Cannot add AirDrop to Finder sidebar in Sequoia

I had the exact same issue and it was driving me crazy. Then I read this post from OP (Cannot add AirDrop to Finder sidebar in S… - Apple Community) where he wrote he switched of all iPads and iPhones. So I switched off my iPhone and iPad and restarted my Macbook and it started to work again like a charm. Really weird, but maybe this really depends on interfering devices (maybe running on the same Apple-ID)? After my Mac worked again, I switched my iPhone and iPad back on and it still works.

I think I found the reason of AirDrop not staying on sidebar!

I erased and reset Sequoia and initially AirDrop stayed on sidebar so I started installing apps and adding favorites to the sidebar, I only added "Picture" and my user folder. The next morning AirDrop disappears from the sidebar again!

I uninstalled the last app I put on and there was no change. So I unchecked the 2 favorites I added and, viola, AirDrop stayed on sidebar.

My guess is for some reasons there's a "maximum" amount of favorites on the sidebar with AirDrop added.

Just did a little more tests.

I added all the available folders to favorites, and AirDrop dropped from the sidebar as expected. However, after I unchecked those folders, AirDrop still wouldn't add back. I performed multiple shutdown/restarts to no avail.

I ended up relaunching Finder from Force Quit and was able to add AirDrop and 1 extra folder to sidebar without AirDrop disappearing.

The default favorites are recents, airdrop, applications, desktop, documents, and downloads.

I did a lot more tests and made a bug report using feedback assistant, these are the tests I have done:

1. Removed my com.apple.finder.plist file in ~/Library/Preferences. A: When I restarted Finder with the Opt+Shift+Esc dialogue it works but once I restart the issue persists NOTE: After testing again I found out that just force restarting the Finder temporarily fixes the issue.

2. Restarted, Shutdown, Sleep mode, Logout, Etc after temporally fixing the issue by restarting Finder, and it seems only shutdown and restart cause the issue

3. I created a new user called “Test” and logged into the account. A: After restarting and logging into the account the AirDrop on the finder sidebar disappears, but once I log out and switch to my main account the AirDrop reappears, and if I log out of the account with the broken AirDrop and log back in the issue will still be present

4. I thought it may be an update issue so I waited until Sequoia 15.1 and updated A: After updating my issue is fixed, until I then restart and the issue reappears, the same thing occurred when upgrading to Sequoia 15.1.1 (the version I ran the other tests on), the Airdrop worked, I restarted, and the issue persisted.

also I have lots of old devices in my house, some not able to update past IOS 16 and @dalek2000 said that he had to turn off his homes devices for it to work so it may be a bug with AirDrops communication and MacOS Sequoia, also to use AirDrop without adding it to the sidebar, you can hold CMD+Space to bring up spotlight, search AirDrop, and use the app instead of the finder ui

From the Finder, choose the Apple Menu at the top left of the screen and choose Force Quit. Then from the Quit Applications Menu choose Relaunch the Finder. AirDrop will reappear checked in Finder Settings and will reappear in the Sidebar.

FireVault has never been active on my M4 so it has nothing to do with this bug. NOW: The only thing that worked for me once and for all, 100% solution, was to make a time machine backup and simply erase the main HD in the M4 mac. I'm talking the main disk you see at the top of the list that you see inside Disk Utility.

I then created a new account and DID NOT use the time machine to transfer my info back into the M4. I've tested doing this restore via Time Machine and the error gets "re-installed", so don't....

Just manually transferring my info back into the M4 after a fresh and clean install solved this problem once and for all. If you have IMAP email services it helps, as all you need to do is create the email accounts in Mail and type in your passwords.

Yes, you'll need to manually copy all your stuff back into your Mac but who cares. Browser configurations etc you can re-do as you go.

This stupid AirDrop bug tells me it's USER related, it's not global. So to me, this clean install without Time Machine restore definitely worked and I don't have to deal with this BS ever again. Apple should jump in and fix this asap, it's for sure some obscure file somewhere that is causing this issue.

dalek2000 wrote:

I noticed that after updating to Sequoia, AirDrop has disappeared from the Finder sidebar. If I try to add it back from the settings, it appears for a fraction of a second, then the checkbox deselects itself again. If I navigate to AirDrop from the Go menu, all appears normal and it works correctly so I am unsure why this is happening

Shutdown the computer

Pause maybe 30 seconds

Restart in Safe Mode.

This will perform a Disk Repair, clear cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and fonts.

The boot up will be slow and can take some time - Normal.

Safe Mode will also eliminate Third Party Software, extensions and drivers from loading.

It will only load the Minimum amount of Core Apple Processes to allow the the computer to function at a reduced Level of Performance 

Does the issue present in this mode ?

Maybe it was mentioned before but in a similar thread the problem appeared to have been resolved by deleting Finder preferences.

v To delete Finder preferences:

1) In Finder, press Command-Shift-G and paste

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

2) Drag the file to the trash

3) Press Command-Option-Escape to open the Force Quit window.

Select Finder in the list, and click Relaunch.

After much testing it appears the issue is a bug when having FileVault turned. With FileVault turned off Airdrop remains in the side bar. All should report this bug to Apple:

Feedback - macOS - Apple

Based on testing if you turn off FileVault then the issue is resolved. Not sure what the correlation is but it appears to work. I reported this to Apple but not sure if it will get resolved by them.

In my numerous tests on many Macs, I’ve only encountered this issue when FileVault is enabled. Have you checked if it’s active?

Kind regards.

Then I restarted my MAC and it reappeared. It's still there.

So in the end it did work. Thanks.

With iCloud and AirDrop disabled, this fix persists across reboots:

rm -v $HOME/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist && killall Finder

I thought I checked that premise out before and no impact but just tested again on two Macs running 15.5 and indeed when FileVault is turned off Airdrop remains in the Finder sidebar. This must be a bug. So everyone should report this to Apple:

Feedback - macOS - Apple

Hello my friends,

Please, allow me to share something I discovered.

After trying several actions, such as deleting the "com.apple.finder.plist" file, and restarting the Mac to no avail, I simply made an OS Sequoia boot disk and did a clean install on my Mac. After the boot disk was ready, I erased all the contents of the SSD and did a new installation. Completely. And then, problem solved.

All Finder options can now be customized without problems, including AirDrop.

I hope this solution helps other colleagues.

Thanks everyone.