SideCar unstable in Monterey

Since upgrading to Monterey I find SideCar very unstable. Often when I try to connect it fails after a few seconds. If I retry enough times it usually eventually works, but even they after a while it spontaneously disconnects. I've also seen multiple times where my Mac seemed to think SideCar was still connected, but the SideCar display was not updating.


This used to work stably when I was running Big Sur. I'm also seeing this issue on two different Macs.

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on Oct 29, 2021 5:43 PM

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Posted on Mar 31, 2022 2:20 AM

After update to latest Monterey 12.3 (Mac mini M1) and iPadOS 15.4 (iPad Pro 9.7") I couldn't see Sidecar / Screen Mirroring via USB, though iPad was recognized just fine on Mac. I had a few chats with support, glad I didn't proceeded with reinstalling macOS (as they suggested after a few other options weren't successful).


Solution, that came to my mind and did the trick was actually very simple:


>> Reseting trusted devices on iPad

About the 'Trust This Computer' alert on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch – Apple Support (UK)


I assume there is some "handshake" problem after update (?) (whether on macOS or iPadOS, can't tell).

Hopefully it will help others (I will report this also on chat support to add this to their guidelines, before proposing to reinstall any of the devices).

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68 replies

Dec 5, 2021 10:14 AM in response to aprilten

Yes, I hope they fix it, too. Running everything from iOS is not an option if you are using a Mac app - and even if there is an iOS counterpart it is usually rather low on features compared to the capability and precision of a Mac app.

I thought the problem had gone away when I had a couple of days with it working flawlessly, after restarting both devices - and now it is broken again. I have no idea what I might have done to reverse the improvement, sadly. It is worse than ever now, freezing every minute or so. And when you are constructing a film on Premiere Pro, you notice one item is not appearing on the preview and end up pressing Command-Z several times to get back to the stage where it disappeared. When you finally realise that it hasn't disappeared in reality, you have gone much further back in the actions you have performed and find you have destroyed the last few minutes of work. It's three steps forward and two steps back this way.


Apple should fix this, without my having to spend hours getting my iPad to work properly in all areas after a reset. It came on the heels of a system upgrade, so it is Apple that has broken it. So Apple needs to make it work again. After all, Apple developers must know what, under the bonnet, might be causing problems, so they are in a much better position to sort it out.

Jan 20, 2022 5:59 AM in response to djamconway

I have some good news and some bad news.


The good news is that for the last couple of days I've been having a far more stable Sidecar connection between my MBP and the Ipad Pro


The "bad" news is that a week ago I've upgraded to a new 14" MBP with M1 Pro chip. (Note: I was in the market for an upgrade anyway. I did not upgrade simply because I was having problems with the Sidecar-connection like most of us here)


I know this isn't anything close to solution for the vast majority here, but it's some info I wanted to share.


Who knows the Apple Support-people who follow this thread could do something useful with the info.


Feb 9, 2022 6:50 AM in response to Qythyx

Having the same problem since Christmas when I got the 9th generation iPad as a gift. Been using it as a second screen with my Mac M1 and connection is lackluster. Sometimes it holds well for hours on end, most times the iPad freezes randomly after only a few minutes of use. The iPad screen freezes and I can't drag my mouse pointer into it either. Disconnecting it from the display options doesn't fix it, the iPad stays frozen until (I suppose) the connection times out, after which I get the "Unable to connect iPad" notice.


The issue replicates both via wifi and lightning. Restarting the Mac fixes it temporarily but it starts happening again after barely a couple of uses.

Feb 15, 2022 5:29 PM in response to Qythyx

I have the latest Macbook 16 Pro M1Max and iPad Pro and this sidecar is extremely unstable. iPad is on the latest 15.1 and Macbook pro is updated to the latest. I have best cable that supports thunderbolt 4. Everytime I try to connect connection option does not exist. I have to restart iPad 3 times to make it visible. Also I have to click multiple times to make it work.

May 11, 2022 12:55 AM in response to Qythyx

Another annoyed Apple customer.

Had no issues with my 2017 MBP 16 inch running sidecar, even using Monterey. Now I've updated to the new 14inch MBP M1 pro, the whole sidecar issue is evidently clear. Regardless of wired or wireless connection, it constantly drops connection and eventually disconnects.

How can Apple just ignore this "advertised" and much hyped functionality of the Apple ecosystem?


Come on Apple.. get a grip and sort the problem or at least, take the first steps and acknowledge the issue to your paying customers.

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SideCar unstable in Monterey

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