2011 Mac,iPhone 6s and Airdrop

[Irishman]

Hi,
Perhaps someone might be so kind as to give me some advice on the following.I have a 2011 iMac and an iPhone 6s which I am trying to move a file between via Airdrop,with no joy.In trying to do so,I noticed that they cannot be paired either.They will pair momentarily with the pairing code being sent but then disconnect with the message that the Mac is not supported.I can send files between the phone and the iPad Air via Airdrop and whilst I can pair the iPad with the Mac,I cannot Airdrop between them.All equipment is in the same room as iMac.In doing some research it seems that a Mac of that age is not able to Airdrop with the newer equipment because of some dated Bluetooth technology but some sources are implying that whilst it is not possible to send files via Airdrop to the Mac from the phone,it should be possible to go the other way?Is any of this true or is there some process I am overlooking that is stopping the phone and Mac being paired,and whilst the Mac and pad can be paired,it is not possible to transfer via Airdrop between them? I have tried turning on and off Bluetooth,making sure that connections are not being blocked in "Security and Privacy".Thank you

 

[pigoo3]

Just so we know. What OS version is running on your iMac?

- Nick

 

[Irishman]

Thanks Nick.It is OS X El Capitan

 

[pigoo3]

Thanks for the OS info.

According to this article:

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/everything-you-need-to-know-about-apple-airdrop/

To use Airdrop between an Apple computer and an iOS device…the computer must be a 2012 or later model.

- Nick

 

[pigoo3]

Here's an Apple info sheet that also mentions that an Apple computer must be 2012 or newer for AirDrop (scroll down near the bottom of the document for the "AirDrop System Requirements":

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203106

- Nick

 

[Irishman]

Thanks Nick.yes,I saw some of that which seemed to be telling me that my Mac was slowly becoming obsolete but what confused me was that the phone cannot be paired with the Mac whilst the iPad can? So I was thinking is there a muddying of the waters....yes... the phone and Mac won't work for Airdrop according to Apple...but why are they not pairing....are the two issues connected...if that makes sense?Thank again

 

[pigoo3]

Thanks Nick.yes,I saw some of that which seemed to be telling me that my Mac was slowly becoming obsolete but what confused me was that the phone cannot be paired with the Mac whilst the iPad can? So I was thinking is there a muddying of the waters....yes... the phone and Mac won't work for Airdrop according to Apple...but why are they not pairing....are the two issues connected...if that makes sense?Thank again

What sort of task(s) do you want to do between the 2011 iMac and the iPhone 6s? Have you been able to do what you want to do (iMac + iPhone) in the past? For example with an older iPhone?

Or is this the first time trying to attempt this (2011 iMac + any iPhone model)?

- Nick

 

[Irishman]

Hi pigoo3,
This is actually my first iPhone and indeed first start phone,so it is the first time I have tried to attempt any pairing of the phone although as I say,I have paired the iPad.There is no urgent task I need to do but was trying to send a photo from the phone to the Mac via Airdrop and it was the problem with that that made me realise that I couldn't pair the phone with the Mac and wondered why.I accept that with regards the Airdrop,that it can't happen but wonder why it won't pair considering it is newer than the iPad?

 

[chas_m]

You don't pair iPhones with Macs in the same sense that perhaps it needed to be done in the Android world. BT communication between Macs and iPhones is extremely limited to a few uses and mostly handled automatically (like AirDrop).

 

[Irishman]

You don't pair iPhones with Macs in the same sense that perhaps it needed to be done in the Android world. BT communication between Macs and iPhones is extremely limited to a few uses and mostly handled automatically (like AirDrop).

Thanks has_m.Mystery solved.