Support
Most transfer problems come down to what the camera can see. These are the things worth trying first.
The transfer is slow
Light through a camera is a narrower channel than Wi-Fi, so this is partly physics. But speed depends heavily on how well your camera can resolve the sending screen, so it is often improvable:
- Move the devices closer together, so the pattern fills more of the camera view.
- Hold both steady — propping them against something beats holding both by hand.
- Turn the sending screen’s brightness up.
- Avoid glare. A window or lamp reflecting off the sending screen costs more speed than anything else.
- Clean the camera lens. It matters more than people expect.
Paying for Pro does not make the optical channel faster. It raises the file-size limit; it cannot change physics, and we will not pretend otherwise.
“I can’t see the sending screen”
The receiver lost sight of the pattern. Point the camera back at it and the transfer continues from where it was — progress already made is not thrown away.
The transfer failed near the end
LumeDrop verifies a file before saving it, and refuses to save one that does not verify. That is deliberate: a silently corrupted file is worse than a failed transfer. Try again, ideally with the devices closer together and steadier.
“One of these apps needs updating”
The two devices are running versions that speak different protocol versions. Update both. We refuse to guess at an incompatible format rather than risk a corrupted transfer.
Nothing happens when I scan the code
Scan from inside LumeDrop — open Send, then scan. If you are scanning with the system camera and nothing offers to open the app, the app may not be installed on that device, or the other device may be showing a code in the offline format. Either way, scanning inside the app works.
Which devices work
iPhone and iPad on iOS 18 or later, Macs on macOS 15 or later with a camera, and Android 10 or later. Sending needs a screen; receiving needs a camera.
Is receiving really free
Yes, permanently, with no file-count limit. Encryption, verification and reliability are never paid features. Pro raises the size limit for sending and adds power-user features.
Restoring a purchase
Pro is a one-time purchase tied to your App Store or Google Play account. Use Restore Purchase in Settings on a new device. That step needs a connection, because it talks to the store — not to us. We run no licence server and have no record of who bought anything.
Get in touch
If you are reporting a failed transfer, the most useful details are: both device models, both OS versions, roughly how large the file was, and what the lighting was like. We have no analytics, so what you tell us is genuinely all we know.
Security
To report a vulnerability, write to security@lumedrop.app. Please do not open a public issue for anything affecting the confidentiality or integrity of transfers.