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Universal Control stopped working

I started using universal control when it was still in the beta. Everything was working fine. One day it just stopped working. I've tried everything...

I use a 2018 iPad Pro and a 2020 MacBook Pro. Everything is updated and working correctly.


Any ideas?

iPad Pro, iPadOS 15

Posted on May 15, 2022 5:10 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jun 13, 2022 3:31 PM

Universal control was always spotty for me, appearing to only work at random times. Recently, it completely quit permanently. Nothing I do will bring it back, I have tried everything to fix it. I’m out of ideas. This is really irritating.

30 replies

May 30, 2022 11:25 PM in response to SirFA

I did the point releases (MacOS 12.4 & iPadOS 15.5) and Universal Control works more smoothly for me. Didn't stop working or anything.


If (on the Mac, in Preferences -> Displays -> Add Display (dropdown) you do NOT see


Link keyboard & mouse

[name of your iPad goes here]


... then your systems aren't close enough, aren't both running Bluetooth, don't have WiFi turned on, aren't both logged into the same iCloud Apple ID (not a "managed ID"), or otherwise do not meet the complete set of requirements for Universal Control. I.e., the System/Preference settings must all be correct, etc. as described in the iPadOS 15.5 User Manual


Use a keyboard and mouse or trackpad across your Mac and iPad with Universal Control - Apple Support


Or, as we've also found: any firewall that's turned on must allow incoming connections for at least "Universal Control.app" and rapportd (the firewall itself can even be in "stealth mode" as long as it allows those incoming connections.


Since (with MacOS 12.4 & iPadOS 15.5) Universal Control is no longer Beta, you should be able to get support from Apple Support now. [You can start by going to the top right-hand corner of this web page and clicking on "Get Support"!]


Jun 16, 2022 8:56 AM in response to Sugarnutts3000

I have exactly the same problem. When UC first came out I could get it to work on my main Mac user account, but not in a second Mac user account (with same iCloud account). I spoke to Apple and we agreed it was probably because it was still in Beta. Recently, after the Mac 12.4 and the iPad 15.5 updates (now out of Beta), it started to work in both accounts. Now, in the past few days it will not work at all in either accounts. I am finding this very frustrating, it seems to be very flakey software. It could be a very useful tool for me if it consistently worked. I am also looking for ideas for a fix.

May 30, 2022 7:53 PM in response to bob32

I've had the same problem as OP, and the update seems to have been the cause of universal control breaking for me. I used to be able to simply add my screen in Display Preferences and it would always work.


My only options at the moment are either extending or mirroring my screen, rather than simply having my mouse move across on the iPad home screen. The Universal Control options suggest that you can simply move your cursor to the edge of the screen for Universal Control to work, however that doesn't work for me.


I'm using MacBook Pro with a 27" display.

May 15, 2022 7:11 AM in response to rpm04

rpm04 wrote:

I started using universal control when it was still in the beta. Everything was working fine. One day it just stopped working. I've tried everything...
I use a 2018 iPad Pro and a 2020 MacBook Pro. Everything is updated and working correctly.

Any ideas?


You can wait for the next point update and see if it sorts your issue.

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


The current stable release of Monterey including bug fixes, is macOS 12.3.1

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support



Apple seeds fourth macOS Monterey 12.4 developer beta

05/13/22 the macOS Monterey 12.4 "Release Candidate" was issued to developer/seed testers


Apple has advised users of Universal Control in the beta must ensure that they are using iPadOS 15.5 beta for the feature to continue working with a Mac running macOS 12.4.

Update iPadOS - Apple Support




Jul 13, 2022 4:25 PM in response to rpm04

This appears to be something in iCloud. During the beta, I could not for the life of me get it to work, then I left it for an hour and it started working with no intervention. Since it is out of beta, I tried various combinations of toggling/rebooting I even tried using different wifi networks, nothing. 2 days ago I managed to get it to connect to my iPad Air 4 but as soon as I switched on the Mini 6, it disconnected and all options vanishes. I've not been able to get it to connect to even a single iPad since.


However when I log out of my Apple ID and log in with my father's Apple ID, it works fine (!!) - So this seems to be something relating to the account itself and something on Apple's side. I am expecting a call back from Apple tomorrow afternoon, I hope they can fix it as it is a pretty killer feature.

Jul 23, 2022 1:13 PM in response to r.gaufman

After spending 10+ hours on the phone with Apple, they told me to re-install the OS. I reinstalled it on 12.4 which worked! - However, after updating to 12.5 it stopped working again. Apple told me to re-install the OS again (I just installed it a week ago!), this helped briefly but a few hours later it stopped working again. I spent a few more hours with Apple, they said a few people are having this issue and they will call me back tomorrow.

Aug 8, 2022 9:51 PM in response to r.gaufman

UC seems flakey. I have MBP M1 Pro and MBP M1 2020 and both have been updated to the latest 12.5. I don't exactly remember if UC was working smoothly before the upgrade. I did try rebooting both machines but to no avail until I came to this post and tried the suggestion to sign out from the iCloud account on both devices. That somehow did the trick right after signing back into my iCloud account; the UC was working again. I hope Apple will do something about this. For now, I'll continue to observe and if this happens again, the first place to go would be the iCloud account.

Aug 21, 2022 12:08 PM in response to rpm04

I'm on all the latest versions (macOS 12.5.1 and iPadOS 15.6.1) and Universal Control stops working after awhile. The only solve is to reboot either the Mac or the iPad or both. I've tried toggling it on/off on both devices, toggling bluetooth, toggling wifi, and nothing gets it working again.


This feature is awesome, until it just stops working. That's very frustrating! I've submitted a bug report to Apple about this.


What's strange is that Sidecar still works, the Mac still "sees" the iPad, so why can't it connect with Universal Control? I really wish there was a toggle just for Universal Control rather than the "push past the side of the window."

Aug 21, 2022 9:44 PM in response to paulmeyers42

Well, there is a way to toggle Universal Control ... which I've found useful while troubleshooting Universal Control,


Add Displays to the Mac's main menu bar:


System Preferences -> Doc & Menu Bar -> Display -> Show in Menu Bar always


A new icon will show up on your main menu bar which links like a miniature split screen when Universal Control is working, and like a miniature monitor when it isn't.


If it isn't working, but potentially _could_ work, click on the miniature monitor and if you see and you see "link keyboard and mouse to <name of your iPad>" with a little dark monitor icon below that, then click on it that; it should turn green and look like a little split screen. Thus toggling it on (without having to try to drag the mouse over past some edge of the monitor).


If it is working, the little icon in the popup should be green. Click on that to toggle Universal Control off.


Note that in Display preferences, for your iPad you must have either chosen to Use as: "Linked keyboard and mouse" (which is Universal Control) _or_ Use as: "Extended or mirrored display" (which is Sidecar). Whichever one you choose will foreclose using the other.







Aug 30, 2022 6:22 PM in response to bob32

Sure enough, it stopped working today. The Menu Bar Displays menu doesn't show the iPad anymore - it used to, and I could link to it. Today, nope.


What's weird is that Handoff still works b/n the Mac Mini and the iPad (e.g. I can bring up the Safari window on my iPad that I'm viewing on my Mac). iCloud Copy and Paste still works between the two computers. And Sidecar still between the iPad and Mac.


But not Universal Control.


This is very frustrating!


Aug 30, 2022 7:00 PM in response to paulmeyers42

I'm not sure if this is totally related, but I've noticed that when someone else is logged into my machine, it seems to stop working.


I restarted my Mac to get Universal Control working again. Check.

My wife logged into her account on the Mac. Universal Control stops working on my side.

She logs out of her account. Universal Control starts working again on my side, without rebooting the machine.


Very odd, but so far repeatable, I'll continue to experiment with this.



Universal Control stopped working

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