universal control not working

jefyd wrote:

Every switch is turned on on both Mac and iPad, both are on the same wi-fi, both have blue tooth on, but there is no sign of it working.

Can you verify you have updated both the macOS and iOS to the current release:

Universal Control system requirements

Universal Control requires a compatible Mac using macOS Monterey 12.3 or later and a compatible iPad using iPadOS 15.4 or later:

Universal Control: Use a single keyboard and mouse between Mac and iPad - Apple Support

Every switch is turned on on both Mac and iPad, both are on the same wi-fi, both have blue tooth on, but there is no sign of it working.

I have the exact same situation. MacBook Air m1 and iPad 8th generation. Have turned both off and on three times, still does not work.

One more step is needed:

1. Click Apple icon in upper left
2. Select System Preferences
3. Click Displays
4. Click Universal Control in lower right
5. Check first two boxes

Allow your cursor and keyboard to move between my nearby Mac or iPad

Push through the edge of a display to connect to a nearby Mac or iPad

6. Click Done

If does not work, restart both devices and all should be working.

Here is what worked for me:

1. Enable all the settings
2. Click Control Center icon at the top right
3. Under the Display section click the carrot (arrow pointing to the right)
4. You will see the option to "Link keyboard and mouse to:"
5. Select your device to connect to
6. It should now be connected.
7. Go into Display settings under System Preferences and move your other device (for me it was my iPad) to a good position

Should be all good. For me getting the iPad in the right virtual space in the display settings was a hassle. It kept going to a position under my Mac. So I could not go left to right I had to go down to move to my iPad.

I had a similar problem. I was trying to use Universal Control w/ my 2017 Macbook and my 2021 Macbook.

I was able to mirror/extend the display of my 2017 to my 2021 but not vice versa, and was also unable to use Universal Control.

What fixed it for me was opening Bluetooth settings on both devices and manually connecting them to each other via Bluetooth. In my case, they immediately disconnected but stayed in the list of remembered devices. After I did that, my 2017 showed up in the Add Display dropdown in Display Settings of my 2021 and Universal Control works now.

If it is a company Macbook it's very likely that you're using a Managed Apple ID which cannot be used w/ Universal Control. I am not sure if Federated Apple IDs have the same restrictions as Managed Apple IDs but I would guess they do.

Verify both macOS and iOS are currentto be compatible .

Update your iDevice  - current stable release  including bug fixes iOS 15.5

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

The current stable release of Monterey including bug fixes, is macOS 12.4

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

Note that a firewall setting can also keep Universal Control from working. See:

Universal Control: Not working with iPad … - Apple Community

I did this. Checked software versions, check all the appropriate boxes, and have rebooted both devices multiple times. Read five different forums, watched 3 different YouTube videos to ensure I did not miss anything. After the third reboot it worked for about a minute and a half, then stopped mid session. Looks really buggy. Apple may have some additional work as they come out of the Beta on MacOS. I'm sure they will getting it working. Just really happy that my 2015 12.9" iPad Pro works with universal control, sort of....sometimes.....maybe....

I connected my M1 MacBook Air to my M1 mac mini at work using universal control. It took a few reboots, but after a successful connection between the two, the once unsuccessful iPad Pro to M1 MacBook Air universal control connection started working. I could even get all three devices connected to each other at one time.

It could have been coincidental, magic, or the M1 to M1 connection that spurred my success connection and joy.

Every switch is turned on on both Mac and iPad, both are on the same wi-fi, both have blue tooth on, but there is no sign of it working.

I have the exact same situation. MacBook Air m1 and iPad 8th generation. Have turned both off and on three times, still does not work.

Every switch is turned on on both Mac and iPad, both are on the same wi-fi, both have blue tooth on, but there is no sign of it working.

I have the exact same situation. MacBook Air m1 and iPad 8th generation. Have turned both off and on three times, still does not work.

using Mac OS Monterey 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4

Pomme357 wrote:

Every switch is turned on on both Mac and iPad, both are on the same wi-fi, both have blue tooth on, but there is no sign of it working.

I have the exact same situation. MacBook Air m1 and iPad 8th generation. Have turned both off and on three times, still does not work.

using Mac OS Monterey 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4

I have the same hardware and have gone through the setup steps multiple times. Universal control is not working for me neither.

I have the same issues.. May I ask whether your Mac/Ipad is managed by Company using Comp Portal? Since my Mac is managed by my Company using Comp Portal, I wonder is that the reason I cannot use the Universal Control?

I am having this issue as well. I never once get the option to link my mouse and keyboard. I have uncheck/checked 100 times now, rebooted over 100 times now. I even wiped both devices trying to get this to work and never does. Side car is working but I can never get Universal Control to work.

So, I have the same issue but mine used to be working and now it doesn't. I was able to push my mouse across from my laptop to my ipad but now it doesn't work again anymore. I do not know how to fix it.