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GreyOS

macrumors 68040
Apr 12, 2012
3,358
1,694
Not getting handoff or airdrop working between MBA '11 and iPhone 5. Anyone had any luck with MBA '11?
 

profets

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2009
5,165
6,313

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harrisondavies

macrumors 6502
Nov 21, 2010
475
553
Newcastle upon Tyne
Here is a screen shot of my system report on a early 2011 MBP
It says Continuity Supported: No
I hope this is not final :(

Strange. I have an early 2011 Macbook Pro and my Bluetooth read differently. Also why would they permit handoff on this mac if it was only via BT 4.0. I'm only going off the System Preferences screenshot on this. Surely that wouldn't be there if I couldn't use it on this mac.
 

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VSMacOne

macrumors 603
Oct 18, 2008
5,932
2,892
Strange. I have an early 2011 Macbook Pro and my Bluetooth read differently. Also why would they permit handoff on this mac if it was only via BT 4.0. I'm only going off the System Preferences screenshot on this. Surely that wouldn't be there if I couldn't use it on this mac.

I have the early '11 MBP as well and showing the Handoff feature in System Prefs. However, mine says NO for support to BTLE.
 

Dwalls90

macrumors 603
Feb 5, 2009
5,506
4,604
Here is a screen shot of my system report on a early 2011 MBP
It says Continuity Supported: No
I hope this is not final :(

this is what mine says.

Image

My mid 2011 macbook air states continuity is on, but I got a pop up window that stated" My iPhone is no longer available for continuity". I have a iPhone 5 and iPad mini 2nd gen. Neither are connecting in beta 2, but did in beta 1.

Early 15" 2011 MBP and same results.
 

andijames

macrumors member
Sep 2, 2010
59
0
Manchester, UK
Don't forget that handoff will probably work in conjunction with your iCloud address too (i.e won't handoff to an iMac if it's the wrong account logged in) so i imagine they will implement it with Bluetooth LE initially but fall back to Wifi if that isn't available on all devices. I imagine the BTLE one works somewhat at the moment but the Wifi implementation isn't working at all.

That's the only real way they could get this working on all devices.

Just a theory :)
 

Cougarcat

macrumors 604
Sep 19, 2003
7,766
2,554
Don't forget that handoff will probably work in conjunction with your iCloud address too (i.e won't handoff to an iMac if it's the wrong account logged in) so i imagine they will implement it with Bluetooth LE initially but fall back to Wifi if that isn't available on all devices. I imagine the BTLE one works somewhat at the moment but the Wifi implementation isn't working at all.

That's the only real way they could get this working on all devices.

Just a theory :)

Well, the fact that there's a listing for continuity support indicates it won't be working on all devices. Also, I feel like they would've mentioned it in the release notes if a wifi implementation was coming. Hope you're right, though.
 

Dwalls90

macrumors 603
Feb 5, 2009
5,506
4,604
Well, the fact that there's a listing for continuity support indicates it won't be working on all devices. Also, I feel like they would've mentioned it in the release notes if a wifi implementation was coming. Hope you're right, though.

I don't think there have been any release notes citing hardware requirements yet, have there?
 

DennischNL

macrumors newbie
Jun 9, 2014
17
0
Sending/Recieving SMS texts on my Macbook Pro late 2011 without bluetooth 4.0 works. iCloud sync i think.
 

dannsh

macrumors newbie
Sep 4, 2001
26
2
Clinton, MT
Same exact thing on my system report.

Strange. I have an early 2011 Macbook Pro and my Bluetooth read differently. Also why would they permit handoff on this mac if it was only via BT 4.0. I'm only going off the System Preferences screenshot on this. Surely that wouldn't be there if I couldn't use it on this mac.

That is very interesting. I have the same exact Bluetooth configuration and my my say no, no, no. ? I think things will get sorted out down the road.
 

Dwalls90

macrumors 603
Feb 5, 2009
5,506
4,604
Sending/Recieving SMS texts on my Macbook Pro late 2011 without bluetooth 4.0 works. iCloud sync i think.

Did you check the readout in System Profiler? Did you look at the Handoff specs? Did you see the blog article Handoff feature in OS X Yosemite may only work on Macs with Bluetooth LE 4.0 support?

This isn't strange. This is continuity, not handoff. I have a 2011 MBP without BT 4.0/LE and can send/receive SMS over WiFi.

Handoff is different.
 

the1payday

macrumors 6502
Jun 19, 2007
294
102
Amarillo, TX
I know I'm in the minority here, but I feel like handoff is probably going to work on Wi-Fi and not Bluetooth. For one thing, if you look at the Continuity page on Apple's website (both the Yosemite and iOS 8 pages link to it) none of the devices show bluetooth being turned on, in any of the screenshots on Apple's site. Granted, this could be a simple oversight on Apple's part, but I kind of doubt it. Also, I feel like I remember them mentioning during the keynote that it worked as long as you were on the same network. I've also gotten the handoff icons to show up on my 2011 iMac twice so far, though without much success actually using it. The 2011 iMac I'm using doesn't have Bluetooth LE support according to that chart, yet it still connected and sensed what app was being used on my iPhone...it just wouldn't actually open.

Again, I could be wrong here since there is just as much evidence to the contrary, but I'm trying to remain optimistic!

EDIT: I just re-watched the portion of the keynote demoing Handoff, and none of the devices shown had the Bluetooth status icon, indicating it was not turned on. Again, could be an oversight on Apple's part; I'm just passing on the information.
 
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VSMacOne

macrumors 603
Oct 18, 2008
5,932
2,892
EDIT: I just re-watched the portion of the keynote demoing Handoff, and none of the devices shown had the Bluetooth status icon, indicating it was not turned on. Again, could be an oversight on Apple's part; I'm just passing on the information.

You are correct. None of the devices had Bluetooth ON either in the demos at WWDC or on the Apple website. And Craig at one point when says even if your phone is across the house you don't have to worry about it. So I don't know.
 

profets

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2009
5,165
6,313
You are correct. None of the devices had Bluetooth ON either in the demos at WWDC or on the Apple website. And Craig at one point when says even if your phone is across the house you don't have to worry about it. So I don't know.

I honestly think that SMS will sync through iCloud, phone calls will work over wifi and app handoffs will require bluetooth / proximity.
 

Julien

macrumors G4
Jun 30, 2007
11,859
5,445
Atlanta
I honestly think that SMS will sync through iCloud, phone calls will work over wifi and app handoffs will require bluetooth / proximity.

This sounds exactly like Apple described and was shown. Just one question still needs to be answered. Is Handoff a BT handshake and then file transfer over WiFi or is it all BT? If the former BT 2.0 could be easily used. Can't remember but did Apple say BT-LE (4) during the keynote?

Also if over BT, why not BT 3? BT 3 has the same file transfer data rate as LE but without the low energy mode (and a couple of other features).


EDIT: After looking at BDM's link it looks like Apple skipped BT 3, so that answers that question.
 
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profets

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2009
5,165
6,313
This sounds exactly like Apple described and was shown. Just one question still needs to be answered. Is Handoff a BT handshake and then file transfer over WiFi or is it all BT? If the former BT 2.0 could be easily used. Can't remember but did Apple say BT-LE (4) during the keynote?

Also if over BT, why not BT 3? BT 3 has the same file transfer data rate as LE but without the low energy mode (and a couple of other features).


EDIT: After looking at BDM's link it looks like Apple skipped BT 3, so that answers that question.

I think Handoff may solely be based on BT LE, doesn't seem like much data to transfer? Though with something like the new AirPlay in iOS 8 with Apple TV, it'll use BT LE to initiate a connection and then wifi direct to stream (in the absence of a common wifi network).

There's probably something in the BT 4/LE spec that they're using / relying on.

----------

Another weird one I tried with Yosemite. Nothing about LE or continuity listed under bluetooth in System Report.
 

HighFlyingBirds

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2011
294
77
I've got a mid 2009 macbook which doesn't have BT LE and says no to continuity. The text messaging part works though. I can send text messages via iphone to other mobile users!!
 
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