Software I like: LocalSend
What is LocalSend?
LocalSend is an AirDrop replacement.
Why?
From my experience, AirDrop either
- works great!
- is completely broken…
In practice, my problems came down to
- which versions of MacOS and iOS I have around
- which OS updates have been run and when
- how long since I’ve rebooted my devices and/or Bluetooth
It’s super frustrating to think “oh, I’ll just transfer this file to my computer real quick” only to find yourself 30m later, after a few reboots, reading about AirDrop troubleshooting on Google.
Life after Apple
It’s also worth pointing out that I have lived with AirDrop misery for a long time (“just one more update/restart…”). But what finally pushed me over was
how do I AirDrop to my Linux desktop?
Spoiler: you don’t and can’t.
To quote Wikipedia (emphasis mine)
AirDrop is a proprietary wireless ad hoc service in Apple Inc.’s iOS, macOS, iPadOS and visionOS operating systems
LocalSend
There’s surprisingly little to say about LocalSend: it just works!
You can send or receive.
You can set “quick save” to accept any files to a directory. Alternatively, you can manually accept or set a PIN.
It can be installed on most computers and phones. All these devices can send/receive with each other.
You might have to punch a hole through your firewall (53317 tcp and 53317 udp).