iPadOS 18 glitch with Ext. Display

Question

iPadOS 18 glitch with Ext. Display

Device Stats:

• iPad Pro 11” 256GB with M2 chip

• ViewSonic 32” 1080P monitor (HDMI)

• Acer adapter (USB-C to HDMI, USB-C, USB-A ports)

I’m beyond frustrated with Apple’s latest iPadOS 18 update. Here’s the situation:

On September 16, 2024, at 1:30 PM ET, I decided to download iPadOS 18, the latest version just released to the public. Within 2–5 minutes, I ran into a glitch.

My iPad Pro had been working perfectly with my external ViewSonic 32” 1080P monitor using an Acer adapter (USB-C to HDMI) while running iPadOS 17.4.1 for over two months. All ports were being used: one for power, a USB-A port for my wired keyboard, and another for my Apple Magic Trackpad.

The issue: After the update to iPadOS 18, when I move an app (let’s call it App #1) to the external monitor, it works fine. I can open a second app (App #2) on the iPad Pro’s main display without issue. But, when I close App #2 on the iPad, App #1 unexpectedly jumps back to the iPad display, forcing me to drag it back to the external monitor and resize it each time. This glitch doesn’t happen the other way around—closing App #1 doesn’t affect App #2 on the iPad display.

I tested multiple apps, including Apple’s native apps, and the same problem occurs across the board. I contacted Apple Support (always a joy), and they had me toggle Stage Manager off and on, which temporarily resolved the issue… until it didn’t. The glitch returned as soon as I ended the chat. This never happened on iPadOS 17.4.1.

Apple’s next suggestion? Reset the iPad to factory settings. Sure, that might solve it, but I’m not thrilled about setting everything up from scratch—especially having to re-add all my bank cards, which is a hassle if you’ve got more than one.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? Any helpful suggestions are welcome!

iPad Pro, iPadOS 18

Posted on Sep 16, 2024 12:35 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 25, 2024 10:19 AM in response to MobileMeKevin

Interesting, no one has experienced this issue. Sadly, Apple was of no help but surprisingly, I myself figured out what I needed to do to get this issue resolved.

I decided to post how I fixed this issue.

This only for those who are using iPadOS 18 and newer, and I only encountered the problem on a 4th Gen iPad Pro 11inch. Since I don’t have other models and other versions of the OS I can not say it works for the other models and versions of iPadOS.
Go to Settings, then to Multitasking & Gestures. On the right side of the screen under Multitasking. Look for the tab with both iPad and the one for External Display. Make sure you are on the iPad tab.
Just under that tab you have three options make sure that Split View & Slide Over has a blue check mark.
Select the next Tab at the top External Display. And make sure the Stage Manager choice has a blue check mark.
Once you have completed these setting changes any apps you have open on the external monitor should remain open on the external monitor when you close any apps on the iPad screen side.

The suggestions that Apple gives is to make sure Stage Manager is turned on, and that is not the solution when it comes to this problem. I started playing around with the settings and this is what worked for me.

Good luck to anyone else who may have come across this issue, I hope my solution works for you!

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