Airdrop doesn't work!

So, updated all my iOS devices to 9.02 and my Mac to El Capitan. I noticed before the update to El Capitan that Airdrop stopped working (in this case, the Mac doesn't "see" my iOS devices). Handoff still works fine; I can look at something on my iPad, and have the Handoff icon show up on the Dock on my Mac. But Airdrop seems a no go.

Is there some issue that everyone knows of, some setting to change? Or am I just SOL? I used Airdrop before and much prefer that to connecting my iPad to the Mac for transferring minor files and the like.

AirDrop works perfectly here -- in fact, since I haven't used it in a while, I was quite shocked and pleased about how much faster the discovery happened compared to iOS 8/Yosemite. Of course, a key factor that has tripped me up in the past is that both devices must be on the same network -- I have more than one here at the house, and so if AirDrop isn't working it's always because one of the devices is on the "wrong" (non-5GHz) network. Maybe have a look at that.

chas_m said:

AirDrop works perfectly here -- in fact, since I haven't used it in a while, I was quite shocked and pleased about how much faster the discovery happened compared to iOS 8/Yosemite. Of course, a key factor that has tripped me up in the past is that both devices must be on the same network -- I have more than one here at the house, and so if AirDrop isn't working it's always because one of the devices is on the "wrong" (non-5GHz) network. Maybe have a look at that.

Click to expand...

Well, I've only got one network here, so that can't be it. I'll poke around a bit, but I can't imagine that's the issue. Thanks though; it's another thing I didn't know!

Actually, it could still be the issue. If a device has a problem joining your network, it will lock on to any open networks around instead! Found out about that issue the hard way! Worth double-checking that.

chas_m said:

Actually, it could still be the issue. If a device has a problem joining your network, it will lock on to any open networks around instead! Found out about that issue the hard way! Worth double-checking that.

Click to expand...

Checked, and nothing. So, I have no idea what's going on. Airdrop worked fine before I upgraded to iOS 9, which doesn't make any sense.

I guess you've searched the web and found you're not alone???
https://www.google.ca/search?client...&oe=UTF-8&gfe_rd=cr&ei=zoQVVvKqMoeV8QeLrJugDA

And the long discussion doesn't look too good either:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/29065259?tstart=0#29065259

Sorry I don't have a solution or fix, other to suggest using an alternative method like:
- DropBox
- BitTorrent and BitTorrent Sync

Oh heck, just google the Mac suggestions and pick the one that suits you best.

When I did my test, I was on iOS 9 (and OS X 10.11 on the Mac). Not sure what to tell you, maybe describe how you're going about setting this up (I know you've done it successfully before; I'm grasping at straws here)

Yep mine doesn't work either. One network, both devices on it, cant see each other at all. I have had a look at the articles thanks to PM-R and if this is true,"The failure with airdrop between iOS and OSX is intentional. Apple is trying to address / resolve the security risk / vulnerability which comes with that communication technology. They choose to disable airdrop between the two OS' rather than keep it open for potential hack. All you can do now is wait for the fix". Well nice of Apple to let us know. I've spent an hour trying to get it working just to transfer a screen shot from my iPhone to post on these forums.

It was working before El Capitan, a bit inconsistant, took a couple of tries but now nothing is working.

Yeah, I looked at the Apple support stuff and apparently it's a known problem, so...I guess I'll just wait? Gah! Super annoying.

Does give me a chance to explore the alternatives though. I got stuck on AirDrop just 'cause it used to work and now didn't. Of course once i thought about it i realised the screen shot in question was in my Camera Roll so would by then also be in Photos on my laptop thanks to Photo Stream, which it was.

Airdrop has always been flaky for me so it's good to know that any inconsistency I see is not just limited to my machines. One thing I've found that works is making both available to "anyone" instead of just people who are my contacts. In the meantime, you could try that temporarily or use something like Pushbullet.

Just tested it again: iPad on 9.1 beta, OS X on 10.11.1 beta (I'm in that volume at the moment), worked fast and perfectly to send a photo from iPad to Mac. Worked the other way round as well.