Apple users relish the quick transfer of files through AirDrop. When AirDropped photos disappear suddenly, it will be a true agony as there is fear of missing the shared pictures. There are times when AirDrop fails to work in the expected way. Losing your AirDropped photos can be scary. But there are various working methods to retrieve them and prevent this problem in future. If you are concerned about solving it, we will assist you in troubleshooting the issue using simple instructions.
Apart from AirDrop photos disappearing, you can consider these measures for fixing AirDrop photos not showing on Apple devices. This troubleshooting guide will let you know the reasons why AirDrop photos disappear and working fixes for the problem.
Why Does AirDrop Photos Disappear
Before trying out these fixes, you need to know the possible causes for AirDrop photos disappearing. Based on user experience, here are the common reasons for the problem of AirDrop photos disappearing on your iPhone/iPad/Mac device.
- Compatibility issues can be the reason why AirDrop photos don’t appear on your phone.
- When transferring a large number of photos, it is natural for your device to take a long time to complete the transfer. Wait until the transfer is completed. If you’re moving while transferring, the photos will also disappear the photos transferred via AriDrop.
- Any software glitch can prevent AirDropped photos from appearing on the device.
- The problem may also occur due to low storage.
- If there is an interruption in the WIFI or Bluetooth connection, the transfer will not happen properly.
- Keeping the Apple devices far away when using AirDrop will prevent the photos from appearing on your device.
- Accidentally deleting the airdropped photos from the Recently Deleted folder on your iPhone will cause the photos to disappear.
- Misconfigured AirDrop settings can also lead to this problem.
How to Fix AirDrop Photos Disappeared
If the AirDrop photos seem to disappear all of a sudden, you can go for the following troubleshooting methods to solve the problem.
Check the Recently Deleted Album
To begin with, you could have deleted a photo by mistake after airdropping the photos. You can get rid of the fear of losing the photo as you can find the deleted photos under the Recently Deleted album. Use the below-given instructions to find the disappeared photos on your device.
- Check on iPhone/iPad: Move to Photos → Choose Albums → Click Recently Deleted → Unlock the album using Face ID or Touch ID → Pick a photo or select multiple airdropped photos → Click Recover → Give confirmation.
- Check on Mac: Open the Photos app → Tap Recently Deleted from the sidebar → Either use Touch ID or type in the password to unlock it → Choose the photos you want to restore → Tap Recover.
Search for the Misplaced AirDrop Photos
There is a good chance that you have misplaced AirDrop photos. A common occurrence for this situation is files stored anywhere other than the usual location. You should look for the photos in any other files on your smart device. Make sure you have changed the AirDrop settings on the phone to AirDrop Photos. Unless you have selected a default app, the photos you transfer to an Apple device will be stored on the Photos app. So you can easily find the airdropped photos in the folder.
Unhide the AirDropped Photos
If you still can’t find the airdropped photos, there is a chance that you may have hidden the photos on your device. Once you unhide them, the photos will turn visible on your Apple device. To prevent this, you should check and ensure iCloud Photo Library is turned on. iCloud Photo Library is where all the photos, videos, and files from your iOS devices are stored. It syncs the media content across Apple devices when enabled. You can enable the iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone using the following steps.
1. Unlock your iPhone and open the Settings app.
2. Click your name and scroll through the options to select iCloud.
3. Tap on Photos and click the toggle next to iCloud Photos to enable it.
4. Finally, turn on the WIFI.
Within a few minutes, you can find all the photos from iCloud Photo Library, including airdropped photos. What if the photos are not yet discoverable? In such cases, you can unhide the photos if you have hidden the photos by mistake. Use the method below to unhide them.
1. Open the Photos app and click Albums.
2. Scroll down and choose Hidden. You may find the airdropped photos in the Hidden album.
3. Select all those photos and tap Unhide.
Enable the Required Settings
For AirDrop to work properly, you should check and ensure all the necessary settings, like Bluetooth and WIFI, are enabled. When you come across the AirDrop not working problem, you should inspect the WIFI connection and make sure it is stable enough for the process to occur smoothly. Similarly, keep the Apple devices within a range of 30 feet or 10 meters so that AirDrop can work as expected quickly. Moreover, check whether you have set the correct time and date on your iOS device.
Restart the Apple Device
To resolve system glitches, you can perform a quick restart on the Apple device. Based on the iPhone model you use, the method to reboot the device will vary.
- Restart iPhone or iPad: Unlock your iPhone/iPad → Hold the Power button for 5-10 seconds → Slide the Power icon from left to right → Once powered off, hit the Power button and release it after the Apple logo appears.
Note: If you are an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus user, hold the Power and Volume down buttons for a few seconds until you view the Apple logo.
- Restart MacBook: Unlock your MacBook → Tap the Apple icon → Click Restart.
Once the restart completes, the AirDrop photos disappeared problem should be solved. Otherwise, go to the next troubleshooting method.
AirDrop Photos in Smaller Groups
AirDrop allows you to transfer a large number of photos at the same time. While it is possible to AirDrop any content without limits, it takes a large amount of data. This may overburden your device and cause any issues with its functioning. To prevent this scenario, you can send the photos in smaller groups. It is better to AirDrop less than 50 photos at a time so that you can prevent the vanishing of AirDrop photos. In that way, you can rectify the AirDrop photos disappeared issue.
Suppose the airdropped photos appear in the Photos app but do not appear on Instagram. In that case, you can force close and reopen the Instagram app. Now, you may get the disappeared photos on your device. If you still can’t get the photos, you should swipe to the last to discover the photo.
Update the Apple Device
If you are running your Apple device on the older iOS version, it can cause compatibility issues. Ensure your iPhone/iPad/Mac is operating on the latest software version.
- Update iPhone/iPad: Unlock your iPhone or iPad → Move to Settings → General → Software Update and install the latest software updates.
- Update MacBook: Tap the Apple Menu → System Settings → General → Software Update and confirm the update process.
Once you update the device system software, the AirDrop photos should appear after a transfer. If the AirDrop photos disappeared issue continues to trouble you, factory resetting the device will offer help.
Reset the Apple Device
It can be tiring when you can’t fix the problem of AirDropped photos disappearing, even when trying the above methods. Factory reset sounds like a great choice to get you out of this trouble. It will help the device to start fresh after wiping all the data. Back up all the needed data before you do a reset, as the process erases all the saved and unsaved app data and settings.
- Reset iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings → General → Reset and hit Erase All Content and Settings.
- Reset Mac: Move to Apple menu → System Settings → General → Reset and tap Erase All Content and Settings.
Contact Apple Support
If your airdropped photos disappear more than thrice, you should reach out to the Apple support team. It is because there is a good chance that the issue is related to hardware. You can contact Apple Customer Support to solve the AirDrop photos disappeared problem before it turns into something serious.
Alternative Solution
Apart from AirDrop, you can transfer photos in other ways. You can transfer photos through similar apps like Xender, SHAREit, Snapdrop, and more. The best part of using them is they also work on Windows PCs. Compared to wireless transfer, wired transfer will be faster and more efficient. FoneTool is a handy tool that lets you share photos through a USB cable.
FAQ
Your AirDrop photos will be found in the Photos app on iPhone by default. If you are a Mac user, you can locate the photos in the Downloads folder.
Yes. If you have accidentally deleted airdropped photos on an iOS device, you can recover them from the Recently Deleted album on the device.