the Mac discoverable

On the Mac, open Finder and click AirDrop in the sidebar. At the bottom of the window, set Allow me to be discovered by: to Contacts Only or Everyone. Contacts Only requires the iPhone's Apple Account email or phone number to be in the Mac's Contacts app, so Everyone is the reliable choice while you test. The same setting is in Control Center on the Mac: click the AirDrop button and pick an option.

Open the item on the iPhone

Open a photo in Photos, a file in Files, a page in Safari, or whatever you want to send. To send several photos at once, tap Select in Photos, tap each photo, and continue with the next step.

Tap Share, then AirDrop

Tap the Share button, the square with an arrow pointing up. In the share sheet, tap AirDrop. Nearby devices appear as circles with names under them.

Tap the Mac

Tap the Mac's name. The circle shows a progress ring and then says Sent. If the Mac is signed in to the same Apple Account as the iPhone, it accepts the transfer automatically. Otherwise a notification appears on the Mac and you click Accept.

Find the file on the Mac

Received items land in the Downloads folder. Open Finder and click Downloads in the sidebar, or click the Downloads stack at the right end of the Dock. Photos and videos arrive as image and movie files, not in the Photos app.

If the Mac does not appear on the iPhone. Set the Mac to Everyone, wake it and unlock it, and turn off Personal Hotspot on the iPhone. Toggle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off and on again on both devices. On the Mac, check that the firewall is not blocking all incoming connections in System Settings, Network, Firewall. The iPhone's own Everyone for 10 Minutes option, in Settings, General, AirDrop, only matters when the iPhone is the one receiving.

If you want to send the other way. On the Mac, right-click the file, choose Share, then AirDrop, and click the iPhone. Set the iPhone to Contacts Only or Everyone for 10 Minutes first.