Sidecar does not work wirelessly after "upgrading" to macOS 26

parroth3ad wrote:

Same issues here. Two ipad pros, worked on both before upgrade works on neither after upgrade unless connected via USB. Works great by USB but the second it unplugs it stops. Never had this problem til I upgraded. I have iPad OS 26.0.1 and Tahoe 26.0.1. Logged into the same iCloud on all three devices, was working before upgrade not after.

Sidecar not working—

If iPhone mirroring got tuned on, or you are using iPhone mirroring...

It has been pointed out elsewhere Sidecar does not work wirelessly if you are also using iPhone mirroring. Turn it off

Turn off iPhone mirroring

Manage iPhone Mirroring on your iPhone or Mac - Apple Support

On your iOS device Settings>Airplay & Continuity>iPhone Mirroring>> delete your Mac from the list

iPhone Mirroring: Use your iPhone from your Mac - Apple Support

Just updated to Tahoe on an M1 Mac Mini, and Sidecar wasn't working for me on my iPad 10th gen as well. Here's what did work for me:

1. Make sure you check the typical stuff (Devices on the same network, bluetooth, Airplay, Handoff, blahblahblah...)
2. In the display settings, click the "+" in the bottom right corner, see if your iPad shows up there as a handoff device. Mine did.

Probably won't help everyone, but I hope this helps.

Are you also using iPhone mirroring at the same time?

It has been established that Sidecar does not work wirelessly if you are also using iPhone mirroring.

Problem solved for me. I disconnected and reconnected my account and I could find this :

But at first I couldn't see my iPad on the Monitor list...

sidecarfanatic wrote:

My 2020 M1 Macbook Air with macos Ventura 13.2.1 used to connect flawlessly to my 2nd generation iPad Pro to use the sidecar feature.

Recently, I upgraded both my Macbook and iPad to macOS/iPadOS 26. Since then, sidecar does not work wirelessly. It works if I plug my iPad into my laptop, but that is obviously less convenient.

Yes handoff is enabled, yes the devices have bluetooth turned on, yes I am logged into the same Apple account on both of them, yes they are both connected to the same Wi-Fi.

After spending 90 minutes on the phone with support, multiple restarts, first aid checks and tests on different macOS users, the issue prevailed. Now, I am being advised to reinstall the system software.

The current version of Ventura is 13.7.8 (?) for what it is worth. I always advise staying current. Baby steps along the way compared to your giant leap...

for your current issue hard to add anything after 90 minutes with phone support...

bluetooth / wifi / same Network you can review

Use Continuity to work across Apple devices

Use an iPad as a second display for a Mac

I can only assume they had you sign out of your AppleID/Account and back in again(?)

ref: Sign out of your Apple ID/Account /iCloud on the Mac and back in again and compare your results

Sign in to or out of your Apple Account on Mac - Apple Support

if you are at your wits end— reinstalling the macOS is fairly easy process

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

Same issues here. Two ipad pros, worked on both before upgrade works on neither after upgrade unless connected via USB. Works great by USB but the second it unplugs it stops. Never had this problem til I upgraded. I have iPad OS 26.0.1 and Tahoe 26.0.1. Logged into the same iCloud on all three devices, was working before upgrade not after.

Same issue here. I use the ipad as monitor for a prompter. There was no way to make it work during my shoot. I had to use another MacBook Pro on the previous MacOS version…

Very sad to see that there’s still no work around yet.

Same problem here — MacBook Air M1 + iPad mini 6 (macOS 26.1, iPadOS 18.7).

On one of the macOS 26 betas Sidecar/Universal Control worked from time to time, now it doesn’t connect at all (even wired is flaky). AirPlay is fine, Handoff/Bluetooth/Wi‑Fi/Apple ID are set up, same network.

I really rely on this setup, but I don’t want to jump my mini to iPadOS 26 just to test a hunch.

Questions:

• Has anyone fixed it without reinstalling macOS?

• Does turning off iPhone Mirroring actually help if you don’t use an iPhone?

• Any reliable workaround besides USB?

Kinda wild that a basic continuity feature got worse after the update — hope there’s a practical fix.

I have the same issue on my m1 mac pro & ipad pro 4th generation.

I can connect sidecar using USB btw.

Not using iPhone mirroring. Never used it. Don't even own an iPhone.

I have the exact same experience on my MacBook Pro M4 Max and an iPad 4. Worked flawlessly every time before, albeit for me with macOS 15 and iOS 18, both with all updates installed.

After upgrading to 26 it basically never works wirelessly, sometimes through usb cable, but with intermittent lost connections. In general secondary displays, especially hdmi connections in conference rooms, is much less reliable than previous os. Very strange and annoying to see such basic functionality that has been working flawlessly for years now get messed up in an upgrade.

I haven't taken the time to reinstall the os, signing in and out of iCloud, unsurprisingly didn't have any effect. Copy pasting between iOS and macOS still works, and the little green button does offer the option to move window to iPad, it just results in failure most of the time, with a 100% fail rate when attempting to connect wirelessly.

And even when connected through USB, typing in a window that's being displayed on the iPad is laggy, which it never was before. Same goes for HDMI connections. Very annoying and needs to be fixed asap

Not even working for me with USB cable after working flawlessly for months. Complete wind up. The basics of releasing new stuff, is don't break old stuff. How can it be this hard?