How to use AirDrop on an iPhone
This short guide is a reference tool to help refresh your knowledge or practise what you have learned in the How to use AirDrop on an iPhone online video course.
What is AirDrop?
AirDrop lets you wirelessly and securely share photos, videos, contacts, web links and files between Apple devices that are in close proximity to each other.
Setting up
Before you can use AirDrop, the Apple devices you’re sharing from and to must have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. To receive a photo via AirDrop, your friend's phone screen must be switched on. To check:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- The Wi-Fi option should display the name of the network your phone is connected to, and the Bluetooth option should be On.
Both devices must also have permission to send and receive files using AirDrop. From Settings, tap on General, then tap on AirDrop to see the options:
- Receiving Off: you won’t receive files via AirDrop
- Contacts Only: you can send and receive files with people in your Contacts list
- Everyone: you can send and receive files with anyone for 10 minutes.
Step by step
To share a photo from your phone to another iPhone:
- From the Home screen, tap on the Photos app.
- Tap on the photo you want to share to select it.
- Tap the Share icon to see the options.
- Tap the AirDrop icon.
- When the name of your friend’s phone appears below Other Devices, tap on it to share the photo.
- Your friend’s phone will display the option to Accept or Decline the photo. Once accepted, the photo will display on their phone screen and be saved to their Photos app.