How To Make AirDrop Available On Older Phones

When using an older iPhone, you can still use AirDrop as long as it is running iOS 7 or later.

1. To access Control Center in older versions of iOS, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

2. Select the AirDrop icon from the drop-down menu. It is usually found in the center of the screen, next to the AirPlay Mirroring button, on most devices.

3. Select one of the three AirDrop option categories from the drop-down menu.

How to Share Files Using the AirDrop Service

To send a file to another person, use the following syntax:

1. Open the app that contains the content that you wish to share with others. For example, you can use the Photos app to share photos or videos that have been saved to your phone with other people.

2. By tapping on the file you want to share, a new window will open with the file you want to share.

Note: If the app supports it, AirDrop can be used to share multiple files at the same time. For example, in the Photos app, open an album, tap Select, and then tap each image you want to send to your friend.

3. Click on the "Share" button (it looks like a rectangle with an arrow coming out of it).

4. In the Tap to share with AirDrop section, select the device or individual whose name you want to share the file with from the drop-down menu. The interface displays icons for AirDrop-enabled devices that are nearby and are available to receive files from the computer.

After you have sent the content via AirDrop, you must wait for the other user to accept or decline the transfer. While the file is being transferred, a Waiting message appears, followed by a Sending message during the transfer, and finally a Sent message appears once the file has been accepted and successfully delivered. A red Declined message will appear instead of the Accepted message in the event that the other user declines your AirDrop request.

How to Accept or Reject an AirDrop transfer

The moment someone sends you data via AirDrop, a small window with a preview of the content appears on the screen of your phone. Accept or decline are the only two options available to you at this time.

Accepting the file saves it to your device and launches it in the appropriate application. Using AirDrop to accept an image transfer, for example, will save the images to your phone and open them in the Photos app; accepting a URL transfer will open the URL in the Safari browser; and so on.

Declining a transfer cancels the transfer and notifies the other user that you have declined the transfer request.

Take note that if you share a file with a device that is logged in with the same Apple ID as you, the Accept or Decline message is not displayed on the device you shared the file with. Because both devices are presumed to be yours, the transfer is accepted without any further action needed.