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OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

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Re: OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

#121

Post by supreme_berry »

perryizgr8 wrote: post #117
supreme_berry wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was traveling from Sharm El Sheikh through Sinai to Israel in the bus I’ve transferred 40GB of photos and videos to my friends on iPhone 6S. Imagine this on Android 5 years ago - they (Google) only managed to copy AirDrop with same functionality (wifi + bluetooh) only in 2020 with Nearby Share.

Samsung phones have had this feature for years. So if you had the top of the line androids, you would have been able to do the same thing you did with your Iphones. I see many people make the mistake of comparing $1000 Iphones to the cheapest $200 android phones and use that as evidence of Iphone superiority. I guess we have Apple's marketing and brand to thank for that.

Never heard of such features on Android or Samsung despite my Android friends use them whole life and AirDrop was one of the reasons some of them switched to iPhones. There were some things where you needed to put smartphones back to back and it worked probably in one of 100 times but nothing like AirDrop. That’s why Google failed with wifi direct and other childish approaches.

And iPhones with AirDrop cost like 100 usd for 5s

Re: OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

#122

Post by lotsofpulp »

shinazueli wrote: post #116
lotsofpulp wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Specifically with Homekit, a wired Apple TV and good quality home networking equipment with wired access points makes a world of difference. I use Aruba Instant On, but I have had good experiences with Orbi at higher prices and Linksys Velop at the lower end from Costco. Also, if you have a lot of Homekit stuff, it is best to use devices that have their own Zwave or Zigbee or whatever hubs that are then connected via…

I actually have the exact opposite experience. I have tried multiple different brands, all of which work JUST FINE with any other device, Android, internet connected devices, even my iPhones will work in every single room of my house. Literally nothing I can do can make every HomePod on my network “just work”. I would pay literally twice the amount of money for a HomePod with a fucking Ethernet port. Siri itself work…

Yes, it would be much nicer if HomePods had a wired option.

Re: OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

#123

Post by perryizgr8 »

supreme_berry wrote: post #121
perryizgr8 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung phones have had this feature for years. So if you had the top of the line androids, you would have been able to do the same thing you did with your Iphones. I see many people make the mistake of comparing $1000 Iphones to the cheapest $200 android phones and use that as evidence of Iphone superiority. I guess we have Apple's marketing and brand to thank for that.

Never heard of such features on Android or Samsung despite my Android friends use them whole life and AirDrop was one of the reasons some of them switched to iPhones. There were some things where you needed to put smartphones back to back and it worked probably in one of 100 times but nothing like AirDrop. That’s why Google failed with wifi direct and other childish approaches. And iPhones with AirDrop cost like 100…

> Never heard of such features on Android or Samsung

S beam used to exist in Galaxy S4, which launched in 2013. It used NFC and peer to peer wifi to transfer files at high speeds.

Re: OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

#124

Post by vinnymac »

Retr0id wrote: post #91
vinnymac wrote: post #22

I would be interested in an overview and comparison of all the available options to solve this kind of problem. Here is a list of some services I’ve used successfully in the past. SnapDrop - Site: https://snapdrop.net/ - Source: https://github.com/RobinLinus/snapdrop ShareDrop - Site: https://www.sharedrop.io/ - Source: https://github.com/szimek/sharedrop FilePizza - Site: https://file.pizza/ - Source: https://github…

The original WebWormhole, from before its name got stolen and productized, is still available and open source: https://webwormhole.io/ https://github.com/saljam/webwormhole

Yes, thank you for this! I honestly couldn't remember the name, and found the other one and was surprised it said it was closed, as I thought I remembered it being open. Appreciate you providing the original.

Re: OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

#125

Post by vinnymac »

rektide wrote: post #67
Gadiguibou wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can also take a look at the following: Croc: - Site: https://schollz.com/blog/croc6/ - Source: https://github.com/schollz/croc Magic Wormhole: - Source: https://github.com/magic-wormhole/magic-wormhole Send (A fork of Mozilla's Send): - Site: https://send.vis.ee/ - Source: https://github.com/timvisee/send - CLI: https://gitlab.com/timvisee/ffsend I've personally used Snapdrop and Croc before and they're both very…

Note, none of these options seem to include device-to-device discovery/rendezvous. AirDrop's use of wireless technology to discover (bluetooth) & connect (wifi) devices remains a great frontier few have explored or tapped. Sad.

It would be great to see something like OpenDrop garner more support and unify AirDrop usage across all major operating systems. Unfortunately for now it is only available for use with macOS and iOS.

Edit: Apparently some support for linux is possible.

> As AirDrop exclusively runs over Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL), OpenDrop is only supported on macOS or on Linux systems running an open re-implementation of AWDL such as OWL.

Re: OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

#126

Post by tinus_hn »

lxgr wrote: post #95
fosefx wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I understood their paper[1] correctly you can just use a popular phone number that a person walking by is likely to have in their contacts, like an emergency line number. My mobile telco's SIM comes with a couple of contacts on it like their customer support line. I don't know anything about AirDrop, but I assume this will work. [1]: https://www.usenix.org/conference/usenixsecurity21/presentat...

As far as I understand the protocol, you'd need a certificate signed by Apple in order to be able to masquerade as that contact in somebody's contact list, and Apple only signs these after phone number or email confirmation.

> We support contacts-only devices by using extracted AirDrop credentials (keys and certificates) from macOS via our keychain extractor.

This should make it clear that you can’t just claim any phone number or email address.

Re: OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

#127

Post by BeFlatXIII »

copperx wrote: post #83
BeFlatXIII wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before the pandemic, one of my friends used to have a hobby of going to bars and conventions and AirDropping pictures of ducks to strangers who left their AirDrop turned on.

Was it really ducks, or was it an autocorrection?

They were ducks. Mallard, wood duck, those Chinese ducks with the fancy feathers, he had them all.

Re: OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

#128

Post by atian »

GeekyBear wrote: post #111
spicybright wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It either "just works" or "just doesn't work"

I've seen one of the Bluetooth guys from Google Glass say that it's perfectly normal in the industry to silently restart the Bluetooth stack before every connection attempt. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26647981 I guess Apple should adopt that too, since toggling Airplane mode on and off is the usual fix for issues with services layered on top of Bluetooth?

Heh “should”

Re: OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

#129

Post by quyleanh »

grishka wrote: post #32
quyleanh wrote: post #27

Is there any Airdrop alternative for Android - Android and Android - Windows devices in the same network?

For Android-Android, there's Google's nearby share. It's built into GSF so every single Android phone out there has it out of the box. I reverse engineered enough of its protocol to be able to transfer a file from my phone to my computer over LAN. I really need to do a writeup on this stuff, and also finish my macOS app to be actually usable.

Could you share it?

Re: OpenDrop: An open Apple AirDrop implementation written in Python

#130

Post by slj »

ascagnel_ wrote: post #120
patentatt wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh no, a thousand marketers just had the idea of automatically airdropping advertisements to passers-by. You could even structure it as a lottery-esque type of thing, only giving out good coupons or discounts to random individuals at random intervals, prompting people to loiter and wait for theirs.

You joke, but Apple rolled out some BT-based beacon stuff that allows stores to do some user tracking at short range -- and it can be used to pop local notifications. I don't think stores have gone down the "you're here and we're going to advertise to you" route (since that'd be creepy as hell), but its more grist for the mill.

When I walked into the local Apple store circa 2019 I was greeted with a “welcome to Apple” notification from the Apple store app. It’s the only example I’ve seen of iBeacons being used that I personally know of.
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