Disconnect a Mac from an iPhone: Let’s first explore how they connected
How to Disconnect a Mac from your iPhone
There are a bunch of ways you can disconnect your Mac and iPhone and you can follow these methods to remove your Mac directly from an iPhone.
Method #1: Remove Mac from your Apple ID
The foundation behind pairing two or more Apple devices has revolved around the company’s iCloud network. To use and benefit from iCloud and its syncing features, it’s required that all of your Apple devices are signed in to the same Apple account. So, if you’re looking to separate your Mac from your iPhone entirely, the best way to do it will be to remove the macOS device directly from your Apple account.
To remove a Mac from your Apple ID, open the Settings app and tap on your Apple ID card at the top.
Now, scroll down and locate your Mac or MacBook from the list of devices at the bottom.
Inside Device Info, tap on Remove from account.
You will now see a prompt on the screen asking you to confirm. Tap on Remove inside this prompt.
Apple will now remove the Mac from your account and it will no longer be paired with your iPhone.
If you don’t want to remove a Mac entirely from your Apple account but want to unpair some aspects of the iPhone from it, then you can consult the methods below.
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Method #2: Disconnect your Mac via Bluetooth
To unfair your Mac from your iPhone via Bluetooth, open the Settings app on iOS and select Bluetooth.
Inside Bluetooth, turn on the Bluetooth toggle at the top.
If you can locate your Mac from the list under “My Devices”, tap on the i icon adjacent to it.
On the next screen, tap on Forget This Device.
To confirm, tap on Forget Device in the prompt that appears at the bottom.
Your Mac will now be removed from the list of previously paired Bluetooth devices on your iPhone.
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Method #3: Disable phone calls on Mac
Apple allows users to make and receive phone calls from their iPhone directly on a Mac. While this works when both your iPhone and Mac share the same Apple ID, you can disable this feature individually if you don’t want to remove either of these devices from your Apple account like on method #1.
To disable phone calls from reaching your Mac, open the Settings app and select Phone.
Inside Phone, tap on Calls on Other Devices.
On the next screen, turn off the toggle adjacent to your Mac under “Allow Calls On” to disable the call forwarding feature on the selected device. You may still be able to make and receive phone calls on other devices you may have enabled on this list.
If you want your calls to only be answerable on your iPhone, you can disable the Allow Calls on Other Devices toggle at the top.
Method #4: Turn off Text Message Forwarding to your Mac
Apple allows users to configure their Mac’s Messages app in such a way that they receive every SMS and iMessages message from their iPhones directly on a Mac. If you want to disconnect your Mac and prevent it from receiving your SMS messages, you can do that by disabling the Text Message Forwarding feature on your iPhone.
To disable Text Message Forwarding, open the Settings app on your iPhone and select Messages.
Inside Messages, scroll down and tap on Text Message Forwarding.
On this screen, turn off the toggle adjacent to your Mac.
This should stop your Mac from receiving SMS messages that are delivered on your iPhone.
Method #5: Enable Notes to save locally on iPhone
If you use the same Apple account on your iPhone and Mac and have turned on iCloud for all the apps and services on your device, then all the notes that you create on the Mac also get copied over to the iPhone and vice versa. If you want to keep your iPhone notes within the device itself without syncing it to the Mac, you will need to save them locally on iOS.
To disable notes syncing over to the Mac, open the Settings app and select Notes.
Inside Notes, turn on the “On My iPhone” Account toggle.
This should make sure all the notes that you create on your iPhone stay saved on this device and aren’t accessible on any other device including your Mac.
Method #6: Disable Handoff on iOS
To allow users to multitask with their devices, Apple offers a Handoff feature. Handoff, as the name aptly says, lets you start a task on your iPhone and continue it on your Mac and vice versa. If you, however, don’t like this feature and don’t want your Mac to display an ongoing task or content from your iPhone, you can disable Handoff on iOS.
To turn off the Handoff feature on your iPhone, open the Settings app and select General.
Inside General, tap on AirPlay & Handoff.
On the next screen, turn off the Handoff toggle.
You will no longer see Handoff banners on this iPhone, nor will you see the Handoff icon on your Mac from this particular iPhone.
Method #7: Turn off AirDrop to prevent your iPhone from showing on Mac
AirDrop is a nifty feature that is designed to send and receive files and content between iPhones, iPads, and Macs instantly over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. You use AirDrop to share files, photos, videos, audio, links, text, documents, contacts, locations, voice notes, and items available inside an app on your Mac or iPhone. If you don’t use Airdrop and don’t want your iPhone to show up inside the Mac when sharing files, then you can turn it off.
To prevent your iPhone from showing up inside Mac’s Airdrop window, launch the Control Center and tap and hold on the Wi-Fi icon or Bluetooth icon.
This should expand the network menu inside the Control Center which will now show more options. If the AirDrop icon is blue, it means that it’s been enabled to receive from other devices. To disable Airdrop, tap on the Airdrop icon.
In the overflow menu that appears, select Receiving off.
You have successfully disabled AirDrop on your iPhone and it will no longer show up on the Finder app or Airdrop window on your Mac.
How to Disconnect an iPhone from your Mac
In the previous section, we explained all that you can do to disconnect your Mac and iPhone on iOS. If you want to unpair the two devices on macOS, you can follow the methods below.
Method #1: Disconnect the USB cable connecting to iPhone
Method #2: Disable iPhone visibility via Wi-Fi
Your iPhone should stop appearing on your Mac’s Finder app unless both devices are connected with a USB-to-Lightning cable.
Method #3: Stop Apple from syncing data to iCloud
Inside System Preferences, select Apple ID.
When your Apple account loads up, click on the iCloud tab from the left sidebar.
On the right-hand panel, you should see a list of services that you can sync via iCloud. Here, uncheck the boxes next to services that you don’t want iCloud to sync data from your Mac.
When you disable iCloud for an app,
Method #4: Turn off Handoff on your Mac
Inside System Preferences, select General.
At the bottom of the window, uncheck the Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices box.
This should disable Handoff on your Mac.
Method #5: Disable Calls From iPhone on Mac
When the Preferences window opens, select the Settings tab at the top and uncheck the Calls From iPhone box.
This should prevent your iPhone from forwarding calls on the Mac.
Method #6: Disable text messages from iPhone from the Messages app
Now, inside the Preferences window, click on the iMessage tab at the top. To turn on SMS messages on Mac, uncheck all your phone numbers under “You can be reached for messages at”.
To make sure the messages you send from your Mac are sent from your Apple ID, select an iCloud address instead of a phone number inside the “Start new conversations from” menu.
When you do this, none of your iPhone’s SMS messages will show up on your Mac.
Method #7: Disconnect Mac from iPhone’s mobile hotspot
Method #8: Unpair your iPhone via Bluetooth
Inside System Preferences, select Bluetooth.
On the window that opens, click on Turn Bluetooth On, if Bluetooth isn’t already enabled.
On the right side pane, you should see all the devices you have connected to your Mac go. To forget your iPhone and unpair it, click on the x icon adjacent to your iPhone inside “Devices”.
A prompt will appears asking you to confirm your action. Click on Remove to unpair the iPhone from your Mac.
Once done, your iPhone won’t automatically connect to your Mac, even if Bluetooth on both devices is enabled.
Method #9: Prevent Mac from showing up on Airdrop
Another way you can disable Airdrop is by opening the Finder app and clicking on the Airdrop tab on the left sidebar.
Inside the AirDrop window, click on the menu next to “Allow me to be discovered by:” and select No One.
Method #10: Remove iPhone from Apple ID using System Preferences
Inside System Preferences, select Apple ID.
On the next window, select the iPhone you want to remove from the left sidebar.
When the right pane loads up, click on Remove from account at the bottom.
In the prompt that appears, click on Remove to confirm your decision.
The selected iPhone will now be disconnected from your Mac and removed from your Apple account. If you want to use this iPhone, you may have to use another Apple account to sign into it.
FAQs
How do I transfer data from Mac to iPhone before disconnecting?
To move files from your Mac to an iPhone you can either use a USB-to-Lightning cable or AirDrop, although you should prefer the latter to get things done swiftly and instantly.
Why is my iPhone connecting disconnecting itself?
If the two devices are connected via a USB-to-Lightning cable, then the post practical cause for this is an unfit cable or dirt in Mac’s or iPhone’s port. You can try cleaning this cable/port to see if things work and if not, you can swap the cable for a new one.
What is the purpose of removing a device from Apple ID?
Removing your iPhone or Mac will detach them from your Apple account which will in turn stop content on either device from getting synced with one another. When disconnected, both devices will have separate identities and all continuity features will be lost.
How do I reconnect my Mac from my iPhone?
You would need to get hold of your MacBook and sign into it with the same Apple ID as your iPhone. Apple’s iCloud would then automatically relink the devices and start reflecting them on your iPhone.
How do I stop Safari from syncing data between iPhone and Mac?
You can do that by turning off the Handoff feature on your iPhone or Mac by following the relevant methods from above.
How can I see where my Apple ID is being used?
When you access your iPhone’s Settings app or Mac’s System Preferences, you can check your Apple ID and see all the devices that are connected to the same account.
That’s all there is to know about disconnecting your Mac from your iPhone.
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