Why does AirDrop not send large files from iMac (M3) to iPad/iPhone?

Hello all,

I did some tests with AirDrop within the last days.

Currently these are my findings.

From an iOS / iPadOS device to another iOS / iPadOS device it is always possible to send a large file with AirDrop. File sizes of 2 GB and more are no problem for AirDrop.

From an iOS / iPadOS device to a macOS device like an iMac (M3) it is also always possible to send a large file with AirDrop and without a cable. File sizes of 2 GB and more are also no problem for AirDrop.

However it is not possible to send a large file from a macOS device to a iOS / iPadOS / macOS device with AirDrop. This only works when the macOS device and the iOS / iPadOS / macOS device are connected with a cable, e.g. a USB-C-cable. Until now I couldn't figure out the exact file size when a cable is needed with AirDrop because my scripts are still running.

The problem for this issue that large files could not be send from an macOS device and the iOS / iPadOS / macOS device is probably not the file size. It seems that it could be an authentication and timing issue from the macOS device to the device it is sending the large file size. The USB-C-cable is probably needed for the authentication topic which is not possible wirelessly within a given timeframe with AirDrop probably due to the preparation of a file with a large size. Since there are no AirDrop log files that I could check and analyze, this is just an assumption from analyzing the results of my scripts processed so far. At least "something" in the AirDrop programming code is hindering the macOS device sending large file sizes via AirDrop wirelessly however the cable solves this issue currently. My recommendation would be that Apple should scrutinize this macOS issue, tackle and solve it. Solving this macOS issue isn't rocket science because it works for iOS and iPadOS. ;-)

Thank you.

Hello all,

I finished my extensive tests and here are briefly some findings.

AirDrop e.g. in macOS 11.7.10 works perfectly and without any issue for sending large files and even large folders to other macOS and/or iOS/iPadOS devices.

Since a couple of days AirDrop in macOS 14.6 on a iMac M3 sends large files and large folders (e.g. several GB) without any issue to any macOS device, independently of the macOS version.

However macOS 14.6 on a iMac M3 has some issues sending large files and folders to iOS/iPadOS devices. It seems that it could be an authentication and timing issue from the macOS device to the device it is sending the large file size.

I would recommend that Apple should scrutinize this issue, tackle and solve it because this issue seems to be a snap and could be solved within a couple of weeks.

Now I am sending large files and folders via AirDrop from macOS 14.6 on a iMac M3 to an older macOS device and from here to the iOS/iPad devices.

Thank you.