The Universal Clipboard is a handy new feature of macOS Sierra that allows you to copy and paste files from your iPhone directly to your Mac. We show you how it works.
Using Universal Clipboard, that’s how it works
Apple itself has paid little attention to it, but the Universal Clipboard is one of the most useful new features introduced in 2016. This allows you to effortlessly copy and paste between different devices, without having to manually forward text or other files.
To use the Universal Clipboard, you must meet a number of conditions:
- Make sure the devices are on the same Wi-Fi network;
- The Mac and the iPhone / iPad must run at least on macOS Sierra and iOS 10;
- The devices must be within Bluetooth range of each other;
- Bluetooth must be turned on;
- Handoff must be on on both devices (see below);
- All devices must be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID.
Activate handoff and use the function
To activate Handoff, go to Settings> General, Handoff on iOS. On the Mac you do this via System Preferences> General, tick the box behind ‘Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices’. Just keep in mind that Handoff doesn’t work on all Apple devices.
These devices support Handoff and the Universal Clipboard:
- iPhone 5 or later
- iPad Pro
- iPad fourth generation
- iPad Air or later
- iPad mini 2 or later
- iPod touch (6th generation) or later
- MacBook (early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
- MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (2012 or newer)
- iMac (2012 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
If you’ve gone through the list above, the Universal Clipboard should work. This testing is easy: simply copy something on your iPhone and then try pasting it to your Mac. This works not only for text, but also for photos and videos.
Keep in mind that copied files will only be available for pasting for a short time. So you can’t use the Universal Clipboard to copy a photo at the beginning of the afternoon and paste it to your Mac later in the day.