Galaxy S26 Ultra Airdrop Guide: Complete Walkthrough for Cross-Platform File Sharing
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Well, that entire frustrating experience changed in March 2026. Samsung finally rolled out an update that lets your Galaxy S26 Ultra talk directly to Apple devices through Airdrop. Not through some sketchy third-party app. Not through a cloud service that takes forever. Just native sharing, the way it should have always worked.
I have been testing this feature for the past couple of weeks on my own S26 Ultra, and in this guide, I will walk you through exactly how to set it up, how to use it, and what problems you might run along the way. I will also share some honest thoughts about where this feature works great and where it still has some rough edges.
What Actually Changed in This Update
Before we jump into the setup steps, it helps to understand what Samsung actually did here. Around March 22, 2026, Samsung started pushing out a software update for the S26 series. The update carries firmware version S94xNKSU1AZCF, and it is about 700 to 900 MB depending on where you live.
What makes this update different is that Samsung quietly added the ability for Quick Share—their built-in sharing tool—to detect and receive files from Apple devices using Airdrop. This is not something Samsung built from scratch with Apple. From what I have read, Google reverse-engineered parts of Airdrop to make this work on Android, and Samsung adapted it for their devices.
The update first showed up in South Korea, and over the next week, it rolled out to Europe, North America, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Japan, Taiwan, and India. If you have not seen it yet, it should show up any day now depending on your career.
Here is something interesting, I noticed. Unlike the Google Pixel phones where this feature is turned on by default, Samsung made the choice to leave it off. You have to go into settings and flip a switch yourself. I prefer this approach because it means you are not accidentally broadcasting your phone to every Apple device nearby without knowing it.
What You Need Before You Start
I learned the hard way that you cannot just download the update and expect everything to work. There are three separate pieces that all need to be updated, and if you miss even one, the Airdrop option will not show up at all.
Your Phone Firmware
This is the obvious one. You need the AZCF update installed. Go to Settings, then Software Update, and check for updates. If it is there, download it. The update takes about 10 to 15 minutes to install, and your phone will restart.
Google Play Services
Here is something that tripped me up. Even after installing the firmware update, the Airdrop option was not showing up. It turned out my Google Play Services was outdated. You need version 26.11.33 or higher. To check this, go to Settings, then Apps, find Google Play Services, and tap App details in store. If there is an update available, install it. This piece is critical because the cross-platform sharing functionality lives inside Play Services, not just in Samsung software.
Quick Share App
The Quick Share app itself needs an update too. This one comes through the Galaxy Store, not the Google Play Store. Open Galaxy Store, tap the menu, go to Updates, and look for Quick Share. The version you want is 13.8.51.30 or higher.
After updating all three, restart your phone one more time. I know it sounds like overkill, but skipping the restart is why my first attempt failed.
Turning On Airdrop Support
Once everything is updated, enabling the feature takes about thirty seconds. Here is exactly how to do it.
Open Settings. Scroll down to Connected devices. Tap on that, then tap Quick Share. When the Quick Share settings screen opens, look for an option that says Share with Apple devices. It might be near the bottom of the screen. Flip that toggles on.
If you do not see this option, go back and double-check your Google Play Services version and Quick Share version. I have helped a few friends set this up and, in every case, where the option was missing, it was because one of those two components was not updated.
One thing to note here. Samsung has this set up so that you can send files to Apple devices without changing anything else. But if you want to receive files from iPhones or Macs, you need to set up your Quick Share visibility to Everyone. I will talk more about why this matters later, because honestly this is the most annoying part of the whole setup.
Sending Files from Your Galaxy S26 Ultra to an iPhone or Mac
Sending files is actually very smooth once everything is configured. I tested this with my wife's iPhone 15 Pro and my work on MacBook Air, and both worked without any issues.
Open the Gallery and pick a photo or video. Tap the share icon at the bottom. From the share sheet, choose Quick Share. If this is your first time using it after the update, a little pop-up might appear saying you can now share with Apple devices. Just tap OK or let it disappear.
The phone will start scanning for nearby devices. After a few seconds, any Apple devices nearby with Airdrop set to Everyone should show up in the list. Tap the device's name. On the iPhone or Mac, the person will get a notification asking if they want to accept the file. Once they tap Accept, the transfer happens almost instantly.
I sent a 4K video that was about 400 MB, and it took maybe eight seconds. The same video over WhatsApp would have taken close to a minute and would have looked terrible after compression. The quality stays completely intact because it is going directly between devices without going through any server.
One small thing I noticed. The Apple device sometimes shows faster than other Android devices on the list. I am not sure why that is, but it has been consistent in my testing. If you have both an iPhone and a Samsung tablet nearby, the iPhone often appears first.
Receiving Files from iPhones and Macs
Receiving files requires a little more setup on your end, and this is where the visibility setting becomes important.
On your Galaxy S26 Ultra, go back to Settings, Connected devices, and Quick Share. Look for the section that says Who can share with you. Tap on it and change it to Everyone. If you leave this on Contacts Only, Apple devices will not be able to see your phone at all. They will just keep searching and never find you.
Now, when someone with an iPhone wants to send you something, they open their file, tap the share button, and choose Airdrop. Your Galaxy S26 Ultra should show up on their list as long as you are nearby. They tap your device name, and you get a notification that says something like Airdrop from [their name] accepts? Tap Accept and the file saves your phone. Photos and videos go to the Gallery. Documents and other files go to the Downloads folder.
Here is the thing that annoys me. You have to leave your visibility set to Everyone while you are receiving files. If you forget to change it back afterward, your phone is essentially broadcasting every Apple device within range that you are available to receive files. I have had random people in coffee shops pop up on my phone asking to send me things just because I forgot to switch it back. It is not dangerous because you still have to accept each transfer, but it is annoying.
Apple actually has a solution to this. On iPhones, when you set Airdrop to Everyone, it automatically switches back to Contacts Only after ten minutes. Samsung does not have that yet. But I read somewhere that Google is testing a similar time-limited option for Quick Share, so hopefully that comes in a future update.
Where This Feature Falls Short
I want to be honest about the limitations because I think knowing them upfront saves frustration later.
The Everyone Visibility Problem
I already mentioned this, but it deserves to be repeated. For a transfer to work in either direction, both devices need to have their sharing visibility set to Everyone. Not Contacts Only. Not No One. Everyone. If you have someone saved your contacts, it does not matter. The feature does not recognize contacts across platforms. This means every single time you want to share with someone using an iPhone, one of you has to go into settings and change your visibility.
It is not a huge deal when you are sharing with people you see regularly. You learn to just set it before you start. But for quick sharing in the moment, it adds friction that should not be there.
No Time Limit on Android
As I mentioned, iPhones automatically revert to Contacts Only after ten minutes. Your Galaxy S26 Ultra does not. If you set it to Everyone and forget about it, it stays that way until you manually change it back. I have definitely forgotten a few times and only realized later when I saw random transfer requests pop up.
Inconsistent at First
In the first few days after the update, transfers would sometimes fail for no obvious reason. Both devices would see each other, I would tap send, and then nothing would happen. Restarting both devices usually fixes it. Since then, it has become more reliable, so I suspect there was some background stabilization happening on Samsung or Google's side.
Limited to S26 Series for Now
If you have an older Galaxy device like the S25 or S24, this feature is not available yet. Samsung has said it will come to other devices with the One UI 8.5 update later in 2026, but right now it is exclusive to the S26 series. If you are reading this on an older phone, you will have to wait a few more months.
Real-World Speed and Performance
I did some casual testing just to see how this compares to other sharing methods. The results were pretty clear.
A single photo from my S26 Ultra to an iPhone 15 Pro took about three seconds. The same photo over WhatsApp took forty-seven seconds from the moment I hit send to the moment it was available on the other phone. And the WhatsApp version was compressed down to about 800 KB while the AirDrop version stayed at the original 12 MB file size.
A five-minute 4K video that was around 1.2 GB transferred in about twenty-five seconds through Quick Share to a MacBook. Through Google Drive, uploading alone took almost two minutes, then downloading took another minute. So, the direct transfer was significantly faster.
I also tried sending a folder with fifty photos in it. Quick Share handled it all at once without any issues. The iPhone received all fifty photos of the same quality they were taken. No compression, no weird renaming, just the files exactly as they were.
The technical side of how this works is actually pretty interesting. Your phone uses Bluetooth to find nearby devices and negotiate the connection. Once the handshake happens, it switches to Wi-Fi Direct for the actual file transfer. That is why it stays fast even when you do not have internet. The phones create their own direct connection and move files across that.
Troubleshooting When Things Go Wrong
I ran into a few issues while testing and helped several friends troubleshoot theirs. Here is what I learned.
The Option Is Not There
If you go into Quick Share settings and do not see the Share with Apple devices to toggle, check out your Google Play Services version first. I helped three different people with this and in all three cases, they had updated the firmware but not Play Services. Once they updated Play Services and restarted, the option appeared.
iPhone Cannot Find Your Phone
This is almost always a visibility issue. Double check that your Quick Share visibility is set to Everyone, not Contacts Only. Also make sure the iPhone has Airdrop set to Everyone. If both are set correctly but still not finding each other, toggle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off and back on. That usually resets the discovery process.
Transfer Starts but Fails Midway
I saw this a few times with very large files, like videos over 2 GB. Restarting both devices usually fixes them. If it keeps happening, try sending the file in smaller chunks if possible. Splitting a long video into shorter clips worked for me.
Galaxy S26 Ultra Cannot See iPhone, but iPhone Can See Phone
This happened to me once, and it turned out my phone was connected to my car Bluetooth, and it was interfering somehow. Disconnecting from the car fixed it. If you have any Bluetooth devices actively connected, try disconnecting them temporarily.
What About Security and Privacy
I have had a few people ask me if this feature is safe, especially with the visibility set to Everyone. Here is my take.
When your phone is set to Everyone, it is discovered by any nearby device. That means anyone within Bluetooth range can see that your device is available to receive files. However, they cannot actually send you anything without you accepting it. Every single file transfer requires you to tap Accept on your screen before anything gets saved to your phone.
The actual transfer uses encryption, so the files themselves are not readable by anyone intercepting the connection. It is the same level of security you get with regular Airdrop or Quick Share transfers.
If you are in a crowded public space like an airport or a concert, you probably want to keep visibility set to Contacts Only unless you are actively sharing something. The risk is not that someone will hack your phone, but that you will get spammed with random transfer requests from strangers. It is more annoying than dangerous.
For what it is worth, I have never had an unwanted transfer to actually go through because I always reject them. But I have definitely had people try to send me things in crowded places when I forgot to switch visibility back.
When Will Other Galaxy Phones Get This
If you are using a Galaxy S25, S24, or one of the Fold or Flip devices from the last couple of years, you are probably wondering when this feature will come to your phone.
Samsung has confirmed that the feature will expand to other Galaxy devices at a later date. From what I have seen reported, the rollout is expected to happen with the One UI 8.5 update. That update is likely to come out in the second half of 2026, probably around August or September.
The S25 series will probably get it first among the older devices, followed by the S24 and the Z Fold and Flip 6. Older devices like the S23 and S22 might get it eventually, but Samsung has not committed any timeline for those yet.
If you are on an S26 like me, you already have it. If you are on anything older, you will need to be patient for a few more months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this work both ways?
Yes. You can send from Galaxy to iPhone and from iPhone to Galaxy. Both directions work the same way.
Do I need to install any special apps?
No. It all works through Quick Share, which is already on your phone. You just need to update it through the Galaxy Store.
Will this work with iPads and Macs?
Yes. Any Apple device that supports Airdrop will work. That means iPhones, iPads, and Macs are running reasonably recent operating systems.
Do I need the internet?
No. The transfer uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct. Neither device needs to be connected to the internet.
What file types can I send?
Anything. Photos, videos, documents, contacts, whatever. If you can share it through Quick Share normally, you can share it with Apple devices.
Why is my iPhone not showing up?
Check out three things. First, make sure your iPhone has Airdrop set for Everyone. Second, make sure your Galaxy has the Share with Apple devices toggle turned on. Third, make sure both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled and are within about thirty feet of each other.
Is this secure?
Yes. The transfer is encrypted, and you have to accept every file before it saves your phone. The main privacy consideration is that when your visibility is set to Everyone, nearby people can see your device and try to send you files.
Will this work if I have a VPN on?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I have had mixed results. If transfers are failing and you have a VPN enabled, try turning it off temporarily to see if that helps.
Final Thoughts
After using this feature for a couple of weeks, I can honestly say it has changed how I share files with people who use iPhones. Before this update, I would avoid sending large videos altogether because I knew it would be a hassle. Now I just use Quick Share like I would with any Android device and it works.
The visibility requirement is annoying. There is no way around that. Having to set both devices to Everyone every time you want to share is an extra step that should not be necessary. I hope Samsung and Apple eventually figure out how to make this work with contacts, because that would make the experience truly seamless.
But even with that limitation, this is a massive improvement over what we had before. No more WhatsApp compression. No more waiting for files to upload to Google Drive. No more explaining to family members how to email a photo without getting resized.
If you have a Galaxy S26 Ultra, go through the update steps I outlined, turn on the feature, and try it out. Send a photo to someone with an iPhone and watch how fast it goes. It genuinely feels like the wall between Android and iOS is finally starting to come down, and for anyone who has been frustrated by this for years, that is a really good feeling.
I will update this guide if Samsung releases any changes or if the feature expands to other devices. In the meantime, if you run into any issues or have questions, feel free to drop them in the comments. I have been through pretty much every setup problem at this point, and I am happy to help.
I wrote this based on my personal experience with the Galaxy S26 Ultra and the March 2026 update. Feature availability and performance may vary depending on your region and career. I last updated this guide on March 29, 2026.