Mac not showing up on Nearby share on android device #171
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same here, running ventura 13.5.2 with neardrop 2.0.4 |
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+1 |
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Please don't post "same problem", "+1", "me too" and other similar comments. These don't add any new information and just create notification spam for me. If you have no new information to contribute, please just don't write anything. Thanks. |
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When I use Quick Share to send a file from my Android phone, I see the Mac computer running NearDrop. However, when I click on it, it remains stuck in the connecting state with a spinning icon, while the Mac does not respond Phone：Android 11 |
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I'm seeing this happen with my devices too:
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same to me. I cannot see my Samsung S22 phone. |
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I am going to share my frequent experience with neardrop, and the behavior you describe. When I use the app on networks where there is no AP isolation configured, and devices on the network have unfettered access to one another on all ports, neardrop works flawlessly. However, when in a public or office wifi setting, where port routing is often filtered between devices, neardrop behaves precisely as described in this posted issue topic. I highly recommend testing neardrop in a setting where you have control over the routing configuration. If it still fails to work, there are other places to look, but this is where I would start. Note that in environments with AP isolation configured, you will not see any console logging activity for the neardrop process taking place on OS X while attempting to initiate a neardrop connection from your android device. As soon as you are on a network where connection is permitted, neardrop logs all of its activity quite verbosely. That should be a clear hint that you are or aren't even achieving a base level connection. FWIW, I believe Airdrop uses port 8770. However, I have no idea how neardrop 'converts' android's QuickShare to Apple's AirDrop, and which other ports need to be open for a connection to successfully be completed. I am guessing it is more than just one port. Hope this helps at least some users experiencing this issue. |
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Hi, I face to the same problem that mac doesn't popup the notification After half an hour of debugging, I realized that I had almost forgotten that I was using an external monitor at home, so I turned it on and everything was fine. Great work, grishka |
@p0lARbEAR That's only for mirroring or sharing a display. It still doesn't work even if I do not have a monitor connected. |
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megaroney, Please post your OSX console log files, mirroring as I do below. To collect the log files:
Maybe we can find something obvious in your logs. If not, we may need to look at bluetooth and wifi activity logs during the failing connection process. |
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@stevenjstromer here they are: |
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Before we even get into reviewing the logs, please confirm that when you go to your System Settings > Notifications, you have banner notifications enabled for the Neardrop app (see attached screenshot). 
I just don't want to overlook the obvious. Next, regarding your posted logs, the most relevant lines appear to me to be: I am running OSX 10.13, and you are on 10.14. It seems that Game Mode was introduced in your newer OS version. I note that the process 'gamepolicy' is spitting out a message about neardrop running as 'NotVisible.' I am wondering if this is the source for why you are not receiving incoming Quickshare notifications. Unfortunately, as with so many new OSX technologies, the documentation is extremely limited, and user control is non-existent. There is no real way to disable Game Mode, except in some very limited ways. However, I am curious to know whether you game in full screen on this machine, just a a part of the debugging process. I am also curious whether you have had any other devices that are able to successfully share with the same OSX device, like from an Android tablet or other phone. Once again, just trying to not overlook the obvious. |
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Yup, notifications have been enabled: |
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I posted to the Apple community forum about how game mode may be playing a role. Not very hopeful about getting help there, but here's the post for posterity... Ideally, I'd love to stop the gamepolicyd process and test Neardrop again, but I do not think the process can be stopped without first disabling SIP, which is a PITA. If you know how to use Activity Monitor to stop a process, and it actually allows you to quit or force quit the process for a few moments before the process respawns, I'd be curious to see if a Neardrop notification gets through. If so, we know what we're dealing with. A bit of a clunky approach, but well worth the two minutes to give it a try. |
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Soooo, I am trying it at home now and my MacBook showed up instantly on my phone's Quick Share devices! 🤔 Wonder if it had something to do with the Wi-Fi at the coffeeshop? But my phone and Macbook were both on the same WiFi there. Any ideas? |
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Hi megaroney, Yes, most public wifi blocks inter-device communication (a.k.a. AP Isolation), as a matter of security. See my earlier post, detailing this: Grishka mentions this in his documentation, but doesn't go into a lot of detail, so I imagine many people trying Neardrop miss this fact, and mistakenly assume it just doesn't work. Ideally, it would be great if Neardrop would work when a phone is configured as a hotspot, so that a connected OSX device could receive files over this temporary LAN. I don't see why this shouldn't be possible, as this would solve the file transfer issue in locations where devices on a public access point are being isolated from one another. In fact, I think I am going to do a bit of packet tracing, and see what this would require to work. Meanwhile, I am glad it worked out for you. Neardrop has been a lifesaver for me, so providing a bit of user support is the very least I can do to pay it forward. |
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I installed the latest version of NearDrop (2.0.4) on Sonoma 14.5 (M3 air)
When i tried to send a file through nearby share on my android device which is a bit old and running on Android 10. Mac is not showing up.
Installed it for the first time never worked!!
Mac was connected to the personal hotspot on the android device. - Can this be the problem ??
@grishka
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