AirDrop/Bluetooth Issues with iPad Mini 5

[Joniz]

Has anyone else had real issues with using AirDrop between a Mac and the iPad Mini 5? I have a 2013 11” MBA i7 that drops like a pro with an iPhone SE or iPad Mini 4, but with my new Mini 5, it takes forever to see the other device going in either direction, sometimes not able to see the other at all, and then often hangs on Sending.

Only happens between the Mini 5 & the MBA. Between the MBA & SE, no problems. Between the Mini 5 & SE, no problems. It’s gotten so bad that I’ll send a PDF from the MBA to the SE, then send it from the SE to the Mini 5.

I think this is a Bluetooth issue because my Logitech keyboard, which attaches without hesitation to my MBA, Mini 4, & SE, takes forever to connect to the Mini 5.

Also, it’s hard to tell because it’s not consistent, but it seems that I get better AirDrop connectivity when I turn off my Logitech Crayon when it’s hooked up to the Mini 5.

I’ve searched only but can find nothing about anyone seeing this. I’ve reset the network setting, restarted. I transfer PDFs dozens of times a day between my MBA & Mini 5 for editing and it’s driving me nuts!

 

[Joniz]

Well, after it finally drove me up the wall, I decided to try the same workflow using the 2012 Mac Mini I use as an iTunes server and the AirDrop worked flawless & fast. No problems at all.

So I thought, Maybe the iPad has a problem with the MBA being closed, so I switched back to the MBA and tried again with it open, working directly on the computer rather than using an external keyboard/mouse/monitor.

It worked perfect!

So I put the Mini away, put my MBA back to how I usually have it set up, and it works great now!

I guess I just needed to threaten the MBA’s position with the Mini, I don’t know.