Tag: iPhone

Categories
iOS & Android

[SOLVED] How to AirDrop from iPhone to PC

AirDrop enables you to transfer files between your iPhone, Mac, iPad or iPod, which is a handy feature exclusive to Apple products. However, things may become more complicated when you need to share files between iPhone and your Windows 10 PC, since Apple doesn’t provide AirDrop support for the Windows OS.

The good news is you can still “AirDrop” files between iPhone and Windows 10 PC. All you need is a free and open source cross-platform tool: LANDrop.

Related article:

[SOLVED] AirDrop not working on Mac or iOS devices

What is LANDrop

LANDrop is a free local area network (LAN) file sharing software. With LANDrop, you can transfer any file to any device on your LAN. The app is available in Android, iOS, macOS, Windows and Linux, which means you can easily share files between devices on different platforms.

LANDrop is secure. It uses state-of-the-art cryptography algorithm so that others cannot see your files. When transferring files, all data is only transmitted “point-to-point” in the intranet of the local area network. In other words, it will not pass through any third-party server and will not be uploaded to any place on the Internet. Therefore, your privacy and security can be guaranteed to the greatest extent.

In terms of transfer speed, there is no speed limit on the software side. It utilize your local network to transfer files when both devices are connected to the same network. Technically speaking, its maximum transfer speed can reach the intranet bandwidth of your router. If you’re outside, LANDrop can also work on your personal hotspot, without consuming cellular data. Most importantly, it doesn’t compress your photos and videos while transferring.

“AirDrop” from iPhone to Windows 10 PC

With LANDrop, you can “AirDrop” documents, photos and videos from your iPhone to your Windows 10 PC easily. Here’s how to do it:

  1. On your iPhone, go to AppStore and search for LANDrop. Download and install the app on your iPhone.
  2. On your Windows 10 PC, Download LANDrop for Windows from its official site.
  3. Extract the .zip file and double-click the file LANDrop.exe to run it.
    double-click LANDrop.exe to run
  4. Check the box next to Private networks, such as my home or work network if you’re prompted with the Windows Security Alert, then click Allow access.
    Allow access to private networks
  5. Launch LANDrop on your iPhone, tap the add image icon on the top-right corner to select the photos you’d like to send. If you want to send documents, just tap the “add file” icon.
  6. After you selected the files, select the Windows10 device you want to send files to in the Devices section.
    Select files and the devices you want to send to LANDrop
  7. On the Windows device you selected, a small window will pop up to ask if you’d like to receive the file. Click Yes to start receiving the file.
    Click Yes to receive the file

The time to complete the transfer depends on the size of the file you send. If you’re sending a photo, it just take several seconds.

transfer complete LANDrop

Send files from Windows 10 PC to iPhone

If you want to share files from Windows 10 PC to your iPhone, you can follow the steps below:

  1. Launch LANDrop on your Windows PC and iPhone.
  2. On your Windows PC, right-click on the LANDrop icon in the system tray and select Send File(s)….
    click send files LANDrop
  3. In the small window that pops up, click Add… to select the file you wan to send. You can also drag the files you want to send to this window. Then click Send.
    click Send LANDrop
  4. On your iPhone, tap ✔ to receive the file.
    Receive files on iPhone LANDrop

That’s it! Pretty easy, right?

Share files between iPhone and Android device

Sharing between iOS and Android device also becomes much easier, and there are 2 ways to do this. You just need to launch LANDrop, select the files you want to share, then select the device to receive the files, which is similar to the steps for sharing between your iPhone and your Windows 10 device.

You can also send files to other devices via LANDrop through the share menu:

iOS-share-menu-LANDrop
LANDrop share menu on iPhone
Android share menu LANDrop-2
LANDrop share menu on Android phone

To sum up, LANDrop has lots of advantages over other similar tools: it’s completely free, open source, cross-platform, easy to use and no speed limit. If you need to frequently share files between different devices, you must give LANDrop a shot!

Any thoughts? Just leave me a comment below. Thanks for reading!

Categories
macOS

[SOLVED] AirDrop not working on Mac or iOS devices

AirDrop not working on your Mac or iOS devices like iPhone and iPad? You’re not alone. Recently we’ve seen many users reporting this issue. Some people find that their devices cannot discover each other when they try to share files via AirDrop, others complain that their device often failed to receive the file even after they selected the receiving device.

Luckily, you’ve come to the right place. After reading this article, you can fix this issue easily.

Step 1: Check if your devices are compatible with AriDrop

Some old model of iOS devices and Macs are compatible with AirDrop. To AirDrop items between your devices, you need to make sure both of your devices are compatible with AirDrop.

AirDrop between to two Macs:
You need ensure both Macs are running Mac OS X Lion (10.7) or later:

  • MacBook Pro (late 2008 or newer)
  • MacBook Air (late 2010 or newer)
  • MacBook (late 2008 or newer)
  • iMac (early 2009 or newer)
  • Mac mini (mid-2010 or newer)
  • Mac Pro (early 2009 with AirPort Extreme or newer)

AirDrop between two iOS devices:
Both iOS devices need to be running on iOS 7 or later:

  • iPhone 5 and newer
  • iPad (4th generation) or newer
  • iPad Air (all models)
  • iPad Pro (all model)
  • iPad Mini (all model)
  • iPod Touch (5th generation) or newer

AirDrop between a Mac and an iOS device:
The iOS device should be running on iOS 8 or later; and the Mac running on OS X Yosemite (10.10) or later:

  • MacBook Air: Mid 2012 or newer
  • MacBook (Retina): all models
  • MacBook Pro: Mid 2021 or newer
  • iMac: Late 2012 or newer
  • iMac Pro: All model
  • Mac Mini: Late 2012 or newer
  • Mac Pro: Late 2013 or newer

Step 2: Make sure your devices are discoverable in AirDrop

If you cannot find the device you want to AirDrop files to, check if you have it set its AirDrop receiving settings correctly.

To set AirDrop receiving setting on the iOS device:

  1. Unlock the receiving iOS device, then go to Settings > General > AirDrop.
  2. If you’re in the Contacts of the device you’re sending to, you can set its AirDrop receiving settings to Contacts Only; if you’re not in its Contacts, then you should set its SirDrop receiving settings to Everyone.
    tweak AirDrop receiving setting on iOS devices

To set AirDrop receiving settings on Mac:

  1. Open Finder on the Mac that needs to receive files.
  2. On your keyboard, press Command + Shift + R to invoke the AirDrop window.
  3. At the bottom of the AirDrop window, set the AirDrop receiving setting to Contacts Only if you’re in the Contacts of the device you’re sending to; if not, set the AirDrop receiving to Everyone.
    tweak AirDrop receiving setting on Mac

Normally after the AirDrop receiving settings is set correctly, AirDrop would function properly again.

Note: if you’re in the Contacts of the receiving device, but the device holder has blocked you in Contacts, you’ll not be able to AirDrop files to that person until he unblock you in his Contacts.

Step 3: Awake & unlock your devices

One common error that would lead to AirDrop problems is that the receiving device is asleep.

To function properly, AirDrop requires the display to be active on both devices. And it’s better to unlock the devices before you start AirDropping.

Step 4: Turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on both devices

AirDrop uses Bluetooth to detect compatible devices nearby and uses Wi-Fi to perform the transfer.

Even if you have turned on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on both devices, simply toggling turn off and on may fix the problem.

Step 5: Turn off Airplane Mode

Another common error that would causes AirDrop not working is that you forget to turn off Airplane Mode on the receiving devices.

Just as mentioned above, AirDrop needs Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to operate, and if the Airplane mode is turned on, it disables the both.

If you accidentally turned on and forget to turn it off, just Go to Settings > Airplane Mode to check turn it off.
Turn off Airplane Mode on iOS devices

Step 6: Reboot your devices

Sometimes, a simple restart would let AirDrop work again. If you’ve tried all the troubleshooting steps above but AirDrop is still not working, try reboot your devices. Normally, after a fresh restart, this issue will get fixed.

Hopefully, this article helped you resolve AirDrop not working issue. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave us a comment below. Thanks for reading.