How to Turn on AirDrop on iPhone X/XS/11/12

AirDrop is a built-in file sharing service on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Mac that enables you to share files between two of these devices wirelessly. Popular file types, like photos, videos, contacts, documents, and more, are all supported by this service. Thus, if you want to share files from your iPhone to another device, using AirDrop is quite convenient and a wise decision to make.

Then how to turn on AirDrop on iPhone? On earlier iPhone models, you can swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone screen and tap the AirDrop icon to turn it on. On new iPhone models, including iPhone X and later, there is a change in design. Follow to check the difference and see how to turn on and use AirDrop on iPhone X and later.

How to Turn on AirDrop on iPhone X

On iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone 11, and the latest iPhone 12, you can follow the steps below to turn on AirDrop on your iOS device.

To enable AirDrop on iPhone X and later:

Step 1. Swipe down from the upper-right corner of your iPhone screen to open "Control Center".

Step 2. Press and hold the network settings card.

Step 3. Tap to enable both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Afterward, touch and hold the AirDrop button and choose "Contacts Only" or "Everyone".

• Contacts Only: only the person in your contact list can see your iPhone X. 
• Everyone: any iOS devices or Macs using AirDrop can see your iPhone X.
• Receiving Off: you won't receive AirDrop requests. (When you want to turn off AirDrop on your device, choose this option.)

How to Use AirDrop to Share Content from iPhone X

After you turn on AirDrop on your device, now you are able to send photos, videos, contacts, documents, and more from your iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone 11, or iPhone 12 to another AirDrop-supported device, including iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Mac.

Make sure both of the devices are within both the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth range. Then read on to see how to use AirDrop to send files.

Let me show you how to AirDrop photos from iPhone as an example:

Step 1. Open the "Photos" app on your iPhone and select the items you want to share.

Step 2. Tap the "Share" button and tap the name of the target device.

Step 3. On the target device, click "Accept" to start receiving the items from the source device. (If you are going to share files between your own Apple devices that use the same Apple ID, the items will be sent automatically and you won't see the option.)

Learn how to fix the problem if AirDrop is not working on iPhone.

Extra Tip: How to Transfer Files from or to iPhone X Without AirDrop

Since AirDrop needs Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to work, it won't always perform as the way you want. Many users have encountered the issue "AirDrop not working/ios-tips/fix-airdrop-not-working-on-iphone-or-ipad.html". In such a case, you will need an alternative way to transfer files from or to your iPhone, which is to use an iPhone transfer software tool like EaseUS MobiMover.

Unlike AirDrop, the iOS data transfer tool sends files via a USB connection. Whether you want to transfer data from one iPhone to another or share files between an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch and a computer (PC or Mac), it will help.

Files including photos, videos, music, ringtones, contacts, and more are all supported.

Let me show you how to transfer files from iPhone to iPhone as an example:

Step 1. Connect both of the iPhones to the computer and launch EaseUS MobiMover. Then click "Phone to Phone", check the transfer direction, and click "Next" to continue.

Step 2. Select one category or multiple categories that you want to copy, and click "Transfer".

Step 3. Wait for the tool to transfer selected files from one iPhone to another. When the process finishes, go to the corresponding apps to check the newly added files. 

The Bottom Line

Now you not only know how to turn on and use AirDrop on your iPhone X to share files but also learn an alternative way to transfer data to or from your iPhone. It's necessary for you to command these tips since data transfer occurs almost every day. Hope this guide is helpful to you.