How to copy and paste between iPhone and Mac

You copied a link on your iPhone and you want it on your Mac. Or you wrote something on your Mac and need it on your phone. You don't have to email it to yourself. Apple's Universal Clipboard lets you copy on one device and paste on another, and Paste turns that one-off hand-off into a clipboard history that follows you across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Set up Universal Clipboard

Universal Clipboard is Apple's built-in way to copy on one device and paste on another. It's part of Continuity, so there's nothing to install. Each device just needs:

• To be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple Account.

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on, with the devices near each other.

• Handoff enabled — on Mac in System Settings → General → AirDrop & Handoff (turn on Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices), and on iPhone or iPad in Settings → General → AirPlay & Handoff (turn on Handoff).

That's it. Copying and pasting between your devices now works just like it does within a single device.

Copy on one device, paste on another

With Universal Clipboard on, this works exactly like normal copy and paste:

• From iPhone or iPad to Mac: copy on your phone (touch and hold, then Copy), switch to your Mac, and paste with Command-V.

• From Mac to iPhone or iPad: copy on your Mac with Command-C, then long-press where you want it on your phone and tap Paste.

• Between iPhone and iPad: copy on one and paste on the other the same way.

There's one catch. The copied item is only available for a short time, until you copy something else. Universal Clipboard only ever holds the most recent thing you copied.

If it isn't working

If a copy on one device won't paste on the other, it's almost always one of the Continuity requirements. Check that:

• Both devices are signed in to the same Apple Account.

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are on, on both devices.

• Handoff is turned on in settings on each device.

• The devices are near each other, awake, and unlocked.

Turning Handoff off and back on, or restarting both devices, clears most glitches. Universal Clipboard only ever carries your most recent copy, so if you copied something a while ago and it never arrived, copy it again.

When you need more than the last copy

Universal Clipboard is great for a single hand-off, but it forgets everything the moment you copy your next item. Paste keeps a searchable history of everything you copy, synced across your Mac, iPhone, and iPad through your private iCloud, so the link you copied an hour ago, or yesterday, is still right there.

Instead of re-copying the address you pasted this morning, you scroll back and reuse it. You can search your whole history and organize the things you reuse, like templates, links, and snippets, into pinboards that are ready to paste into any app, on any of your devices.

Universal Clipboard moves your last copy from one device to the next. Paste turns that into a clipboard you can actually rely on: everything you copy, on every device, whenever you need it.

Try Paste for free on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Download Paste, or get it on Setapp.