How To Transfer Files Between iPhone, iPad & Mac Using AirDrop

If your a regular user of Apple tech, then you may already be using AirDrop regularly. It makes transferring files from one device to another easy and that's not just photo's, but speaking to people recently, even long time users of iPhones for example, aren't aware of the function or what it can do! Some people don't realise that you don't need to use Cloud sites, email or messaging to transfer files, AirDrop makes it easy. This article hopefully will give some background and pointers to using AirDrop. Previoulsy I posted an article to help people if they are considering buying a used Apple mobile device, if you haven't read it already, click here to take a look.

Essentially all you need to do is enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on your phone and providing the device that your looking to transfer to does the same, you are good to go.

It works with everything that can be shared, so not just photographs but text files etc. as well. It uses Bluetooth LE to essentially create a Wi-Fi connection between two devices, it also encrypts whatever you are sending so it makes the transfer more secure than e-mail. Because of the method of transfer, it is also quicker than other ways to transfer and the closer the devices are to each other, the easier it is to use.

AirDrop was released as part of the iOS 7 software update, so only works on devices that are running this version of the OS or higher. So it should run on an iPhone 5 or later, a fourth-gen iPad or later, any iPad mini, the iPad Pro, the iPad Air, and fifth-generation iPod Touch devices or later. If you want to transfer a file to a Mac however, you need the Mac running OS X Yosemite or later and the iOS device running iOS 8 or later, not 7.

So, to use AirDrop on an iPhone or iPad, the following steps will get you going:

• Turn on AirDrop by swiping up from the bottom of the screen to access the Control Panel. Please note that you don't go to Settings on the device/
• As mentioned earlier for this to work you will also need to enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which you can also turn on from your Control Panel.
• From the Control Panel you can turn on AirDrop for ‘Everyone’ or for ‘Contacts Only’. The ‘Contacts Only’ option means that only people in your contacts list can send you files via AirDrop. The ‘Everyone’ option allows anyone nearby who has this enabled to try and send you files. You always have the option to accept the transfer or not accept it, so if you have the 'Everyone' option enabled, be careful of what you accept.

If you are using AirDrop on a Mac, the following will get you up and running:

• Enable AirDrop by launching the Finder, clicking on AirDrop in the left panel, and turning it on for ‘Everyone’ or ‘Contacts Only’, the same options as mentioned above.
• You can drag and drop files to the device that you're sending to in AirDrop sidebar. Some apps also have a Share option that can be used with AirDrop.

Switching off the function is also easy, for iPhones and iPads just go back the Control Panel, go to AirDrop and select Off. For Macs go to the Finder and click on the AirDrop folder and select Off. Once disabled on any device, it will no longer be discoverable by another device that has AirDrop active.

To use AirDrop, due to the nature of the transfer technology, the two devices that are being used need to be within 30 feet of one another. If AirDrop is enabled on both devices, but the other device that would be the recipient isn't showing on the sender's device, try moving a little closer. Again due to the technology, transferring larger files should be easier, although it has been known for files that are a number of gigabytes in size to fail. Please note that you can't share music from the Music app via AirDrop due to  copyright issues.