How to AirDrop Photos from iPhone to Mac (Step by Step)

Want your iPhone photos on your Mac without cables, apps or emailing them to yourself? AirDrop is the quickest way. It works in a few seconds for a handful of photos and handles a few hundred at a time too. Here’s how to do it, what to check when the Mac doesn’t show up, and what to use instead for a whole photo library.

Before you start

• Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both devices. AirDrop uses both, but the two devices don’t need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.
• Keep them close. Within about 9 metres, ideally in the same room.
• Turn off Personal Hotspot on the iPhone (Settings → Personal Hotspot). AirDrop won’t work while it’s on.
• Unlock the iPhone and wake the Mac. A sleeping Mac won’t appear in the list.
• Any Mac from the last ten years with a recent version of macOS will work.

Step 1: Make your Mac visible

1. On the Mac, open Control Centre (the switches icon at the top right of the screen).
2. Click AirDrop and set it to Contacts Only or Everyone.

If your iPhone and Mac use the same Apple Account, Contacts Only is enough. If you’re sending to someone else’s Mac and it doesn’t appear, ask them to choose Everyone for a moment. You can also open Finder and click AirDrop in the sidebar to see the same setting.

Step 2: Send the photos from your iPhone

1. Open the Photos app on the iPhone.
2. Tap Select, then tap each photo or video you want. To pick lots at once, drag your finger across a row and down the screen.
3. Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up).
4. Tap AirDrop, then tap your Mac’s name.
5. Wait until the iPhone shows Sent under the Mac’s name before you leave the screen.

Step 3: Find the photos on your Mac

If both devices use the same Apple Account, the photos are accepted automatically. If not, a message pops up on the Mac and you click Accept.

The files land in your Downloads folder. To keep them in the Photos app on the Mac, drag them from Downloads into the Photos window, or open Photos and choose File → Import.

Keep the original quality

AirDrop sends full-resolution photos, not compressed copies. Newer iPhones save photos as HEIC files, which every recent Mac opens without trouble. If you need ordinary JPG files for a Windows PC or an old program, change Settings → Camera → Formats to Most Compatible before you take the photos, or export them from Photos on the Mac as JPEG.

To include the location and other details, tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn on All Photos Data.

Mac not showing up? Try these

• Switch Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off and on again on both devices.
• On the Mac, set AirDrop to Everyone and try again.
• Check that Focus or Do Not Disturb isn’t blocking the AirDrop request on the Mac.
• On the Mac, open System Settings → Network → Firewall → Options and make sure Block all incoming connections is off.
• Restart both devices. It sounds simple, but it fixes most AirDrop problems.
• Update both to the latest software (iPhone: Settings → General → Software Update; Mac: System Settings → General → Software Update).

Moving your whole photo library? Use one of these instead

AirDrop is best for a few photos or a few hundred. For thousands of photos and videos, these are more reliable:

• iCloud Photos. Turn it on in Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Photos on the iPhone, and in the Photos app settings on the Mac. Every photo then appears on both devices by itself. You may need more iCloud storage for a large library.
• A cable. Connect the iPhone to the Mac, unlock it and tap Trust. Open the Photos app on the Mac, select the iPhone in the sidebar and click Import All New Items. This is the fastest way for very large libraries.

Phone broken before you got the photos off?

If the screen is smashed, the phone went in water or it won’t turn on, AirDrop can’t help. Often the photos can still be saved. At MK Phone Repairs we can repair the screen or the board so the phone works long enough to back it up, and for phones that are badly damaged we can move the processor and storage chips onto a working board. See our phone data recovery page. There’s no diagnostic fee.

Visit us at Kiosk 5, Brandon Park Shopping Centre, corner of Ferntree Gully Rd and Springvale Rd, Wheelers Hill, or call or SMS 0478 652 652. For screens and batteries, see our iPhone repair prices.