One of the most notable features unveiled at WWDC 2016 was the Universal Clipboard. This is the ability to copy and paste content from one Apple device to another. It works on iOS and macOS devices and is a useful feature if you frequently transfer between Apple devices.
The following devices are compatible with Apple’s Universal Clipboard feature:
- iPhone 5s or later
- ipad pro
- iPad (4th generation) (4th generation)
- iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPod touch (6th generation), or a newer MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- Apple MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
- MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
- Mini Mac (2012 or newer)
- iMac (2012 or newer) (2012 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
This functionality is only available on iOS 10 and macOS Sierra, so make sure you’ve upgraded your device first. Then, follow these steps to activate Universal Clipboard on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac:
- Log in to the same iCloud account across all devices.
- Go here to check your iCloud account on iOS Adjustment , iCloud,
- Open System Preferences> iCloud On macOS, double-check that it matches what you saw in Step 2.
- Turn on Bluetooth on all your devices.
- To accomplish this on iOS, go to Adjustment , Bluetooth,
- To enable Bluetooth on macOS, go to System Preferences > Bluetooth,
- Turn on Wi-Fi on all your devices.
- Navigate to Settings > Wi-Fi on iOS.
- Click on the Wi-Fi icon in the top bar of macOS.
After you have completed all these steps, Universal Copy-Paste should start working. Just copy and paste anything from your iOS device to your Mac. It is not enabled by any toggle or switch. It should be able to function on its own. You can use it to copy text and photos between your iPhone and Mac, although depending on the apps you use, text formatting may not always be kept.
Note that not all devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi network for Universal Clipboard to operate, but Wi-Fi and Bluetooth must be turned on, and the devices must be in close proximity to each other, but Apple specifies that Doesn’t know which is off ‘ means. This was tested on a MacBook Air connected to a Wi-Fi network.