AirDrop Not Working on iPhone? How to Fix It

A plain-English checklist for the most common AirDrop problems on iPhone in 2026 — most fixes take less than a minute.

5 min read · 7 steps · Checked May 2026

1. Step 1. Make sure both devices are unlocked and awake

   AirDrop will not show your friend's iPhone in the list of nearby devices if their phone is locked, in your pocket, or asleep. Ask the person you are sending to wake their phone up and tap the screen so it is on the home screen or an open app. Do the same on your phone. Both devices need to be within about 30 feet of each other — Bluetooth and Wi-Fi range.

   Quick Tip

   Quick Tip: If you are sending to yourself (iPhone to Mac, for example), both devices need to be signed into the same Apple ID and unlocked.

2. Step 2. Turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on for both devices

   AirDrop uses Wi-Fi to send the actual file and Bluetooth to find the other device. If either is off, AirDrop will not work. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone screen to open Control Center. Look at the Wi-Fi icon (the curved bars) and the Bluetooth icon (the angled rune shape). Both should be solid blue, not gray. If either is gray, tap it once to turn it on. Ask the person you are sending to do the same.

   Warning

   Airplane Mode turns both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off. If you see the orange airplane icon in Control Center, tap it once to turn Airplane Mode off.

3. Step 3. Check your AirDrop visibility setting

   Apple makes iPhones invisible to AirDrop by default to protect you from strangers sending unsolicited photos. Open the Settings app, tap "General," then tap "AirDrop." You will see three options: "Receiving Off" (no one can send to you), "Contacts Only" (only people in your contacts can send to you), and "Everyone for 10 Minutes" (anyone nearby can send to you for the next 10 minutes, then it goes back to Contacts Only). For most people, "Contacts Only" is the right setting — but if the person sending to you is not in your contacts, choose "Everyone for 10 Minutes," do the transfer, and the setting will reset itself.

4. Step 4. Confirm both phones have each other in Contacts

   If you are stuck on "Contacts Only" mode, AirDrop only works if each device has the other's Apple ID email or phone number saved. Open the Phone app, tap "Contacts," and check that the person's contact card has the email address they use for their Apple ID. If you only have their phone number and they use a different email for their Apple ID, AirDrop will treat them as a stranger and you will not see their device. The fix: ask them what email is on their Apple ID and add it to their contact card.

   Quick Tip

   Quick Tip: If you cannot remember which email someone uses for Apple ID, the fastest workaround is to switch both devices to "Everyone for 10 Minutes" temporarily.

5. Step 5. Turn off Personal Hotspot

   If your Personal Hotspot is on (the feature that lets your phone share its cellular internet with a laptop), AirDrop will not work because it uses the same Wi-Fi hardware. Open Settings, tap "Personal Hotspot," and tap the "Allow Others to Join" toggle so it is gray (off). Try AirDrop again. You can turn the hotspot back on after you are done.

6. Step 6. Restart both iPhones

   The classic fix that solves about a third of stubborn AirDrop problems. Hold the side button and either volume button at the same time until the "slide to power off" slider appears at the top of the screen. Slide the white circle right to turn the phone off. Wait 10 seconds. Hold the side button again until the Apple logo appears. After the phone restarts and you unlock it, try AirDrop again.

7. Step 7. Sign out and back into iCloud (last resort)

   If nothing else works, the connection between your phone and your Apple ID may be confused. Open Settings, tap your name at the top, scroll all the way to the bottom, and tap "Sign Out." Enter your Apple ID password to confirm. Wait a minute, then tap "Sign In" at the top of Settings and re-enter your Apple ID. This re-registers your device with Apple's servers and almost always fixes AirDrop. Heads up: you may need to re-enable iCloud Photos and other syncing features after signing back in. They will catch up automatically over an hour or two.

   Warning

   Do not do this step if you do not remember your Apple ID password. Recover the password first at appleid.apple.com.