Sidecar not working on Big Sur and iPad OS

Is you iPad compatible?

Sidecar system requirements

Sidecar requires a compatible Mac using macOS Catalina or later and a compatible iPad using iPadOS 13 or later.

• iPad Pro: all models
• iPad (6th generation) or newer
• iPad mini (5th generation) or newer
• iPad Air (3rd generation) or newer

Additional requirements

• Both devices must be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID using two-factor authentication.
• To use Sidecar wirelessly, both devices must be within 10 meters (30 feet) of each other and have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Handoff turned on. Also make sure that the iPad is not sharing its cellular connection and the Mac is not sharing its Internet connection.
• To use Sidecar over USB, make sure that your iPad is set to trust your Mac.

THIS SOLUTION WORKED FOR ME!

TLDR - Sign out of iCloud on your iPad and sign back in.

If you're trying to use your iPad as a 2nd monitor with a MacBook and Sidecar, sign out of iCloud on your iPad and sign back in. You'll receive prompts on your Apple devices to confirm the sign-in on the iPad. Afterwards, go to your MacBook where you should see a notification badge on your System Preferences. Click into Apple ID where you'll be prompted to enter your iPad passcode as well as your MacBook password. Once everything goes through, you should be able to go back to Sidecar in System Preferences and see your device as an option.

Hope this helps!

I was getting so frustrated with this issue too. I didn't try the iCloud sign-out/in method, but did this instead:

1) Restart Macbook

2) On iPad, go to Bluetooth Settings, click on MacBook Pro, and then Forget Device

3) On Macbook, go to Bluetooth Settings and remove the iPad by clicking the x on the right side when you hover over iPad. iPad will disappear from the Devices list, but should shortly reappear with the “Connect” button

5) On iPad Bluetooth Settings, your MacBook Pro should also now show up under Other Devices. Click on it, and you should get a Connection Request pop up on your MacBook Pro. Click Connect.

6) iPad should now show up available to connect using either:

• Display options from the Menu Bar
• Sidecar Preferences or
• Display Preferences

Good luck!!

I'm pretty certain the option you're looking for is found in the following screenshot:

Alternatively, you can drag and drop the display option directly from within the "control center" in the menu bar.

To turn off/on sidecar from that point, you just click on your iPad from the "display" menu bar dropdown

I didn't know Catalina supported it. My Catalina Mac doesn't support it.

Interestingly, mine didn't work, either. It worked before.

I signed out of iCloud on the iPad and back in. The iPad shows up, but I cannot connect to it.

iPad 6th generation, 14.2, signed in with same Apple ID with 2 factor identification as mac mini 2018 running Big Sur 11.0.1, one foot away from the mini, same wifi network, bluetooth on on both, Handoff on on both, both devices show up in my account, and I get the same as the screenshot above.

It worked fine on Catalina.

Similar issues here after installing Big Sur. Biggest issue is using the iPad 6th gen for sidecar as a wired connection to my iMac 2018 (i5 6 core). Weirdly get a cyan square middle of the iPad screen, which according to apple support when connected with me showed as a desktop space (not accessible locally though). Resetting iCloud setting provided temporary relief for a couple of days and this has now reverted back to giving the cyan square on the iPad when wired. It seems more tolerant of connecting via WiFi, which works as long as you have power, with fewer sporadic disconnections.

Combined with poorer boot and login performance so far, for me Big Sur has proven to be a big mistake to have installed.

Same issue. On macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 and trying to connect to an iPad Pro 12.9 (3rd generation). This was working for me in Catalina through AirPlay before I updated, but now it won't work wired or wireless.

Someone mentioned before and worked for me: turn off your Macbook. logout iPad from iCloud totally; restart it, log in to iCloud again. Restart your Macbook. Check if they are in the same wifi, bluetooth and handoff on. Go to control center>display and it should show the iPad. Pick ir for mirroring/sidecar

Someone mentioned before and worked for me: turn off your Macbook. logout iPad from iCloud totally; restart it, log in to iCloud again. Restart your Macbook. Check if they are in the same wifi, bluetooth and handoff on. Go to control center>display and it should show the iPad. Pick ir for mirroring/sidecar

This worked for me. Just signing out and back in did not.

Tried that with one of my iPads (neither work for Sidecar) and my MBP. No Joy. And then tried it again, the second time removing both Bluetooth pairings and then restarting both devices before pairing anew. Still no Sidecar for me...

Applied all the suggestions I read on this page to solve the Sidecar problem and it did not work for me either. I still get the same message as above. Loggen in an out of Cloud, restart both the MacBookPro and the iPadPro, both devices on the same network, 5 cm apart from each other, to no avail.

OK finally it works. I noted that an older iPad which I still have and use occasionally, was listed with the same name as the new iPad Pro (which I used with Sidecar as the second screen while having Catalina). I removed the old iPad from the iCloud account, and after that I could connect the iPad Pro with the laptop and use it as a second screen. Whether the deletion of the old iPad was the solution or not, I cannot tell. I only know that in Catalina this was not a problem.

An ex exercise in futility. Didn't change the behavior on my iPad Pro (gen 1) and MacBook Pro 15in (2019). Can use sidecar when wired but not when wifi/bluetooth are on. No change in behavior after signing out of iCloud as described above on iPad Pro. Apple states they're aware of the issue but offered no resolution.

Update: This solution on its own didn't resolve the issue for me. However, it led me down the right path.

Signing out of iCloud and back in as written above didn't change the behavior on my iPad Pro and MacBook Pro 15in (2019). I can use sidecar when wired but not when wifi/bluetooth are on. Apple states they're aware of the issue but offered no resolution.

While I was in my iCloud devices list, I saw that I had two iPad Pros with the same name (it was replaced). I removed the old one of the same name and was immediately able to connect to sidecar wirelessly again.

One thing to note, this was not an issue in Catalina, only an issue immediately after the Big Sur upgrade. It's been a few months since the iPad was originally replaced and I use sidecar daily.

Hope this helps add some clarity.