How to use Magic Handoff in AirBuddy

Magic Handoff transfers Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad between Macs running AirBuddy 3. You can send peripherals away from the Mac they’re connected to or hijack them from another nearby Mac.

Set up Magic Handoff

1. Install AirBuddy 3 on every participating Mac.
2. Open AirBuddy settings and select Devices.
3. Turn on Enable Magic Handoff on each Mac.
4. Keep Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on, and allow AirBuddy access to the local network.

Macs using the same Apple Account can connect automatically. To use separate Apple Accounts, pair the Macs manually.

AirBuddy 3 uses a new Magic Handoff protocol. Every participating Mac must run AirBuddy 3, even if an existing AirBuddy 2 pairing was preserved during the upgrade.

Transfer peripherals with the picker

Assign a shortcut to Magic Handoff in Shortcuts settings, then press it to open the picker. Choose the destination Mac and one or more peripherals, then confirm the transfer. Progress and any errors appear in the Action HUD.

You can use the keyboard to complete the operation: use the arrow keys to move between controls, press Space to select peripherals, and press Return to confirm.

Transfer from the Dashboard

Open the AirBuddy Dashboard, Control-click a supported peripheral, then choose the transfer command and destination Mac. You can also connect to a peripheral currently associated with another Mac to bring it to the current Mac.

Use Magic Handoff in Shortcuts

AirBuddy 3 provides two actions:

• Transfer Peripherals to Mac sends one or more peripherals from the current Mac to a selected Mac.
• Hijack Peripherals from Mac brings one or more peripherals from a nearby Mac to the current Mac.

These actions can be combined with other actions in the Shortcuts app to build work or desk automations.

Improve transfer reliability

• Connect each peripheral to every participating Mac with its USB cable at least once.
• Keep all Macs awake, nearby, and running the latest version of AirBuddy.
• Use the local network transport when possible.
• If a VPN, firewall, or security policy blocks direct local network connections, turn on Use Bluetooth Low Energy for Magic Handoff in Devices settings.

A sleeping Mac can take longer to respond. A Mac laptop might not wake over the network while it’s disconnected from power.

Magic Keyboard with Touch ID

A Magic Keyboard with Touch ID can be transferred between compatible Macs. Fingerprints remain securely associated with the Mac where they were registered and aren’t available to AirBuddy or another Mac.