In most cases the receiving device is missing for one of three reasons: Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is off, Personal Hotspot is on, or AirDrop visibility is set to 'Contacts Only' without the contact being saved properly. Start with Solution 1 and, if the device is still missing, switch visibility to 'Everyone for 10 Minutes' in Solution 2. The receiving screen has to be unlocked and the devices within a few metres of each other (Solution 3). On a Mac, the AirDrop window in Finder needs to be open and the firewall must not be blocking all incoming connections (Solution 6). If none of that works, switching Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off and on at both ends (Solution 5) rebuilds the connection and usually unsticks the rest.
What causes this problem
- Wi-Fi or Bluetooth turned off on one of the devices: AirDrop uses both at once, even with no internet.
- Personal Hotspot switched on the iPhone, which disables AirDrop for as long as it is active.
- Visibility set to 'Contacts Only' without the other person's Apple ID phone or email saved in your contacts.
- A locked screen or too much distance: the receiving device drops off the list when the screen goes dark.
- Screen Time restrictions or a work profile blocking AirDrop without any clear warning.
- On a Mac, a firewall set to block all incoming connections, which takes AirDrop down with it.
- Keep both devices within about 9 metres of each other, with no wall in between, and both screens on and unlocked.
- Check whether both use the same account or, at the very least, that each one has the other saved as a contact with the correct Apple ID email.
- Note which device is the problem: yours finds nobody, or nobody finds yours? Those have different causes.
- Turn off Personal Hotspot on the iPhone before any test - it and AirDrop cannot run at the same time.
- Have the device passcode handy in case you need to change Screen Time restrictions.
Solutions, in the order to try them
1Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both devices and switch off Personal Hotspot
AirDrop does not go through the internet, but it uses Bluetooth to discover the nearby device and Wi-Fi to send the file. If either one is off, the other device never appears in the list. And Personal Hotspot takes over the Wi-Fi radio in a way that disables AirDrop while it is on - this is the single most common cause.
- On iPhone or iPad, swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Centre.
- Check that the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth icons are blue, not grey. If they are grey, tap them to turn them on.
- Go to Settings > Personal Hotspot and turn off Allow Others to Join.
- On the Mac, click the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth icons in the menu bar and confirm both are active.
- Try sending again and see whether the destination device shows up.
2Switch visibility to 'Everyone for 10 Minutes'
There are three visibility modes: Receiving Off, Contacts Only and Everyone for 10 Minutes. If the receiving device is set to Receiving Off, it is invisible to everyone. And Contacts Only is strict: it only accepts people saved in your contacts with the exact Apple ID email or phone number. Switching to Everyone for 10 Minutes is the decisive test: if the device appears, the problem was visibility, not AirDrop itself.
- On the device that will RECEIVE, open Settings > General > AirDrop.
- Choose Everyone for 10 Minutes.
- On a Mac, open Finder, click AirDrop in the sidebar and, at the bottom of the window, set 'Allow me to be discovered by' to Everyone.
- Send within those 10 minutes: the setting reverts to Contacts Only on its own when the time runs out.
- If it worked, switch back to Contacts Only and go to Solution 4 to make that mode work properly.
3Unlock the receiving screen and move the devices closer
An iPhone or iPad with a dark screen disappears from the list of destinations. The same goes for distance: the real range is a few metres, and walls, cupboard doors and even the body of whoever is holding the device weaken the signal. Before changing any setting, sort out the basics of position.
- Ask the other person to unlock their device and keep the screen on during the transfer.
- Put both devices side by side on the same table, with nothing in between.
- Send again and watch: the destination usually appears within 2 to 5 seconds.
- If the Mac is a desktop tucked inside a cabinet or behind the monitor, pull it out for the test.
4Make 'Contacts Only' actually work
This mode confuses a lot of people. To appear to someone using Contacts Only, you have to be saved in that person's contacts with the same email or phone number they use as their Apple ID - and the other way round too. A number saved without the country code, or a secondary email instead of the main one, is enough for the device to never show up.
- Ask the other person which email and phone number they use to sign in to their Apple account.
- Open Contacts and check that their card holds exactly that email or number, country code included.
- Do the same on the other side: your card in their contacts needs your Apple ID email.
- Also check that you have a personal contact card set in your own Contacts, with your own account details.
- After fixing it, close and reopen the share sheet so the list is rebuilt.
5Turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off and on at both ends
When AirDrop used to work and stopped out of nowhere, it is almost always Bluetooth discovery that has got stuck. Properly switching both radios off and back on forces a fresh scan and clears a good share of these cases without touching anything else.
- Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and turn the switch off. Do the same in Settings > Bluetooth.
- Use Settings rather than Control Centre: the Control Centre buttons disconnect temporarily instead of turning the radio off.
- Wait about 15 seconds and turn both back on, Bluetooth first and then Wi-Fi.
- Repeat on the other device and try the transfer again.
6On a Mac, open AirDrop in Finder and review the firewall
A Mac behaves differently from an iPhone: it becomes much easier to find when the AirDrop window is open in Finder. And if the firewall is set to block all incoming connections, AirDrop goes down with it, even with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on.
- On the Mac, open Finder and click AirDrop in the left sidebar. Leave that window open during the transfer.
- Open System Settings and go to the Network section, to the Firewall item.
- If the firewall is on, open its options and untick the setting that blocks all incoming connections.
- Also check that the Mac does not have internet sharing switched on, which gets in the way exactly like Personal Hotspot does on the iPhone.
- Try sending again with the AirDrop window visible.
7Check Screen Time restrictions
On devices set up by someone else, by parental controls or by a company, AirDrop may be disabled by policy. The symptom is distinctive: the option vanishes from the share sheet or goes grey and does not respond to taps.
- Open Settings > Screen Time > Content and Privacy Restrictions.
- If the switch is on, go into Allowed Apps and Features.
- Find the AirDrop item and leave it turned on.
- If the device belongs to work or school, check Settings > General > VPN and Device Management for an installed profile - in that case the rule comes from whoever administers the device and only they can lift it.
8Restart both devices and, as a last resort, reset network settings
Restarting clears stuck network services that no settings screen will show you. If that still does not fix it, resetting network settings is the last resort: it does not delete photos or apps, but it does wipe every saved Wi-Fi password and Bluetooth pairing, so write those passwords down first.
- Power both devices off and on and test the transfer again.
- If it still fails, on iPhone or iPad go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset and choose Reset > Reset Network Settings.
- After it restarts, connect the device to your Wi-Fi network again and repeat the test.
- Also check that both devices are on the latest system version available to them: versions very far apart sometimes fail to see each other.
Applies to
| System | Status |
|---|---|
| iPhone and iPad on iOS 17 or later | Confirmed |
| iPhone and iPad on iOS 15 and 16 | Confirmed |
| Mac on macOS Ventura or later | Confirmed |
Menu names can change slightly between versions. If a step above does not match what you see on screen, the official support page from the manufacturer has the most current wording for your version.
Frequently asked questions
Last checked: Oct 28, 2026 · We review this guide whenever the manufacturer changes the process.