I’ve used AirDrop frequently and I know how frustrating it can be when it doesn’t work the way you expect. Below are some practical checks that have helped me get it running more reliably:
Make sure both devices have WiFi and Bluetooth turned on and are fairly close together.
On the receiving device, set AirDrop receiving to Everyone for a few minutes. If it’s still on “Contacts Only,” the sending device must be in the contacts list of the receiving device.
If the sender or receiver has Personal Hotspot enabled, turn it off – that often interferes with the connection.
Restart both devices if it stalls. A quick reboot can clear hidden Bluetooth/WiFi hand-shake issues.
On a Mac, if the receiving side doesn’t show up, check the Firewall settings and make sure “Block all incoming connections” is not enabled.
If none of that works, try sending a smaller file (one photo instead of a batch) to test whether the size or file type is causing the failure.
AirDrop is a great tool when it works but it can be unpredictable when settings or hardware get in the way. If you try these steps and still have trouble, let us know which devices and OS versions you’re using and I’m happy to help dig deeper.