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iPhone Mirroring "Timed Out"

I'm trying to use the new iPhone Mirroring feature in Sequoia. I have a MacMini (2018 - Intel) and an iPhone 13 mini running iOS 18.0. I'm able to get macOS to recognize my phone and vice-versa in the setup process. However, when it comes time to actually connect to the phone, I consistently get a "Timed Out" error - "Timed out starting iPhone Mirroring."


I've checked some other online resources and have tried: 1. restarting the MacMini and the iPhone, 2. Dissociating the iPhone from the MacMini and relinking the devices again, 3. Double-checked that both devices are signed into my Apple ID, and have Bluetooth and WiFi on.


Any suggestions?


Steve

Mac mini, macOS 15.0

Posted on Sep 18, 2024 7:29 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 20, 2024 2:42 PM

What worked for me after the connection timed out on my first couple of tries:


  1. restarted my phone
  2. entered my passcode
  3. locked my phone with the side button
  4. re-initiated the mirroring connection from my desktop app. I didn't unlock my phone while it was pairing.


Hope this works for you!

59 replies

Sep 26, 2024 6:51 AM in response to Stephen Epstein

Coincidence or not I can't be sure, but as soon as the "Private WiFi Address" was set to "Rotating" on both devices (14 Pro and M3 Pro Mac), Mirroring came back to life. No amount of rebooting, deleting devices, or anything else worked.


I noticed a little orange caution symbol on my Mac that alerted me and I changed it from "off". The iPhone was on "fixed".


Mirroring worked initially for a day or two then broke. Changed those settings and it instantly worked following passcode entry, no rebooting of anything, and it's working perfectly since.


Nov 1, 2024 10:17 AM in response to khondhaker

This is what worked for me (from @robertobado)


Resetting iPhone Mirroring credent… | Apple Developer Forums


After reading many posts in several forum threads regarding tweaking handsoff, wifi, bluetooth, restarts and more, none of that worked for me. Closest was this "Reset iPhone access" in the mirroring app itself, but failing with the error people already described above.

So I decided to manually force clean such credentials. After some trial and error, here are the steps that worked for me:
1. Close iPhone mirroring app completely
2. Open your favorite terminal app
3. Browse to ScreenContinuity user preferences folder:
$ cd ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.ScreenContinuity/Data/Library/Preferences
1. Delete file com.apple.ScreenContinuity.plist:
$ rm com.apple.ScreenContinuity.plist
1. Open iPhone mirroring app again and you should be good to to.


Sep 19, 2024 5:33 AM in response to Stephen Epstein

I have exactly thew same problem and so does my mum (different location/phone/Macs).


I get the iPhone notifications on my Mac but, when I click on them, the app opens and eventually times out - This has already become the most annoying app from Apple EVER (and I have been using Apple products since 2010.


The only way round this - and it defeats the object - is to switch the phone on and then off again.


This was the only thing I was looking forward to in Sequoia and I am so dissaponted.

Sep 26, 2024 8:57 PM in response to Stephen Epstein

This also happened to me after I clicked on the "iPhone Mirroring" app on my Mac while my iPhone's bluetooth is switched off. In addition, my iPhones WiFi kept disconnecting while I was having this issue.


I did reboot my Mac, and hard-restarted my iPhone, but no luck.


What I did that fixed it is to reset network settings on my phone. Then, on my Mac, I opened the "iPhone Mirroring" app, went to Settings, and then "Reset iPhone access..." It's now connecting again. I don't know if you need to go through both of these steps, or just one of these, but at least one of these fixed it

Sep 23, 2024 1:21 AM in response to Stephen Epstein

Rebooted my Mac, and it started working again.

Before that, iPhone Mirroring and Air Drop were not working on my mac.

Following the comment on Side Car I chacked that, and it didn't work too. So that pointed my suspicion at the Mac OS.

Before that tried:

  • Quit iPhone Mirroring
  • Reboot iPhone
  • charging iPhone (as per comment in this thread)

All of these didn't work.


MBA M1 2021 w/ Sequoia, iPhone 14 Pro w/ iOS 18, iPad Air 5th gen w/ iPadOS 17.7

iPhone Mirroring "Timed Out"

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