5 ways to connect iPhone to Mac.
If you have an iPhone and a Mac, there are several ways to connect devices to sync data, be more productive, and easily transfer files to and from any device.
One of the easiest ways to establish a connection is to use a regular USB cable. However, you also have more flexible and powerful options at your disposal. These options include USB-C connectivity, Bluetooth, and Continuity.
This guide covers all options for connecting iPhone to Mac.
1. How to Connect iPhone to Mac Using a Cable
The easiest way to connect your iPhone to your Mac is to use the cable that came with your iPhone. The cable method is also a faster way to connect both devices when you want to sync data or transfer files and is essential when you want to factory reset your iPhone.
You can connect your iPhone to Mac to sync data or transfer files. In that case, you can use iTunes (macOS Mojave or earlier) to sync your photos, videos, albums, TV shows, podcasts, playlists, movies, audiobooks, calendars, and contacts.
Note. If you’ve upgraded to macOS Catalina, you won’t find iTunes, but you can use the Finder to sync, update, backup, and restore your iPhone. You can use a USB or USB-C cable to connect iPhone to Mac, open Finder, and select your iPhone in the left pane in the Finder window.
2. How to Connect iPhone to Mac Using a WiFi Connection
You can connect iPhone to Mac via Wi-Fi if both devices are on the same network.
You will still need a USB or USB-C cable to connect your device to your Mac and then turn on Wi-Fi syncing. For this connection to work, your iPhone must be running iOS 5 or later.
As with iTunes, you can select your iPhone in the sidebar if you want to sync or move files. To disconnect the iPhone from your Mac, click the Eject button in the Finder sidebar.
Note. If you connect your iPhone to Mac to sync data, the Wi-Fi sync method will be much slower than using a cable.
3. How to Connect iPhone to Mac Using iCloud
Another way to connect your iPhone is to use iCloud, which keeps your content up to date across all your devices. This way, you can access your media and other content on Mac instead of using iTunes.
To connect your iPhone and Mac, make sure you’re signed into the same iCloud account on both devices and have the same sync settings. Any changes you make to your content on any device will sync first to iCloud and then to devices.
- Go to Settings on your iPhone, click on your name.
- Then click iCloud and sign in with your Apple ID.
- To sign in to iCloud on your Mac, choose Menu> System Preferences.
- Select iCloud.
- Sign in with your Apple ID and password, and then set up iCloud.
With iCloud, you can sync data such as Apple News, Homekit data, notes, Safari files and bookmarks, stocks, and more. Once you’ve connected your iPhone and Mac and signed in to iCloud, you can sync them using the same settings.
4. How to Connect iPhone to Mac Using Bluetooth
Bluetooth is another way to quickly connect iPhone to Mac when you don’t have a cable. This method is useful when you want to connect to a personal hotspot to share your mobile data connection when you don’t have Wi-Fi access.
- To do this, open Settings on your iPhone, click General.
- Tap Bluetooth.
- Turn on the bluetooth slider / green.
- On a Mac, choose Menu> System Preferences, and then choose Bluetooth. Alternatively, go to the menu bar on your Mac and select the Bluetooth icon.
- Select your iPhone’s picture from the list of Bluetooth devices on your Mac.
- Check the iPhone for a connection request and select Connect.
Note. If this is your first time trying to connect your iPhone to Mac via Bluetooth, you may need a confirmation code to complete the process. Follow the instructions on both devices and enter the code exactly as shown. If the devices cannot “find†each other, make sure the distance between them is close enough for Bluetooth to work.
5. How to Connect iPhone to Mac Using Continuity
Apple Continuity connects iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, and iPod touch.
After you sign in with your Apple ID on all of these devices, you can use the Continuity features to navigate between devices and do things like:
- transfer the web page you are viewing to Mac to iPhone
- Write an email to Mac and send from your iPhone
- Get directions in the Mac Maps app and send to your iPhone to use later
- Answer iPhone calls from Mac and more.
Some of the Continuity features you can use to connect iPhone to Mac include Handoff, iPhone mobile calling, and the universal clipboard.
With Handoff, you can get started on your iPhone or Mac, switch to another nearby device, and pick up where you left off.
The Cellular Calling feature on iPhone lets you make and receive calls from your Mac, while the universal clipboard lets you copy photos, text, videos, and images to your iPhone and paste them to Mac, or vice versa.
Note. For Handoff and Continuity to work, you need iOS 8 or later, and macOS 10.10 Yosemite or later. To use the Universal Clipboard, you need a Mac running macOS 10.12 Sierra or later.
Other Continuity features include Text Messaging, Instant Hotspot, AirDrop, Auto Unlock, Continuity Camera, Continuity Sketch, Continuity Markup, Sidecar, and Apple Pay.
- To use Continuity, make sure all of your iPhone and Mac are signed in with the same iCloud account and connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
- Turn on Bluetooth on iPhone and Mac.
- Enable Handoff on your Mac by going to Menu> System Preferences> General. Check the box next to “Allow handover between this Mac and your iCloud devices.”
- On the iPhone, enable Handoff by going to Settings> General> Handoff.
- Set the handoff slider to On.
Note. If you connect your iPhone to Mac to copy music files, sign up for iTunes Match to copy music to your iPhone, then sync your music via the cloud.
Link Your iPhone to Your Mac Easily
We hope you were able to connect your iPhone to your Mac using any of the above methods. We have additional resources to help you connect iPhone to the TV via USB or wireless methods, how to mirror iPhone screen to Mac, or back up iPhone to Mac among other tutorials.
5 ways to connect iPhone to Mac
5 ways to connect iPhone to Mac