Home Featured How To Change Your AirDrop Name

How To Change Your AirDrop Name

by William Linden
AirDrop

One misconception when you try to change the AirDrop name displayed with the profile picture on Apple gadgets is that you need to modify your Apple ID name. This is not correct, on iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices all you need to do is change your details in the Contacts App. Follow this link to a quick guide describing how to AirDrop photos to learn more using your iPhone, iPad, or Apple MacBook computer.

AirDrop is a wireless technology designed by Apple that allows you to easily and quickly transfer documents, files, photos, and videos from one Apple device to another. AirDrop is available on iPhone, iPad, MacBook laptops, and Mac desktop computers and once turned on is very easy to use. If you have already been using AirDrop to transfer files but would like to change the icon label associated with your iOS or Mac device, this quick guide will show you how to change your AirDrop name.

How to change your AirDrop name

As you would expect Apple has made it very easy for iOS and Mac users to change their AirDrop name and have something a little more personal or discrete when you are transferring files between friends or from one Apple device to another. To change your AirDrop name on all Apple devices simply follow the instructions below.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod

1. Open the Contacts app on your device

2. Press the My Card banner at the top of the contacts page. (If it is not showing make sure that you are not in the process of searching for a name and that any text is left in the search box. If it is, remove this and the My Card banner will show at the top of your Contacts page).

3. Press the Edit button in the top right-hand corner of your screen

4. Change your name to reflect your new AirDrop name.

5. Once you are happy with your name change press Done in the top right-hand corner of your screen and return to your main contact page.

6. Now when you use AirDrop on your iOS device your new name will appear under your profile picture for people to see.

Mac computers

To change your AirDrop name on Mac computers follow the instructions below :

1. On your Mac laptop or desktop computer go to the System Preferences

2. Select the Sharing icon.

3. Change your Computer Name to your new AirDrop name and hit enter to confirm your edit.

Now when you transfer a file or photo, your new AirDrop name will appear under your profile picture.

How to AirDrop

If you are wondering how to AirDrop photos, files and documents from one Apple device to another, first you need to be within Bluetooth range or using the same Wi-Fi network as the device you would like to send files to. The receiving device also needs to have its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. If you or your recipient have a Personal Hotspot turned on these need to be turned off for AirDrop to work correctly.

If you are using an iPhone 11 or later simply go to the document or photograph, you would like to share and click on the Share button. Tap a rectangle within the up-pointing arrow. If you are sharing from the Apple Photos application, you can swipe right or left to select multiple photographs to share at the same time in one drop.

1. Select multiple photographs or view the file you would to Airdrop select the Share button.

2. Press the AirDrop button.

3. Available recipients and devices will appear on the screen. (If the recipient has an iPhone 11 point your iPhone toward theirs if they are not showing and they should pop up on your screen allowing an AirDrop to take place.)

4. Select the recipient profile picture you would like to send the documents or photos to. Or one of your own devices on your home network to transfer the documents. If the recipient you are sharing with is listed in your Contacts app, you will see an image with their name. As explained earlier in this guide this is the AirDrop name you can change without affecting your Apple ID.

How to turn on AirDrop

If you are experiencing issues when trying to use the AirDrop wireless transfer or your AirDrop name is not appearing to others trying to transfer files to you. It is worth checking that you have AirDrop enabled on your iOS device. To do this, follow the instructions below.

1. Open the Settings application on your iOS device

2. Enter the General section

3. Select AirDrop from the list of menu options

4. Make sure you do not have Receiving Off selected.

5. Choose between one option allowing you to share AirDrop with Everyone or Contacts only depending on your preference to turn on AirDrop and start receiving files.

It is worth remembering that AirDrop lets you share instantly with people nearby and that your device will be discoverable by anyone within your immediate location if you select Everyone. The Contacts Only option is also only available on Apple devices that are running iOS 10 and later, iPadOS, or macOS Sierra 10.12. If you have AirDrop set to Contacts Only on your device running an earlier software version, you will need to adjust your AirDrop settings to the Everyone option. Once you have completed your file transfer, you can then disable it once again when not in use. If you are still experiencing issues trying to use AirDrop, it might be worth jumping over to the official Apple support site for more details and help.

What is AirDrop

AirDrop is a proprietary wireless service created by Apple and integrated into its iOS and macOS operating systems. The wireless transfer service was first rolled out in iOS 7 and macOS 10.7 otherwise known as macOS Lion. AirDrop allows Apple users to transfer files across supported iOS and Mac devices that are in close proximity and uses Apple’s Wireless Direct Link ‘Action Frames’ and ‘Data Frames’ using generated link-local IPv6 addresses instead of the devices Wi-Fi module’s fixed MAC address.

In the early days of AirDrop Apple mobile devices use different AirDrop protocols making the two incompatible. However, Apple corrected this with the release of macOS Yosemite. There is no limit on the size of files or photographs that you can transfer using Apple AirDrop.

You may also like

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More