Hi everyone. AirDrop is failing when sending files from an unmanaged iPhone to our Hexnode-managed MacBooks. The MacBook appears as a target on the iPhone, but the transfer just fails.
I checked our macOS policies—”Allow AirDrop” is enabled, and the firewall isn’t blocking incoming connections. The same iPhone can AirDrop to unmanaged Macs fine, so it seems specific to these managed ones. Is there another Hexnode setting that could affect AirDrop discovery or receiving files?
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Hello,
Thanks for reaching out to Hexnode Connect.
If your MDM policies already allow AirDrop and your firewall isn’t blocking incoming connections, this behavior typically points to the Mac’s local AirDrop discovery mode rather than a Hexnode policy restriction.
When a Mac is set to Contacts Only, it attempts to validate the sender against contacts or iCloud identities. In mixed environments—such as an unmanaged iPhone sending to a managed Mac—this identity validation can fail even when AirDrop itself is allowed by policy.
To resolve this, you will need to adjust the local discovery setting on the Mac:
Note: You may also want to ensure Bonjour Multicast is allowed under macOS > Restrictions > Advanced in your Hexnode policy, as AirDrop relies on Apple’s discovery services to function properly.
Once the transfer is complete, the user can switch the setting back to “Contacts Only” if your organization requires stricter discovery rules.
I hope this helps resolve your issue. Feel free to reach out if you have any more doubts or need further assistance.
Best regards,
George,
Hexnode UEM
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