Level 1

18 points

How do I fix connection drop when Mirroring iPhone to MacBook Air?

Hi, I updated my M2 Air yesterday to MAC OS 15 and iPhone to IOS 18. I worked with the iPhone mirroring for a full day with no issues, and it worked perfectly. Today, I tried to initiate the connection again; I can see that the iPhone is connecting. I can even interact with the iPhone's mirrored screen for 1-2 seconds. Then it immediately prompts me with the error "iPhone mirroring Connection Interrupted Ensure "iPhone* is near your Mac, powered on, with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled."

I tried turning off sidecar, restarting the computer, removing the devices from the mirror settings on both ends, and even trying to log out of iCloud and restart the devices. Nothing seems to solve it, and all the articles I found refer to issues where the iPhone is not mirroring at all; while my situation is different, I can mirror it for about two seconds.

Does anyone have any idea how I can resolve this issue?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Air, macOS 15.0

Posted on Sep 19, 2024 9:33 AM

Top-ranking reply

chrysanthemum12

Level 1

20 points

Posted on Feb 25, 2025 8:11 PM

I was having this exact same issue and couldn’t find a single solution. Every fix I came across was for iPhones that wouldn’t connect at all, but like you, mine was connecting for 1-2 seconds before disconnecting with the “Connection Interrupted” message.

After weeks of troubleshooting — restarting all my devices, force restarting, disconnecting and reconnecting, forgetting iPhone on Mac iPhone Mirroring app (and vice versa), tweaking every single network and Wi-Fi setting imaginable, contacting IT about router settings (I’m on campus Wi-Fi), reaching out to Apple Support on three separate occassions, logging in and out of iCloud on both devices, manually changing DNS settings (even though I had no idea what I was doing), deleting VPNs and proxies, and even spending 5+ hours reinstalling macOS Sequoia in recovery mode which an AppleCare advisor suggested — I was completely stuck.

Finally, a senior AppleCare advisor (shoutout Tim!) helped me realize the solution was so much simpler than expected:

Change the Private Wi-Fi Address setting from “Fixed” to “Rotating” on both your Mac and iPhone.

Apparently, on some public networks, the default setting is “Fixed” for security reasons, but iPhone mirroring requires it to be “Rotating” to work properly. Here’s how to change it:

1. Open Settings on both your iPhone and Mac.

2. Go to Wi-Fi.

3. Tap the (i) icon next to your Wi-Fi network on iPhone / click Details next to your Wi-Fi network on Mac.

4. Find Private Wi-Fi Address with a dropdown menu next to it.

5. If it says Fixed, change it to Rotating. (If it’s already set to Rotating, unfortunately, this might not be your fix.)

6. Restart both your iPhone and Mac.

7. Enjoy seamless iPhone mirroring!

I totally understand how frustrating this issue is, so I really hope this helps someone who’s been struggling as much as I was! Let me know if this works for you!

View in context

41 replies

etresoft

Level 9

56,212 points

Sep 19, 2024 10:53 AM in response to sagiv257

sagiv257 wrote:

Do You think one of these apps might cause this issue?

Only you can say that by trying it again. I think disabling the firewall should be enough.

satcomer

Level 4

1,593 points

Oct 23, 2024 4:09 PM in response to jesor_

When I he,p other Mac users with wireless problems I always seem to think in wireless system Preferences changing the ‘Automatic’ seems to get confused when leave and come back! So I always tell them to change the Loction toggle and take of auto and creat you own network (like home or business or school) and everything will work better steadily! I always do the with every new Mac I use! So go ahead and change that name to custom name in Location toggle!

markbyrn

Level 1

67 points

Sep 29, 2024 7:40 AM in response to sagiv257

I have the same problem, and I find that powering down both the Mac and iPhone fixes it until it happens again. Clearly a bug that I reported.

Dec 22, 2024 9:48 PM in response to sagiv257

Works well after restart iPhone and MacOS.

Oct 1, 2024 7:20 AM in response to sagiv257

I previously used it with iPhone 15 Pro Max but since I tried to switch to "iPhone 16 Pro Max" it's not working anymore (same issue) and now even iPhone 15 Pro Max stopped working.

I think it's happening due to switching between devices:

Nys04

Level 1

8 points

Nov 1, 2024 8:33 AM in response to sagiv257

My iphone 15 is connected to my home wifi next door which is about 4 meters away from my mac mini. Yet it tells me that "iPhone Not Found". When I bring my iphone into the same room as my mac mini, it will then be able to connect to my iphone via iphone mirroring. My question is, what is the whole point of having iphone mirroring on my mac if I still need to have the iphone next to me???

Jan 18, 2025 1:59 PM in response to thiagothamiel

You are correct. This is a first party feature that’s broken. I have a Mac Mini M4 with all the updates, and a iPhone 16 Pro Max with all the updates. Despite having all the latest hardware, I still have connection interrupted errors with iPhone mirroring.

it’s very frustrating as I am using my Mac mini + iPhone combination for productivity. I cannot do this when Apple SW features are broken.

Oct 24, 2024 5:58 AM in response to sagiv257

I've discovered that I only get the issue when on some wifi networks, such as when on a train. So it isn't an Apple issue

Jan 12, 2025 5:11 PM in response to Crushonator

Nm - this only worked temporarily due to the reboots. iPhone mirroring is essentially broken with Mac OS 15.2.

sagiv257 Author

Level 1

18 points

Sep 19, 2024 10:39 AM in response to etresoft

Hi, I deactivated my Firewall under "Networks." I am connected to my office's WIFI Network (no VPN is active), and the only "security" apps working on my computer are Zscaler and Microsoft Defender. Still, I cannot turn these off as my company's IT team installs them and are constantly active.

Do You think one of these apps might cause this issue? Yesterday, it worked perfectly; it was the same computer with all these apps enabled.

sagiv257 Author

Level 1

18 points

Sep 19, 2024 12:43 PM in response to etresoft

really? is it that bad? i mean i had asked them and they said that they dont have any issues with me upgrading my mac, many other people had requested premition and were given the "go ahead" on upgrading.

you really think it boils down to somthing my company is running in the background? i mean i had used it yesterday, in the office, for a full day it was working perfectly.

so is there anything i can do to escalate it? can i open a support case to Apple? do i need to ask the IT team to open the support case on behaf of the company? where do i go from here?

Sep 26, 2024 4:39 AM in response to sagiv257

I have exactly the same issue, Macbook Air 2024 Sequoia and iOS 18 on an iPhione 13 pro, it does this in seconds so it makes mirroring basically useless. It worked for about 10 minutes and since then has been so irritating that I have switched it off. A great idea but terribly flawed at presetn

Sep 29, 2024 6:53 AM in response to sagiv257

Anyone found a fix for this yet? tried signing out of iCloud on both my MacBook and iPhone and it still doesn't work. Tried switching to other networks too. I do not have any additional firewalls, vpn configurations or "security" apps installed on my MacBook.

Feb 16, 2025 9:23 PM in response to Crushonator

This worked for me exactly how you said, and I appreciate that you articulated how you came up with it, hopefully this issue gets fixed in future updates & I can turn the firewall back on. Thank you!

Mamajin

Level 1

8 points

Feb 23, 2025 8:14 AM in response to sagiv257

Brand new setup of Mac mini M4, no vpn or other security apps installed (none on my iPhone 15 Pro Max either). Wifi and bluetooth are enabled, and I've tried disabling the firewall. The phone is sitting 6 inches away from the Mac. Nothing works.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

How do I fix connection drop when Mirroring iPhone to MacBook Air?