Why AirDrop Keeps Turning off? 6 Simple Tips to Solve It

My Airdrop keeps turning off

My iPad Pro's Airdrop keeps turning off itself. Even if I changed the setting, the files still won’t go through. I have to restart to get it to "everyone" mode. How can I fix the problem without having to restart all the time? Thanks.

- Question from Discussions.apple.com

Why does Airdrop keep turning off?

Nowadays, AirDrop is the most common process for people to share photos, pages, videos, sites, map locations, etc. between Apple devices. However, sometimes AirDrop keeps canceling and doesn’t work. Here are the main reasons why AirDrop keeps turning off below.

• The Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are not turned on: The most direct cause is that your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are turned off. Airdrop needs a stable network environment, so make sure the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are turned on. In addition, if your wireless devices are already turned on, you may toggle them off and back on.
• The inappropriate setting: There are three levels on AirDrop: Off, Contacts Only, and Everyone. Different mode catches different function, so please choose the appropriate setting to make AirDrop available.
• The devices are not compatible: Older devices don’t support AirDrop. Make sure your devices are AirDrop-compatible.
• iOS 17 issue: Occasionally, Apple offers updates to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS as public betas which sometimes contain bugs that cause problems on AirDrop. If so, you may wait for the next version or just downgrade from the beta back to iOS 16.

How to stop Airdrop keeps turning off on iPhone/iPad/Mac?

Here are 6 available methods offered to you. And you can try one or more of them to resolve this issue based on your occasion.

Tip 1. Make sure the devices are compatible with AirDrop

The first reason that you need to consider is whether your devices are AirDrop-compatible. Here's a list of all AirDrop-compatible devices:

Between Macs and iPhones or iPads:

＊Macs running OS X Yosemite or later, from 2012 or later (excluding the mid-2012 Mac Pro)

＊iPhones or iPads running iOS 7 or later

Between Macs:

＊MacBook Pro launched in late 2008 (excluding the late 2008, 17-inch model)

＊MacBook Air launched in late 2010

＊MacBook launched in late 2008 (excluding the white, late 2008 model)

＊iMac launched in early 2009

＊Mac mini launched in mid-2010

＊Mac Pro launched in early 2009 (model with AirPort Extreme card) or mid-2010

＊iMac Pro (all models)

Tip 2. Restart AirDrop on iPhone/iPad/Mac

Since AirDrop works based on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, try to restart the settings relevant to fix AirDrop keeps turning off on iPad, iPhone and Mac.

1. Launch Settings on your home screen.

2. Click Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

3. Click the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth On/Off switches twice. Once to turn them off and another time to turn them back on.

Tip 3. Adjust AirDrop settings

It’s necessary for you to learn the three different settings: Off, Contacts Only, and Everyone. In Off mode, Airdrop keeps turning off. In the second and third modes, you can transfer files to people who are in your contact list or everyone within range.

Make sure your Airdrop turns on, and if it doesn’t work, try to switch the setting from Contacts Only to Everyone. Here are the steps:

1. Select Settings on your home screen(on iPhone/iPad) or Finder(on Mac).

2. Click General (on iPhone/iPad) or Favorites (on Mac).

3. Click AirDrop.

4. Click the option you want (The Everyone option is suggested to make your AirDrop more discoverable).

Tip 4. Check and upgrade the iOS version

Sometimes, outdated versions of iOS may cause incompatibility and trouble, so you can update the latest version as one of the methods to fix your AirDrop keeps turning itself off issue.

1. Go to the Settings app on your iPhone.

2. General > Software Update > Download and Install (Make sure your Wi-Fi is connected.).

Tip 5. Reboot your device

There may be some glitches on AirDrop following the installment of the new iOS/MacOS update, so try to reboot your devices. Here’s how to solve the Airdrop keeps turning off on Mac and iDevices:

1. Turn off your Mac or iPhone, different iPhone models use different shutdown methods: 

For iPhone X, 11, 12, or 13:

Press and hold either the volume button or the side button (on the right side of your iPhone), waiting for the power off slider.

For iPhone SE(2nd generation), 8, 7, or 6:

Press the side button, waiting for the power off slider.

For iPhone SE(1st generation), 5 or earlier:

Press the top button, waiting for the power off slider.

2. Drag the slider to turn your device off.

3. Press and hold the side button to turn your device back on.

Tip 6. An alternative tool to share data between iOS devices

AirDrop is the most common process to share data, which makes our digital life more convenient and efficient. However, errors cannot still be avoided on Airdrop and sometimes AirDrop is not working on iPad/iPhone, losing some important data.

Therefore, I’d like to provide one professional iPhone backup and transfer software- FoneTool, a tool that can share data between iOS devices with ease. Here are some advantages and features of this tool.

Fast Transfer: No need to worry that using FoneTool Transfer will be slower than AirDrop, your task will be completed in a matter of seconds.
Don't limit file size: You can transfer files of any size you want, like photos, videos, music, contacts, and messages, etc., and FoneTool can help you transfer data to another iPhone safely. 
Widely compatible: Compatible with all versions of Windows 11/10/8/7 (32/64), iOS devices (iPhone/iPad/iPod touch) with the latest iOS 16/17.
Easy to use: Comes with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface simplifying the operation.

Steps to transfer data from iPhone to iPhone with FoneTool:

Step 1. Connect your source iPhone and the computer with a USB cable, and click Trust This Computer on your iPhone.

Step 2. Click "Phone Transfer" on the left pane. Move the mouse to "iPhone to PC" and click "Start Transfer".

Notes:✎...

Custom Backup is also offered to you to backup iPhone photos, videos, messages, contacts to Windows computer.

If you want to transfer iPhone messages to another iPhone, you can back up your messages and restore them to another device.

Step 3. Click the + icon to preview and add selective data from iPhone to computer. Then click OK to continue.

Step 4. You can choose a storage path on Transfer Settings and click Start Transfer to confirm.

Step 5. Unplug the source iPhone, and connect the target device to the computer. Choose PC to iPhone and then choose the data you want to transfer.

Step 6. Click Start Transfer to continue.

Conclusion

Six methods are provided for you to solve the question that AirDrop keeps turning off and you can choose one of them to fix it and transfer your data successfully. If you don't want to go into the trouble of trying the repair method, the free phone tool - FoneTool can be a great alternative tool to share data between iOS devices quickly and safely.