Airdrop on 10.11 GM (15A282b)

Console logs when trying to use Airdrop. http://i.imgur.com/7n5yXX3.png

I can see you've done the full gamut of the fixes that are out there and that your hardware supports it etc... Fwiw, I can airdrop between 3 Macs running 10.11 (one on the GM and two on 10.11.1 b2) and 3 iDevices (one on 9.0.1 and two on 9.1 b2) with all the permutations I've tried so far, so the issue is specific to something on your system I'm guessing.

So haven't got any alternative approaches that I can recommend from first-hand experience but, if you haven't already seen it, there are a couple more "fixes" suggested in the following link that you don't mention having tried yet (such as an NVRAM reset, legacy mode, and mucking around with contacts) - the OP also states that Continuity/Handoff works in spite of the Airdrop failiure:

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/2r5bvl/a_possible_solution_for_airdrop_issues_with_os_x/

-Max

For the briefest of moments I noticed that my mac could see my phone, but the it vanished again...

Days of trying, moments of success! so weird. I've been a computer engineer for years and a passionate developer and techie.

At this point I'm thinking it's an esoteric hardware bug/nuance with the mid 2013 early 2014 macbook air, OR it's some kind of environmental issue with built up city areas (i'm in London) and interference with Airdrop...

No joy with contacts (already am the main card) or legacy mode... might try nvram but it seems a very long shot!

I'm thinking of trying in a country house somewhere, maybe it's electro magnetic noise!

don't see anything unusal in my logs above do ya?

For the sake of a comparative analysis, here's my log after selecting Airdrop in Finder:

30/09/2015 9:33:49.948 p.m. sharingd[277]: 21:33:49.947 : Bonjour discovery started
30/09/2015 9:33:49.963 p.m. sharingd[277]: 21:33:49.962 : Finder entered AirDrop
30/09/2015 9:33:49.963 p.m. sharingd[277]: 21:33:49.962 : BTLE scanning stopped
30/09/2015 9:33:49.963 p.m. sharingd[277]: 21:33:49.962 : BTLE scanning started
30/09/2015 9:33:49.963 p.m. sharingd[277]: 21:33:49.963 : Scanning mode Contacts Only
30/09/2015 9:33:50.003 p.m. sharingd[277]: 21:33:50.003 : BTLE advertiser Powered On
30/09/2015 9:33:50.005 p.m. sharingd[277]: 21:33:50.004 : BTLE advertising hashes <01280a1f da000000 0000>
30/09/2015 9:33:50.005 p.m. sharingd[277]: 21:33:50.004 : BTLE scanner Powered On
30/09/2015 9:33:56.000 p.m. kernel[0]: **** [IOBluetoothHostControllerUSBTransport][InterruptReadHandler] -- Received kIOReturnNotResponding error - retrying: 1
30/09/2015 9:33:57.000 p.m. kernel[0]: **** [IOBluetoothHostControllerUSBTransport][ClearFeatureInterruptEndpointHalt] -- successfully posting another read for the mInt0InterruptPipe -- mInterruptPipeInOutstandingIOCount = 1 -- this = 0x1800

So what I'm seeing in yours that I don't see in mine is "AirDrop Server Disabled", and "AirDrop Server Terminated". I'll have a look to see what might cause those messages to be pushed to the log and post back if I find anything.

-Max

I think you're right about this being an obscure bug - given the vast amount of console logs posted to various forums etc. that are trawled by Google, there remarkably few references to either "AirDrop Server Disabled" or "AirDrop Server Terminated". Interestingly though, where there's one, there's both.

One possible fix therefore might be to re-install OS X (or simply use the full installer of the release version as we discussed in another thread).

If that doesn't help then from what I've read, the issue may have to do with the fact that you have an AirPort Extreme - that's what the "arpt: xx.xxxxx AWDL sync enabled" entry in your log is about. To diagnose if that's the case, it would be interesting to take the MacBook and one or both of the phones to a different network and see if AirDrop works there. If it works without the APE in the equation, we can see what can be done to fix the issue after it is re-introduced...

I've got almost this exact problem. In fact I'm the person who wrote that rambling Reddit post Max linked to. It appears to be a problem specific to my late 2014 rMBP. My iOS devices see each other. My work iMac (10.10.5) sees my iPhone, and occasionally it even sees the rMBP. The rMBP sees nothing despite sharingd identifying devices in the console.

Legacy mode does work, as does handoff. I went through several 10.11 betas with no change. I did a clear out of plistsand contacts and occasionally it might discover my iMac. Funnily enough the iMac would discover then rMBP continuously even if I did not have a Finder window open on the laptop. Also if Finder was open on the rMBP and I sent a file to it from the iMac my contact badge would pop up for the duration of the transfer.

It seems as if there is some sort of hardware quirk for this machine. I installed yesterday's release of 10.11 over the 10.11.1 beta last night. I'm going to make a bootable USB and update the iMac today and then do a clean install on the rMBP and report back. It's very frustrating because AirDrop was an excellent feature not it's a chore.

Sorry, I got the paragraph formatting wrong on that post and I can't find an edit button.

Hi Knolan,

Good to hear from you - it will be interesting to learn what your experience is with the fresh install. The edit button is in the Actions menu at the bottom of every post - you need to be logged in of course.

Ah yes, there it is. Thanks.

So, mixed news. I neglected to log into iCloud during setup to see if this is an iCloud problem.

And indeed, my iPhone discovered my Mac, at least momentarily, with the grey generic icon you see when a device isn't in your contacts.

I then logged into iCloud and the old behaviour returned. Finder refused to show anything and the console messages resemble those above.

I decided to call Apple support (I've contacted about this a few times now) while being connected to a senior tech for the third time, yes I got disconnected two times, my rMBP suddenly worked, it found my iPhone and I was able to send a file. It hasn't worked since.

Apple support took a sample of my system log with one of their tools and promised to elevate it with engineering.

I'll update the iMac to 10.11 tomorrow and see if there's any change there.

Not great news, but I'll keep poking at it.

Thanks for the update 🙂

Hi Max, Hi Knolan, Thanks for your support and interest in this! I'm a bit obsessed with it, simply because it should work! Especially with clean installs of el cap. So in work today I tried 4 different iPhones and non of them could see my MacBook Air nor could it see them. But console logs could see the devices. (Being resolved etc) Very weird. Like I said, id be thinking hardware if it wasn't that wifi and Bluetooth work perfectly as well as handoff and continuity and wireless mouse etc. Either way I'll keep plugging away, hopefully we can resolve it! I'd love the source code so I could just debug it myself!!

If by clean install, you mean that you installed the public relase version of El Cap on a freshly created partition and then didn't migrate anything to it - and furthermore tried it on different networks, then I am at a loss. As you say, that would normally point to a hardware fault - except that it doesn't in this case 😕

I know you're asking John but just to clarify.

I created a new partition and installed a completely new copy of the public release of 10.11 from USB via Recovery mode.

I'm only now migrating documents manully across from Time Machine this evening and reinstalling applicaitons fresh.

The only thing that was 'migrated' to the machine was my Apple ID - I'm going to create a new user and maybe a new throwaway Apple ID to test now.

I tested this on two different wifi networks - my home network driven by a current gen TIme Capsule.

For the record here are my console logs:

Set to discoverable by Everyone

Oct  1 22:25:55 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:25:55.326 : BTLE scanning started
Oct  1 22:25:55 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:25:55.326 : Scanning mode Everyone
Oct  1 22:25:55 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:25:55.327 : BTLE scanner Powered On
Oct  1 22:25:57 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:25:57.476 : BTLE discovered device with hash <xxxxxxxx 4axxxxxx 0000>
Oct  1 22:25:57 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:25:57.477 : BTLE scanning stopped

and contacts only

Oct  1 22:32:25 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:32:25.289 : BTLE scanning started
Oct  1 22:32:25 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:32:25.289 : Scanning mode Contacts Only
Oct  1 22:32:25 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:32:25.289 : BTLE scanner Powered On
Oct  1 22:32:26 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:32:26.680 : BTLE discovered device with hash <xxxxxxxx 4axxxxxx 0000>
Oct  1 22:32:26 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:32:26.680 : Hash <xxxxxxxx 4axxxxxx 0000> exists in contacts
Oct  1 22:32:26 $USER sharingd[5149]: 22:32:26.680 : BTLE scanning stopped

So it is discovering but not doing anything with that data - suggesting a software issue?

In system info each of my other devices are listed under bluetooth in turn as:

Devices (Paired, Configured, etc.):

Address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx

Major Type: Miscellaneous

Minor Type: Unknown

Services:

Paired: No

Configured: Yes

Connected: No

Class of Device: 0x00 0x00 0x0000

Here is the hardware info for bluetooth for comparison:

Hardware, Features, and Settings:

Bluetooth Low Energy Supported: Yes

Handoff Supported: Yes

Instant Hot Spot Supported: Yes

Manufacturer: Broadcom

Transport: USB

Chipset: 20702B0

Firmware Version: v112 c9034

Knolan, that is indeed a useful clarification and it seems fairly conclusive that the issue is either AppleID related or fundamental to El Capitan on particular hardware - both bugs that Apple should take an interest in.

We were alerted earlier this evening that these forums are about to be taken down now that El Capitan is no longer pre-release, so I suggest you keep a local record of your posts and be aware of the probable need to carry the conversation back to your Reddit thread.

-Max

I've sent a PDF of this to the Apple Support tech. Thanks.