How to use Handoff between a Mac and an iPhone

2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

With Handoff you start an email, a note or a web page on one Apple device and continue on another, at the same place. It works between Mac, iPhone and iPad.

These steps are for recent versions of macOS, where the settings app is called System Settings. The pictures are our own screenshots from macOS Tahoe 26 on a MacBook Pro.

Step by step

1. Check the basics

   Both devices need Bluetooth and Wi-Fi switched on, and both must be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple Account. They must be near each other.

   Done

2. 

   Mac: open General, then AirDrop & Continuity

   Click the Apple menu, System Settings, General, and then AirDrop & Continuity.

   Done

3. Mac: turn on Handoff

   The switch is called Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.

   Done

4. iPhone: turn on Handoff

   Open Settings, tap General, tap AirPlay & Continuity and switch on Handoff.

   Done

5. Continue on the Mac

   Open a web page in Safari on the iPhone, for example. On the Mac an extra icon appears in the Dock, marked with a small symbol of the iPhone. Click it. You can also press Command and Tab and choose it in the app switcher.

   Done

6. Continue on the iPhone

   Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the App Switcher. Tap the banner of the app at the bottom.

   Done

Good to know

Apps that support Handoff include Safari, Mail, Notes, Maps, Reminders, Calendar, Contacts, Pages, Numbers and Keynote, and many apps from other makers.

If the icon does not appear, switch Bluetooth and Wi-Fi off and on again on both devices and check that both use the same Apple Account.

A related feature: how to use AirDrop on a Mac.

In short: Handoff on in both settings, same Apple Account, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on. Click the extra icon in the Dock.