Copying anything on Mac and pasting it on iPhone or vice-versa is the adorable representation of Continuity and seamless experience. Many a time, I take advantage of this handy feature to quickly move snippets or link from one clipboard to the other.

So far, I had been using this feature on my iDevices without any issue. But suddenly the problem arrived out of nowhere, and Universal Clipboard stopped working between macOS Mojave and iOS 12. As a result, I couldn’t copy and paste anything across my Mac and iPhone.

Thankfully, I was able to overcome the problem after trying out some workarounds. At first, I thought it’s a minor glitch and wanted to ignore it. But when I searched it on the web, I found many other iDevice users affected by it. And that’s the reason why I thought it’s worth sharing the tricks. Check them out, if you need help!

Copy Paste Not Working Between Mac and iPhone? Try Out These Solutions

Prerequisite:

  • Be sure your devices are within the Bluetooth range (about 33 feet or 10 meters).
  • Universal Clipboard is compatible with the following devices:

Universal Clipboard Compatible Devices

  • Your iPhone or iPad must be running iOS 10 or later and Mac must have macOS Sierra or later.
  • You must be signed in with the same iCloud account both on your Mac and iOS device.
  • Besides, make sure to cut, copy and paste within a short period of time.

Solution #1: Start From The Scratch

In the first solution, we are going to give a fresh start to all the essential things like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Handoff. Besides, we are also going to get rid of the existing Bluetooth files and give a reboot to both the Mac and iPhone or iPad.

Turn Off Bluetooth And Wi-Fi Both On Your Mac and iOS Device

On Mac: Click the Bluetooth button at the top right corner and select Turn Bluetooth Off. Likewise, click on the Wi-Fi icon and select Turn Wi-Fi Off.

Turn Off Bluetooth And WiFi on Mac
On your iOS Device: Click on Settings app → Wi-Fi/Bluetooth and turn it off.

Turn Off WiFi and Bluetooth on iPhone

Disable Handoff Across The Devices

On your Mac: Click on Apple menu → System Preferences → General. Now, uncheck the box for “Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.”

Turn Off Handoff on Mac

On your iDevice: Open Settings app → General → Handoff and then turn off Handoff.

Turn Off Handoff on iPhone

Wipe Out All The Bluetooth Files

Open Finder → Click on Go menu → press “option” key and choose Library → Select Preferences folder → Type in Bluetooth in the search field.

Find all the Bluetooth Files on Mac

Now, select all the files and right click. Then, Move them to the Trash.

Wipe Out All The Bluetooth Files on Mac

Note: To ensure the files have been perfectly wiped out, type in Bluetooth in the search bar. If the files do not show up that means they are gone.

You can also open Terminal → and paste the following command:

sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist

Then, hit return. Next, you have to enter the password and hit return again. It will confirm that there are no such files on your device.

Use Mac Terminal to Check Wipe Out All The Bluetooth Files

Next, restart both your Mac and iOS device. Once they have rebooted, turn on Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Handoff.

Now, copy anything on your Mac and try to paste it on your iOS device to see if the problem is gone.

Solution #2: Software Update

If the Universal Clipboard is still not functioning as expected, go for the software update. The reason why I recommend it is because the problem could well be due to a hidden bug. And only a software update will be able to fix it perfectly.

The process of updating macOS has slightly changed in Mojave. If you need help, head over to this guide.

To get it done on iOS devices, go to Settings → General → Software Update and then download and install the update.

Tap on Settings then General then Software Update on iPhone

After the update, check out if you have succeeded in solving the problem or not.

Author: JIGNESH PADHIYAR