Continuity Camera: A Handy Tool for Apple Device Users

For those who haven’t heard of Continuity Camera, it is a feature that is designed to enhance the experience between Apple devices. It allows users to use their iPhone cameras to take photos or scan documents, and then save it directly on their Macs. It’s quite a handy tool as it allows you to save time and ensures you can continue working on a project without any distractions.

How to Use Continuity Camera

To use Continuity Camera, there are two important requirements you need to meet. First, you have to be signed into your Mac and iPhone using the same Apple ID. Second, you also need to be connected to the same WiFi network.

Take note, though, that as of this writing, Continuity Camera only works with apps created by Apple, including Notes, Mail, and Pages. However, third-party developers are now working to release updates for their apps to be compatible with it.

To use Continuity Camera on your Mac, follow these steps:

1. Make sure your iPhone is unlocked.
2. On your Mac, right-click in a Pages or Notes document. If you are using Mail, right-click in the body of an email.
3. From the options that show, select either Scan Document or Take Photo. It should then open the Camera app on your iPhone.
4. If you choose Take Photo, go on and snap a photo of a file or a document. If you are not satisfied with your shot, you can tap Retake to take another one.
5. While taking a photo, you will notice that on your Mac, a placeholder appears in your document. From there, you can attach the photo you’ve taken if you want to.
6. If you select the Scan Document option, the Camera app on your iPhone will find the edges of a document and start a scan. The document will then be saved as a PDF file. You may also scan as many pages as you want and save them into a single PDF file. Just like taking a photo with Continuity Camera, a placeholder will also appear in the Mac document you are working. You can decide whether or not to attach the scanned document to it.

Continuity Camera Not Compatible with an App

As mentioned above, Continuity Camera only supports Apple-created apps as of the moment. There is, however, another way to use it with apps like Numbers, Keynote, and Finder.

First, navigate to the Edit menu and select Insert from iPhone. You should see the Take Photo and Scan Document options there. While Continuity Camera is often grayed out there, it’s still worth trying.

But what if Continuity Camera is not working on your Apple devices? We suggest you sit back and continue reading because there are a few ways to help you make this handy utility work efficiently again.

Continuity Camera Not Working

So, how do you fix Continuity Camera if it’s not working? Give the following solutions a try:

1. Switch Bluetooth and WiFi On/Off on Your Apple Devices.

For Continuity Camera to work, it is required to switch on Bluetooth and WiFi. However, if they are already turned on but you still can’t use the tool, try refreshing your Mac and your iPhone. It has worked for many Mac users, and we hope it works for you, too.

To refresh your WiFi and Bluetooth, do the following:

1. On your iPhone: Go to Settings > WiFi. Switch it off. Do the same for Bluetooth, but this time, go to Settings > Bluetooth.
2. On your Mac: Click on the Bluetooth and WiFi icons in the upper left portion of the screen. Switch them off.
3. Restart both your devices.
4. Once they have completely restarted, switch on Bluetooth and WiFi again.
5. Try using Continuity Camera again. Open any Continuity Camera-supported app and right-click on the place where you like to insert an image. Select Take Photo or Scan Document. Next, use your iPhone to take a photo of a document. You’ll see that the photo will appear in the file you are working with on your Mac.

2. Sign Out of Your iCloud Account and Sign In Again.

Make sure that your iPhone and your Mac are both signed into the same Apple accounts. If you have verified that you are using the same account, sign out and sign back in. For a more detailed guide on how to do it, see below:

1. On your iPhone: Go to Settings. Tap on your name and press the Sign Out button.
2. On your Mac: Access System Preferences > iCloud. Hit Sign Out and confirm.
3. Sign in again with the same Apple account on both devices.
4. Try using Continuity Camera again.

3. Check Your WiFi Connectivity.

If the first two solutions did not work, it is likely that there is something wrong with your WiFi connection. Try rebooting your router; it usually gets the problem fixed. To reboot the router, disconnect it from the power. Wait for 12 seconds and plug it back in.

Once your router has rebooted, use Continuity Camera as you would and see if the problem persists.

4. Clean Your Mac.

Your last and final resort is to simply clean your Mac. Junk files like web and app cache, broken downloads, diagnostic reports, and old system updates might have already built up over time, consuming your drive’s valuable space and keeping tools like Continuity Camera from running.

The best way to get rid of junk files and clean your Mac is to simply download and install Outbyte macAries. This third-party tool does a pretty great job of emptying your trash bins and deleting any unwanted files to restore your Mac’s efficiency.

Wrapping Up

We assume that with these tips, you have finally mastered using Continuity Camera or effectively solved your Continuity Camera-related problems. So, which of the workarounds above have you found effective? It would be great to know them. Share your thoughts below.