Sidecar keeps Losing Connection or Locking Up

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Jono-apple Author

Level 1

11 points

Sidecar keeps Losing Connection or Locking Up

iPad Pro 12.9" 2nd gen (iOS 15.1)
MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) (OSX 12.1)
USB-C cable from Macbook Pro to iPad
Bluetooth enabled
Same WiFi network

Sidecar works from 1-5 minute/s then does one of the following:

a) On iPad says connection lost, reconnect?

b) iPad hangs

Am editing HTML document in PyCharm (on MacBook) and auto-reloading (on iPad) using Chrome.

Both applications are latest versions.

When (a) occurs the mouse can be moved from the MacBook to right (iPad screen) however the cursor does not appear on the iPad and not action can be taken.

Only option for a+b is to stop Sidecar and restart Sidecar.

@apple this is a great tool, any ideas please?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.1

Posted on Dec 30, 2021 9:07 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jono-apple Author

Level 1

11 points

Dec 31, 2021 10:24 PM in response to Jono-apple

Hi all

For my particular issue I have a solution. BTW I was connecting via cable not WiFi/Bluetooth.

To fix my hanging/lockup problem I changed my default browser from Chrome (latest OSX version) to Safari and not had an issue all day.

Thx!

Jon

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Answer 2

c_luc9

Community Specialist

Dec 31, 2021 3:37 PM in response to Jono-apple

Hello Jono-apple,

Thanks for reaching out to us in Apple Support Communities about using Sidecar with your MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. We're happy to help by looking into this more!

Are you connecting via USB-C or are you connected wirelessly? If you start using your iPad as a second display (wirelessly) and then plug in the USB-C cable, you will receive a message on the iPad that it's switching over to USB, this is how you can know for sure you're connected via the cable and not connected wirelessly. If you still have connection issues when using a cable, it may be the cable you're using. Try using a different USB-C able to see if that helps.

Also, try updating your iPad to iOS 15.2 to see if that helps. You can see how this is done here:

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

One more thing to check, the iPad Pro 2nd gen has a Lightning connector, not USB-C. Are you using some sort of Lightning to USB-C adapter? If so, that adapter may also sue connection issues.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards.

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Sidecar keeps Losing Connection or Locking Up

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