iPad keep disconnecting as 2nd monitor after 3-4 min.

On a 2022 MacBook Air M2 with MacOS 13.2 and an iPad Pro 10.5 with iPadOS 16.3 and had the same issue where the it would remain connected for a few minutes. It eventually degraded to connecting for a second, reconnecting half a dozen times then finally give up.

Tried disabling auto lock by going to Settings -> Display & Brightness -> Auto-Lock and selecting Never but that had no affect.

Finally was able to fix it, hopefully this helps save someone some time and frustration.

Had to sign out of my iCloud account by going to Settings -> my user account -> Sign Out. Restarted the iPad then reset all settings by going to Settings -> General -> Transfer or Reset iPad -> Reset -> Reset All Settings and restarted again.

After it came up, signed into iCloud again and merged all files. Then connected the iPad to the laptop with a lightning cable and made sure the laptop and iPad trusted each other.

Disconnected the cable and tested. Screen Mirroring then worked perfectly.

I had the same problem until I turned off the auto lock feature in the iPad. Just set I to never and the issue goes away.

Seems your iPad after inactivity auto lock himself and become unresponsive for your macbook.

Like your mouse cursor still appear on the iPad screen but he is unresponsive if do :

Go to your iPad setting > search "auto lock" > set to never (or +10mn)

It should probably fix your problem.

Very odd-I thought that my posted "reply" would be tagged to the post that was helpful!!

253838518

The suggestion was to turn off the Autolock on the iPad. Settings > General > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock -- Never.

Hi Luk,

Thank you for posting to Apple Support Communities.

With the iPad disconnecting from your Mac, often this can be resolved by updating the software on both devices. Here's how to complete this:

1. Back up your device using iCloud or your computer.

2. Plug your device into power and connect to the internet with Wi-Fi.

3. Go to Settings > General, then tap Software Update.

4. If you see two software update options available, choose the one that you want to install.

5. Tap Install Now. If you see Download and Install instead, tap it to download the update, enter your passcode, then tap Install Now. If you don't know your passcode, learn what to do.

This information is provided in Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

1. From the Apple menu  in the corner of your screen, choose System Preferences.

2. In the System Preferences window, click Software Update.

If your System Preferences doesn't include Software Update, learn how to upgrade to macOS Monterey or upgrade to an older macOS, and use the Updates tab of the App Store app to get app updates.

3. Click Update Now or Upgrade Now:

• Update Now installs the latest updates for the currently installed version, such as an update from macOS Big Sur 11.5 to macOS Big Sur 11.6. 

• Upgrade Now installs a major new version with a new name, such as macOS Monterey. Software

• Update shows only upgrades that are compatible with your Mac.

Additional details can be found in Update macOS on Mac.

If those steps don’t help, we’ll need some additional information to provide more specific support.

Do you see an error message?

Is your iPad near your Mac when it disconnects?

Does this seem to happen when you're using a specific app?

Cheers.

I began having this issue after updating to iPad OS 14. Turning off auto-lock has resolved it but this is a work around, not an acceptable fix. Auto-lock should be disabled automatically when the iPad is being used as a second display.

I could fix by disabling wifi/bluetooth/cellular and connecting it via usb-c

Mine just started doing this after New Year vacation break - I've been using my iPad as an external monitor for over 9 months at home for my Macbook Pro with 0 problems, and through a number of updates. I thought it was a Ventura and iOS 16.2 recent installation glitch, but can't make it work after messing around for a day. Cut out every other minute then back on then out etc - annoying as ****... until I plugged a lighting to USB-C cable from the iPad to the laptop, and it's fine now. Hope that helps.

Working with Apple support, I have been able to resolve this and it's worked well now for about 3 days.

Steps:

• Shut down computer
• Restart computer in safe mode, use it for a couple of hours like this
• shut down computer again, and shut down iPad (turn off Bluetooth on both first)
• restart normally

I changed my auto lock to never for my ipad in the settings and it seems to have worked. My ipad would get glitchy after a couple minutes or extending my screen or disconnect at times but so far this has worked for me. my Macbook air and Ipad air are both up to date with the current updates as well.

Updating the software on my iPad Pro seemed to work so far w/the MacBook Pro (M2)

Hey don’t know why and how, but,

they don’t disconnect when they are both plugged in for power. Disconnection only occurs when they run on battery.(At least that’s my experience.)

So odd and hard to pin down. I'd done everything that others had posted until I saw this helpful hint about "AutoLock". And now it's solid.

However I am having WiFi issues, the signal isn't measured similarly on the iPad and the router. Whereas all other devices - about 40 or so, read closely - the iPad is not. Router says "Low" iPad has three bars. /sigh

On my set up Sidecar will show it is disconnected.

I was trying to use Sidecar wirelessly with an Apple M1 pro laptop and my 12 inch iPad Pro. It was entirely unusable as it would disconnect within seconds. I made sure both were on the same wireless network, Tried everything nothing worked until I did the complete reset procedure outlined above.

The only problem I have now is I am not sure how to turn everything off and have it come back up and connect again. I often times have to reconnect the iPad using the display preferences on the laptop. It will then disconnect immediately, then when I reconnect a second time it will stay connected. I have found by connecting a USB-C to lightning cable between the laptop and the iPad Pro it will use the USB connection, and I have noticed when I unplug that cable because the iPad is now fully charged it will switch over to a wireless connection and continue working. I just haven’t figured out how to turn everything off and make it reconnect on start up yet, but that’s a minor issue.

Hi, I'd recommend turning off the automatic switch in Mac when moving the cursor to a nearby tablet. This should work.