How to fix Universal Clipboard and iPhone screen mirroring issues after a clean macOS 15.4 install?

Here are a couple ways to solve the problem.

• If you have VPN activated on either of your devices, turn it off and try it again.
• Turn the firewall off and try using it.

If none of the following work, then run this command on terminal.

defaults write ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.coreservices.useractivityd.plist ClipboardSharingEnabled 1

• If that doesn't work for you, it is likely because that file doesn't exist on your mac.

In order to make it work:

1. Launch Finder
2. Select "Go to Folder" and go to "/Library/Preferences/" and see if "com.apple.coreservices.useractivityd.plist" exists. (it shouldn't exist if the command didn't work)
3. copy a random .plist file (literally any) and rename it to "com.apple.coreservices.useractivityd.plist".
4. Open it in a text editor. (I used VS Code) and paste this content in it then save:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>ClipboardSharingEnabled</key>
<integer>1</integer>
</dict>
</plist>

• Finally and most importantly, enjoy:)

If it still does not work, try restarting your Mac

PS: let me know if that helps your Iphone mirroring in any way. If possible show me any picture of what error you get when it does not work.

zvu_kirukami wrote:

Thanks for answer, I didn't use any firewall.

Then why did you say "Firewall is set to allow incoming connections?" What firewall is set to allow these connections?

Also, you didn't answer whether or not you're using a VPN.

I have experienced this issue in over 50% of every session between iMac and iPhone. During one session, I attempted to script a non-scriptable Apple product, iPhone Mirroring, using the AppleScript below. Obviously, the script didn't work. However, it triggered voodoo magic to suddenly activate the universal clipboard 🤷

tell application "System Events"
	tell application process "iPhone Mirroring"
		keystroke "Type the **** text."
	end tell
end tell

I've got Universal Clipboard stopped working after upgrading to 15.4.1 on my Mac Mini M4. But I have an unusual set up: my 'home' folder is on an external SSD.

And I'm not the only one who runs into this issue with similar set up.

What is the firewall you're referring to? Do you have a VPN installed on either of the devices?