AirDrop is a very useful feature in MacBook, iPhones, and iPads. AirDrop lets you transfer files among iOS devices and Mac devices through the Wi-Fi speedily. It uses Bluetooth to discover and connect to other devices and Wi-Fi to transfer files. If you have an iPhone, iPad or Mac, you should have used it or you are probably using it frequently. If AirDrop not working on your device, here are 7 things fix it

7 Working Solutions When AirDrop Not Working

Step 1: Make Your Device Discoverable

It may look like Apple AirDrop not working, but it may be because your iPhone or iPad probably is not discoverable by the other devices. There are three options for AirDrop which are Receiving Off, Contacts Only and Everyone. Either AirDrop is “Receiving Off” or the other device is not in the “Contacts Only” category. Follow these steps to make your iOS device discoverable for AirDrop:

1) On your iOS device, swipe up from the bottom to reveal the Control Center.

If you can’t see the AirDrop option in the control center, press and hold the area to get more options.

2) Tap on AirDrop.

The AirDrop options will show up with the three options Receiving Off, Contacts Only and Everyone.

3) Select “Everyone” so that AirDrop on your device can connect to any device for file transfer.

This should most probably solve your “AirDrop not working” problem if you don’t know much about AirDrop or if you haven’t used it before. Go through the next steps if still, AirDrop is not working:

Step 2: Check Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Airplane Mode

Maybe AirDrop is not working because either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is off or Airplane mode is on. AirDrop requires Bluetooth to discover other devices and Wi-Fi to send data. If either of these is off or Airplane mode is on, Airdrop won’t work. You can toggle these settings like this:

1) On your iOS device, swipe up from the bottom to reveal the Control Center.

2) If Wi-Fi is off, tap on its logo to turn it on.

3) If Bluetooth is off, tap on its logo to turn it on.

4) If Airplane mode is on, tap on its logo to turn it off.

5) You can also toggle these settings in the “Settings” app.

6) You can also restart the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if AirDrop not working.

If this also does not work for you, keep following the next steps:

Step 3: Hard Reset Your iOS Device

Most of the times, hard resetting or force restarting your iPhone or iPad can help in solving this problem. Many problems can be solved by doing a hard reset since it refreshes your device and restarts it. It won’t delete/format your data. You can Follow these steps carefully:

If you are using an iPad, iPhone 6s/6s Plus or an earlier iPhone:

1) Press and hold the power (sleep/wake) button and home button at once.

2) Press and hold them for at least 10 seconds.

3) When you see the Apple logo, release the buttons.

If you are using an iPhone 7/7 Plus:

1) Press and hold the power (sleep/wake) button and volume down button at once.

2) Press and hold them for at least 10 seconds.

3) When you see the Apple logo, release the buttons.

If you are using the iPhone X, you can watch the below video to hard reset the phone to make AirDrop working.

Your iPhone or iPad will restart and then try to use AirDrop. If it is still not working, continue with these steps:

Step 4: Reset Network Settings

You might be facing an issue with AirDrop problem if your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are not working correctly. Follow these steps to reset the network settings on your iPhone or iPad:

1) On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > Reset.

2) Select “Reset Network Settings”.

3) This will reset all Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings and will remove all saved networks and Bluetooth devices.

4) Restart your device after the Network Settings have been reset.

5) When your iOS device restarts, try using AirDrop to check if it is working or not.

Step 5: Update iOS

The iOS version your iPhone or iPad has may be an older one which is causing problems with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Updating iOS may solve your the AirDrop not working problem. Follow these tips to check if your iPhone or iPad has any updates pending:

1) On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

2) Your device will look for any iOS updates.

3) If there are any updates, let them install.

The AirDrop should work now on your iOS device.

Step 6: Try Logging Out and Into your iCloud ID

If you are trying to connect to your contacts through AirDrop and AirDrop is not working, you can try to log out and then log in again to your iCloud ID. Follow these steps:

1) On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > iCloud.

2) Scroll down and tap on “Sign Out”.

3) Restart your iOS device.

4) Then again go to Settings > iCloud.

5) Enter your credentials and sign in to your iCloud ID.

Even if this does not work, then try this last method:

Step 7: Factory Reset Your Device

The last resort is to factory reset your iOS device if no solution helped. Follow these steps to do a factory reset:

1) Make a backup of your iOS device on iTunes or make an iCloud backup.

2) On your iOS device, go to Settings > General > Reset.

3) Select “Erase All Content and Settings”.

4) Your device will ask you to enter your Apple ID password.

5) Your phone will start to perform a factory reset.

6) After the phone is reset, set up your device with your Apple ID and connect to your Wi-Fi.

The AirDrop should most probably work now.

Still if you can not make it work, contacting Apple Support would be the best thing to help you with your problem. Other than that, these were 7 things to do when AirDrop not working. AirDrop is a very useful feature on iOS devices because it is faster than transferring files through Bluetooth. AirDrop can only be used on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Mac devices.