Displays App Crashing in Monterey 12.3

Howdy everyone,

I'm having a really bad issue with the Displays app (nested in the Settings App).

Expected Behavior

I'm using an iPad Pro (2021) as an external display and using the Displays app to configure it. I'm running a 2020 M1 MacBook Pro as the main computer. For the last year, using this iPad as an external display has worked nicely (particularly when it's connected via a USB cable rather than over Bluetooth). I'm expecting the iPad Pro to maintain a normal connection and work as a second display.

Observed Behavior (Since Upgrading to Monterey 12.3)

Ever since upgrading to Monterey 12.3, the second display on the iPad Pro (formerly, Sidecar) crashes multiple times per day.

What happens:

• The second display (the iPad) will either (a) just randomly drop connection or (b) won't be able to wake up from any sort of sleep (e.g. if the screen saver is triggered, it can't wake up). It will then show a black screen with a single button in the center: "Disconnect".
• Meanwhile, the Displays app (nested in Settings) becomes unresponsive. Settings can't be Force Quit and the entire interface freezes. If I try to restart the MacBook Pro, the attempt a restarting will inevitably hit a wall and the computer will be unable to restart.
• I have to force shut down the MacBook by holding down the touch ID button, performing a hard restart.

I've spoken with Apple Support (via chat) at length about this issue, and they suggest it may be a hardware problem. I'm super busy, and taking a day off of work to go into the Apple store is a very bad option for me. If you have any tips, please share them!

Thanks,

Davis