Quick Share needs this one thing to work with AirDrop

Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police

By Rajesh Pandey Published 6 minutes ago Rajesh started following the latest happenings in the world of Android around the release of the Nexus One and Samsung Galaxy S. After flashing custom ROMs and kernels on his beloved Galaxy S, he started writing about Android for a living. He uses the latest Samsung or Pixel flagship as his daily driver. And yes, he carries an iPhone as a secondary device. Rajesh has been writing for Android Police since 2021, covering news, how-tos, and features. Based in India, he has previously written for Neowin, AndroidBeat, Times of India, iPhoneHacks, MySmartPrice, and MakeUseOf. When not working, you will find him mindlessly scrolling through X, playing with new AI models, or going on long road trips. You can reach out to him on Twitter or drop a mail at [email protected]. Sign in to your Android Police account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

In a surprising move, Android's Quick Share now works with AirDrop, enabling you to wirelessly send files to an iPhone right from your Pixel's share menu. More impressively, Google achieved this interoperability without Apple's help. But before you try sending files from your Pixel to your iPhone, you’ll need to install a companion app to make the feature work.

To get Quick Share to work with AirDrop, Google is rolling out a new Quick Share Extension app. It's pushing this as a 1.4MB Google Play system update for the Pixel 10 family. After all, they are the first in line to gain access to the feature.

The Play system update is already rolling out, and you can grab it from Settings > System > Software updates. You'll have to restart your Pixel to complete the installation and for the changes to take effect. Without this extension, you can't use Quick Share to AirDrop files to your iPhone. Also, make sure AirDrop is set to “Everyone for 10 minutes,” as Quick Share only works with this setting enabled.

The Quick Share extension listing is also live on the Play Store (via Android Authority), though it may not be accessible to all. If the extension is already installed on your Pixel, make sure it's updated to the latest build.

In case the cross-device sharing does not work even after installing the Play System update, manually install the Quick Share extension from the Play Store, restart your Pixel, and then try again.

While I got a similar 1.4MB Play system update on my Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro, it did not enable Quick Share-AirDrop cross-sharing support.

Quick Share and AirDrop interoperability work both ways. That means with the extension installed, you can wirelessly share files from your iPhone to your Pixel. And the feature also works with Macs and iPads. Even when sharing from an Apple device, you must set Quick Share on your Pixel to "Everyone" mode.

With the correct mode, file transfer between your Pixel and Apple device (or vice versa) should be a breeze.

Phones

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