iPad doesn’t see monitor

To clarify…

• You have an external computer monitor that has multiple connections - these being USB-C, USB Type-A and HDMI.
• You have a new iPad (model?) that has a Lightning connector.
• You would like to connect your iPad to the computer monitor - presumably to “mirror” your iPad screen to the connected monitor.

Your iPad can be connected to a computer monitor - but to do so you’ll not be able to directly connect them using just a cable. You will first require an Apple Lightning Digital AV Adapter:

https://store.apple.com/uk/xc/product/MD826ZM/A

The Digital AV Adapter produces the video output from the iPad; the adapter is then connected to your computer monitor using an HDMI 2.0 cable - that should be readily available.

To be absolutely clear, you cannot view video output from your iPad, on your computer monitor, using a Lightning to USB cable.

More information about connecting various models of iPad to external displays can be found in the iPad User Guide. Here is the relevant page of the online User Guide:

Connect iPad to a display with a cable – Apple Support

The full User Guide is a rich source of information, often overlooked, that you may find very useful in understanding your iPad and its capabilities. The iPad User Guide is available both online using a web browser (such as Safari), or as an Apple Books download:

iPad User Guide - Apple Support

https://books.apple.com/book/id1567104892

Thank you for confirming your iPad model. You have the most recent 5th Generation iPad Pro 12.9”.

As previously outlined, the 2021 models of iPad Pro (i.e., the iPad Pro 5) supports USB4/Thunderbolt over USB-C.

You should therefore be able to connect your iPad USB-C port directly to your monitor’s Thunderbolt port using a suitable Thunderbolt cable.

Connect iPad to a display with a cable – Apple Support (UK)

Keith Doherty3 wrote:

The Adapter needs to be POWERED . Where this says Charger it can be a wall socket with USB brick supplied with your phone /iPad.

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/0f9bc8ef-aa42-4f61-84bd-48f68b58f2a7

External power is certainly recommended - but is not technically necessary for operation of the Apple Lightning Digital AV and USB-C Digital AV Multiport adapter - the latter being used by the OP. External power does, of course, remove limitation of battery-operated autonomy of the iPad.

Nonetheless, a very useful diagram to illustrate an HDMI connection setup.

As previously requested, please confirm your precise model of iPad. This information is critical in establishing the capabilities of your iPad. You can find relevant information here:

Settings > General > About

Your illustrated Mac monitor does not have a Lightning port - and even if it did, for technical reasons, it would be of no use in interconnecting your iPad with the monitor.

From left to right in your attached photo…

• Ethernet (LAN)
• Thunderbolt 2
• Firewire 800
• USB Type-A
• USB Type-A
• USB Type-A

As now established, your monitor does not benefit from an HDMI port. Is this a stand-alone monitor, or an iMac computer?

Unless you have a 2021 iPad Pro 11” or iPad Pro 12.9” (please see my initial request that you precisely clarify your iPad model), you will not be able to output video from your iPad to the monitor. Only the 2021 models of iPad Pro support USB4/Thunderbolt; all other models of iPad are reliant upon HDMI for wired monitor connections.

If you have an iPad with a USB-C port (i.e., not Lightning), then you already have the correct adapter with which to connect to the HDMI port of your computer monitor. This adapter cannot be used with a Lightning Port.

Unless I misunderstood your initial post, your iPad has a Lightning port - as I had attempted to clarify by way of the bulleted list in my earlier reply.

Please confirm your precise model of iPad. You can find relevant information here:

Settings > General > About

Absolutely no guarantees that the cable can be used - as specifications do not state any compatibility. Use entirely at your own risk.

You are using a monitor that was not designed to be used with iPad. If your monitor had a Thunderbolt 3 port (which it doesn’t), you would be able to connect your iPad Pro5 without issue.

Insofar as I can provide guidance and links to supporting Apple documentation, you already have all the information that I can provide. Perhaps the most pragmatic and sensible solution is for you to return to the store from which your made your purchase - and received advice concerning compatibility - and ask them to demonstrate a working solution.

The monitor specifications explicitly mention HDMI - so you should be able to connect using the Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter that you already have - and a good quality HDMI 2.0 (or later) cable.

You are presumably aware that unlike PC and Mac computers, with which you are perhaps familiar, iPad doesn’t have the equivalent of an extended desktop - supporting content display across multiple displays.

iPad has Screen Mirroring - that reproduces what you can see on the iPad display - on an external TV or monitor. Screen Mirroring does exactly as its name implies; the iPad screen is reproduced on the external display, preserving both the content and aspect ratio of the iPad screen. When using a wide (~16:9 aspect ratio) screen, you are going to see black bars to the left and right of visible screen.

AirPlay extends capabilities of iPad - permitting display of playing media content (either download or streamed) to an external TV or monitor, at full resolution and aspect ratio of the source material, independently of the iPad screen. This capability, however, does not extend to other Apps such as video conferencing.

Also consider that in a touch-UI environment, an extended desktop would make no sense; you would not be able to interact with Apps that were only visible on the external monitor.

The Adapter needs to be POWERED . Where this says Charger it can be a wall socket with USB brick supplied with your phone /iPad.