AirDrop: iPhone 6's iOS v9.3 is unable to see to connect MacBook Pro's Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite...

[Ant]

Hello.

As a AirDrop newbie, I followed https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203106
's instructions to connect my work's iPhone 6 (iOS v9.3) and MacBook Pro
(15"; Retina; early 2013; Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite) to connect each
other wirelessly to send and receive files like images. However, I could
only get one direction working: MBP to iPhone (sending a photo(graph)).
iPhone does not see MBP when I use its AirDrop. What am I missing? I
checked AirDrop settings (open to everyone), and Mac OS X's firewall
(even tried disabling it fully). I also rebooted both devices. What am I
missing?

Thank you in advance. :)
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[Lewis]

In message <uoydnV84q-SSAmDL...@earthlink.com>

Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> Hello.

> As a AirDrop newbie, I followed https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203106
> 's instructions to connect my work's iPhone 6 (iOS v9.3) and MacBook Pro
> (15"; Retina; early 2013; Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite) to connect each
> other wirelessly to send and receive files like images. However, I could
> only get one direction working: MBP to iPhone (sending a photo(graph)).
> iPhone does not see MBP when I use its AirDrop. What am I missing? I
> checked AirDrop settings (open to everyone), and Mac OS X's firewall
> (even tried disabling it fully). I also rebooted both devices. What am I
> missing?

On the Mac do you have a finder window open with "Airdrop" selected in
the left column?

Or ⇧⌘-R in the Finder.

--
'Can't argue with the truth, sir.' 'In my experience, Vimes, you can
argue with anything.'

[Ant]

> > As a AirDrop newbie, I followed https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203106
> > 's instructions to connect my work's iPhone 6 (iOS v9.3) and MacBook Pro
> > (15"; Retina; early 2013; Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite) to connect each
> > other wirelessly to send and receive files like images. However, I could
> > only get one direction working: MBP to iPhone (sending a photo(graph)).
> > iPhone does not see MBP when I use its AirDrop. What am I missing? I
> > checked AirDrop settings (open to everyone), and Mac OS X's firewall
> > (even tried disabling it fully). I also rebooted both devices. What am I
> > missing?

> On the Mac do you have a finder window open with "Airdrop" selected in
> the left column?

> Or ??????-R in the Finder.

Yeah, I did and even had it open for it to see iPhone. Iphone didn't see
that MBP. HOWEVER, it works now. What the heck? The only differences was
I powered them off overnight when I wasn't working. Weird.

[Chris in Makati]

On Thu, 31 Mar 2016 17:05:03 -0500, ANT...@zimage.com (Ant) wrote:

>Hello.
>
>As a AirDrop newbie, I followed https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203106
>'s instructions to connect my work's iPhone 6 (iOS v9.3) and MacBook Pro
>(15"; Retina; early 2013; Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite) to connect each
>other wirelessly to send and receive files like images. However, I could
>only get one direction working: MBP to iPhone (sending a photo(graph)).
>iPhone does not see MBP when I use its AirDrop. What am I missing? I
>checked AirDrop settings (open to everyone), and Mac OS X's firewall
>(even tried disabling it fully). I also rebooted both devices. What am I
>missing?

Good luck with that one.

If it's any consolation, I've never been able to get AirDrop working
in either direction between my iPhone 6 and my MacBook Air. Both are
connected to the same network via Wi-Fi, and I have no other
connectivity problems with either device.

I've followed all the AirDrop troubleshooting recommendations from
Apple and on various other discussion forums. From what I've read I'm
not alone in this. It seems a lot of people just cannot get it to
work.

[nospam]

In article <26lufbps1ved0co9a...@4ax.com>, Chris in

Makati <ma...@nospam.com> wrote:

> >As a AirDrop newbie, I followed https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203106
> >'s instructions to connect my work's iPhone 6 (iOS v9.3) and MacBook Pro
> >(15"; Retina; early 2013; Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite) to connect each
> >other wirelessly to send and receive files like images. However, I could
> >only get one direction working: MBP to iPhone (sending a photo(graph)).
> >iPhone does not see MBP when I use its AirDrop. What am I missing? I
> >checked AirDrop settings (open to everyone), and Mac OS X's firewall
> >(even tried disabling it fully). I also rebooted both devices. What am I
> >missing?
>
> Good luck with that one.

luck is not needed.

airdrop is incredibly easy to use.

> If it's any consolation, I've never been able to get AirDrop working
> in either direction between my iPhone 6 and my MacBook Air. Both are
> connected to the same network via Wi-Fi, and I have no other
> connectivity problems with either device.

the devices don't need to be connected to the same wifi network. in
fact, they don't need to be connected to *any* wifi network.

airdrop uses peer to peer wifi which auto-configures itself. that's the
whole point.

you don't say how old your macbook air is, but it may be too old to
support airdrop. another possibility is that you have bluetooth off.

> I've followed all the AirDrop troubleshooting recommendations from
> Apple and on various other discussion forums. From what I've read I'm
> not alone in this. It seems a lot of people just cannot get it to
> work.

then they're doing something wrong.

[David Empson]

Or running an OS version which is too old: AirDrop between iOS and Macs
requires the Mac be running OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or later.

Both the Mac and iOS device must be models introduced in Mid 2012 or
later. The iPhone 6 qualifies, but AirDrop with an iOS device won't work
with a 2011 or earlier MacBook Air. (AirDrop between two Macs will work
on somewhat older Mac models - that uses a different protocol which only
involves Wi-Fi.)

> > I've followed all the AirDrop troubleshooting recommendations from
> > Apple and on various other discussion forums. From what I've read I'm
> > not alone in this. It seems a lot of people just cannot get it to
> > work.
>
> then they're doing something wrong.

--
David Empson
dem...@actrix.gen.nz

[Lewis]

In message <020420160130512909%nos...@nospam.invalid>

nospam <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> In article <26lufbps1ved0co9a...@4ax.com>, Chris in
> Makati <ma...@nospam.com> wrote:

>> >As a AirDrop newbie, I followed https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203106
>> >'s instructions to connect my work's iPhone 6 (iOS v9.3) and MacBook Pro
>> >(15"; Retina; early 2013; Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite) to connect each
>> >other wirelessly to send and receive files like images. However, I could
>> >only get one direction working: MBP to iPhone (sending a photo(graph)).
>> >iPhone does not see MBP when I use its AirDrop. What am I missing? I
>> >checked AirDrop settings (open to everyone), and Mac OS X's firewall
>> >(even tried disabling it fully). I also rebooted both devices. What am I
>> >missing?
>>
>> Good luck with that one.

> luck is not needed.

> airdrop is incredibly easy to use.

>> If it's any consolation, I've never been able to get AirDrop working
>> in either direction between my iPhone 6 and my MacBook Air. Both are
>> connected to the same network via Wi-Fi, and I have no other
>> connectivity problems with either device.

> the devices don't need to be connected to the same wifi network. in
> fact, they don't need to be connected to *any* wifi network.

Yep. I use AirDrop all the time. I am annoyed that you have to open an
Airdrop folder in the Finder, but other than that, it's great.

--
I WILL NOT TRADE PANTS WITH OTHERS Bart chalkboard Ep. 7F05

[Chris in Makati]

The MacBook Air was purchased in September 2011and is fully up-to-date
with the latest updates to El Capitan.

I have an AirDrop folder in Finder so had assumed that it would work
with my iPhone 6. Perhaps it's too old, as you suggested.

[David Empson]

Bingo. That model is too old to do AirDrop with iOS devices.

That capability is limited (along with Handoff) to 2012 and later Macs
(excluding the 2012 Mac Pro). The key requirement is that the computer
must support Bluetooth 4.0.

There are a couple of Mac models prior to 2012 (Mid 2011 MacBook Air and
Mac Mini) which do support Bluetooth 4.0 but don't support AirDrop or
Handoff with iOS devices. Either there is another hardware limitation on
those early models, or Apple did an arbitrary cutoff in software so the
feature only works on 2012 and later models, possibly for political
reasons, as it is only the low end 2011 models which have the necessary
hardware.

> and is fully up-to-date with the latest updates to El Capitan.

In your case it is not working due to a hardware limitation (or an
arbitrary decision by Apple), not due to the OS version.

> I have an AirDrop folder in Finder so had assumed that it would work
> with my iPhone 6. Perhaps it's too old, as you suggested.

Yes. That AirDrop view in the Finder sidebar will work fine for doing
AirDrops with other Macs, but not with iOS devices.

Mac support for what is now known as "legacy" AirDrop (Wi-Fi only) goes
back to these models:

MacBook (Aluminium, Late 2008) or (Early 2009)
MacBook Air (Late 2010)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008) or (17-inch, Early 2009), all 13-inch
iMac (Early 2009)
Mac Mini (Mid 2010)
Mac Pro (Early 2009)

If the Mac is a 2012 or newer model (excluding the 2012 Mac Pro) and is
running Yosemite or later, it also supports iOS-compatible AirDrop
(Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi), and it defaults to the new protocol. You need
to click a link at the bottom of the AirDrop window to switch to the old
protocol and use "legacy" AirDrop with pre-2012 Macs.

On 2008-2011 models that support "legacy" but not iOS-compatible
AirDrop, there is no such mode setting. They just show nearby Macs that
are also have the AirDrop window open.

--
David Empson
dem...@actrix.gen.nz

[Chris in Makati]

On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 10:43:16 +1200, dem...@actrix.gen.nz (David
Empson) wrote:

>That capability is limited (along with Handoff) to 2012 and later Macs
>(excluding the 2012 Mac Pro). The key requirement is that the computer
>must support Bluetooth 4.0.
>
>There are a couple of Mac models prior to 2012 (Mid 2011 MacBook Air and
>Mac Mini) which do support Bluetooth 4.0 but don't support AirDrop or
>Handoff with iOS devices. Either there is another hardware limitation on
>those early models, or Apple did an arbitrary cutoff in software so the
>feature only works on 2012 and later models, possibly for political
>reasons, as it is only the low end 2011 models which have the necessary
>hardware.

If I click on "About This Mac", hit the "System Report" button and
look under "Hardware" the entry for Bluetooth says "Apple Bluetooth
Software Version: 4.4.4f4 17685"

I'm not sure if I'm correct in assuming that indicates the machine
supports Bluetooth 4.0.

[David Empson]

Chris in Makati <ma...@nospam.com> wrote:

That's not relevant. The Bluetooth software version is the same for all
Macs running the same version of OS X. My Late 2013 15-inch MacBook Pro
running 10.11.4 has the same verison number.

On that same page, the clue as to Bluetooth 4.0 support is:

Bluetooth Low Energy Supported: Yes

If it says Yes, your hardware has Bluetooth 4.0 support. If it says No
then it doesn't.

The next two lines indicate support for "Continuity" features which
Apple has only enabled on 2012 and later Macs.

Handoff Supported: Yes
Instant Hot Spot Supported: Yes

AirDrop with iOS is tied to these, as all three features require
Bluetooth 4.0 and related software support.

I expect your Mid 2011 MacBook Air will say this:

Bluetooth Low Energy Supported: Yes
Handoff Supported: No
Instant Hot Spot Supported: No

This implies AirDrop with iOS is not supported on your Mac.

I'd be curious to see the other details on that page of the system
report for your model (with individual identifying details such as Name
and Address deleted), to see what might be different from later models.

Here's the data from my MacBook Pro. (I also have access to a 2012 Mac
Mini and 2012 13-inch non-retina MacBook Pro which I can check later.)

Apple Bluetooth Software Version: 4.4.4f4 17685

Hardware, Features, and Settings:
Name: xxxxxxxxxx
Address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx
Bluetooth Low Energy Supported: Yes
Handoff Supported: Yes
Instant Hot Spot Supported: Yes
Manufacturer: Broadcom
Transport: USB
Chipset: 20702B0
Firmware Version: v118 c9121
Bluetooth Power: On
Discoverable: Off
Connectable: Yes
Auto Seek Pointing: On
Remote wake: On
Vendor ID: 0x05AC
Product ID: 0x8289
HCI Version: 4.0 (0x6)
HCI Revision: 0x23A1
LMP Version: 4.0 (0x6)
LMP Subversion: 0x4176
Device Type (Major): Computer
Device Type (Complete): Mac Portable
Composite Class Of Device: 0x38010C
Device Class (Major): 0x01
Device Class (Minor): 0x03
Service Class: 0x1C0
Auto Seek Keyboard: On

(Omitted subsequent lists of devices, services and serial ports.)

--
David Empson
dem...@actrix.gen.nz

[Chris in Makati]

On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 14:28:48 +1200, dem...@actrix.gen.nz (David

That's exactly what I have.

Here are the rest of the details:

Apple Bluetooth Software Version: 4.4.4f4 17685
Hardware, Features, and Settings:
Name: xxxxxxxxxx
Address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx
Bluetooth Low Energy Supported: Yes

Handoff Supported: No
Instant Hot Spot Supported: No

Manufacturer: Broadcom
Transport: USB
Chipset: 20702A3
Firmware Version: v151 c5845

Bluetooth Power: On
Discoverable: Off
Connectable: Yes
Auto Seek Pointing: On
Remote wake: On
Vendor ID: 0x05AC

Product ID: 0x821F
HCI Version: 4.0 (0x6)
HCI Revision: 0x16D5
LMP Version: 4.0 (0x6)
LMP Subversion: 0x2297

[David Empson]

Chris in Makati <ma...@nospam.com> wrote:

> On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 14:28:48 +1200, dem...@actrix.gen.nz (David
> Empson) wrote:
>
> >Chris in Makati <ma...@nospam.com> wrote:
> >
> >> On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 10:43:16 +1200, dem...@actrix.gen.nz (David
> >> Empson) wrote:
> >>
> >> >That capability is limited (along with Handoff) to 2012 and later Macs
> >> >(excluding the 2012 Mac Pro). The key requirement is that the computer
> >> >must support Bluetooth 4.0.
> >> >
> >> >There are a couple of Mac models prior to 2012 (Mid 2011 MacBook Air and
> >> >Mac Mini) which do support Bluetooth 4.0 but don't support AirDrop or
> >> >Handoff with iOS devices. Either there is another hardware limitation on
> >> >those early models, or Apple did an arbitrary cutoff in software so the
> >> >feature only works on 2012 and later models, possibly for political
> >> >reasons, as it is only the low end 2011 models which have the necessary
> >> >hardware.
> >>
> >> If I click on "About This Mac", hit the "System Report" button and
> >> look under "Hardware" the entry for Bluetooth says "Apple Bluetooth
> >> Software Version: 4.4.4f4 17685"
> >>
> >> I'm not sure if I'm correct in assuming that indicates the machine
> >> supports Bluetooth 4.0.
> >
> >That's not relevant. The Bluetooth software version is the same for all
> >Macs running the same version of OS X. My Late 2013 15-inch MacBook Pro
> >running 10.11.4 has the same verison number.

[...]

> >I expect your Mid 2011 MacBook Air will say this:
> >
> >Bluetooth Low Energy Supported: Yes
> >Handoff Supported: No
> >Instant Hot Spot Supported: No
>
> That's exactly what I have.
>
> >This implies AirDrop with iOS is not supported on your Mac.
> >
> >I'd be curious to see the other details on that page of the system
> >report for your model (with individual identifying details such as Name
> >and Address deleted), to see what might be different from later models.

[...]

For reference, my partner's 2012 non-retina 13-inch MacBook Pro has the
same values for "Manufacturer" and "Chipset", an older by one "Firmware
Version" (v151 c5844), older by two "Product ID", older by one "HCI
Revision" and same "LMP Subversion".

The Mid 2012 MacBook Pro does support Continuity features (Handoff,
Instant Hotspot, iOS-compatible AirDrop). Your Mid 2011 MacBook Air does
not, despite having the same chipset with slightly newer firmware.

I can't see any evidence that there is a hardware/firmware limitation on
the Bluetooth side, and I'm pretty sure there is no limitation on the
Wi-Fi side (since peer-to-peer Wi-Fi is supported by all Macs which can
do any form of AirDrop).

The most likely reason your Mid 2011 MacBook Air can't do iOS-compatible
AirDrop (and other Continuity features which require Bluetooth 4.0) is
that Apple made an arbitrary decision to exclude that model (and the mid
2011 Mac Mini, which also supports Bluetooth 4.0 but not Handoff).


There is a third party project to patch OS X to work around this, by
modifying the relevant kernel extension(s). For the 2011 MacBook Air and
Mac Mini it only requires a software patch. Several other pre-2012 Mac
models can be supported via this patch combined with a Bluetooth 4.0 USB
adapter and/or replacement of the internal wireless networking hardware.
Related discussion established that the system has an explicit blacklist
of models on which these Continuity features are not allowed to be used.

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/23/continuity-activation-tool/
https://github.com/dokterdok/Continuity-Activation-Tool/

Patching the OS is not something that should be done lightly. At a
minimum, using this tool will leave your Mac exposed to some potential
security issues, and it will create more work for you to keep the patch
installed.

The tool has to disable the mechanism to validate the digital signature
of kernel extensions (leaving you open to the possibility of malicious
software modifying or replacing kernel extensions), and on El Capitan
you need to temporarily disable System Integrity Protection to apply the
patch.

Subsequent minor OS updates or security updates might restore part or
all the official Apple driver(s), potentially leaving you with broken
drivers, an unstable system, or a need to reapply the patch. The tool
might need an update before it will work with a later minor or major OS
version, and a future OS update might make significant enough changes
that the developers of the tool can't find a workaround to keep it
working.

It looks like they have done nice things like back up the original
files, making it easier to uninstall the patches.

--
David Empson
dem...@actrix.gen.nz