When Craig Federighi introduced AirDrop support to iOS devices, he was keen to show how simple it is. Data will be transferred from one iOS device to another over the network, like magic. “No need to stagger around the room to bump your phones together,” he chuckles, teasing NFC.
But it’s been a year and a half since then, and with iOS 8, you can also send and receive files between your Mac and iOS devices. Apple enthusiasts have been waiting for this feature for a long time, and we’re glad it’s here. No need to connect an iOS device to send a file, no workarounds or cumbersome apps.
But for many people, AirDrop remains a mystery. What exactly is it? How it works? Why do you even want to use it? Is it safe? Read to find out.
AirDrop works on Ad-Hoc . networks
During the Mac to Mac transfer, AirDrop uses Wi-Fi. With iOS, both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) come into play. AirDrop creates a secure device-to-device connection, which is used to send and receive data.
This means a strong connection and no real data limits. Mac to Mac AirDrop users have reported that they sent 10 GB files without any issues.
Device compatibility
Is your device compatible? Check it out below.
iOS (Runs iOS 7 or later):
Mac (Running Mac OS X Lion (10.7) or later):
While AirDrop is supported for iOS 7 devices, you’ll need to update to iOS 8 to enable AirDrop data sending from iOS to Mac.
How to use AirDrop
On your iOS device, pull up Control Center. Here you will see a AirDrop button. Tapping it will give you options to turn it off, on only for contacts, or on for everyone.
These settings are similar to the Bluetooth settings from last year. In fact, AirDrop fills the gap in Bluetooth data sharing size that has existed in iOS for years.
Most of the time, the Contact option is the option you want to use. The Everybody optionally makes your phone discoverable by any AirDrop enabled device within an area of 30 feet (10 meters).
The Verge’s Josh Lowensohn tells us about the dangers (and comedy) of AirDrop being visible to everyone Everybody.
Every day I board the train to make the half-hour journey to San Francisco for work, surrounded by people using their phones. Many people have iPhones or iPads and have enabled a setting that allows me to send them unwanted files through AirDrop. When Apple envisioned it as a way to send useful files and web pages to friends and acquaintances, I used it to send pictures of sloths to strangers. And not just any sloths, but sloths wearing spacesuits.
Of course, just because AirDrop can be seen by everyone doesn’t mean you’ll end up wearing an astronaut suit wearing sloths on your iPhone. You might just get such a request though. A request that you can easily refuse without harm. But of course, you will eventually see a preview of the image. At that point, I hope it’s just a picture of a sloth wearing a spacesuit.
About safety
When you enable AirDrop, Apple creates a 2048-bit RSA identity and stores it on your device. A hash based on your Apple ID is also generated.
This is used to authenticate device to device. Just to make sure you really want to see that sloth in a spacesuit.
Have any questions?
We’ll go into detail on how to use AirDrop between Mac, iPhone, and iPad in the next article. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments section below.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
