Universal Control with new Mac M2 Mac Mini "stutters" on iPad - both keyboard and mouse

Question

Level 1

46 points

Universal Control with new Mac M2 Mac Mini "stutters" on iPad - both keyboard and mouse

I replaced my M1 Mac mini with an M2 Mac Mini, and when I try to use my keyboard and mouse with the iPad via Universal Control, it "stutters" to the extent it is unusable. In other words, it frequently pauses such that the cursor can't be tracked and the keyboard lags input.

To troubleshoot:

This worked perfectly with my M1 Mac mini and my M1 iPad Pro 11" before.
I am on the latest OS's (MacOS 13.2 and iPadOS 16.3).
Using my M1 MacBook Pro with my iPad does not cause the same problem. The problem is clearly on the M2 Mac mini.
I have reinstalled MacOS 13.2, turned off/on wifi on both devices, nothing works.

The problem is clearly on the M2 Mac mini

Any ideas? Anyone else experiencing this?

Posted on Jan 28, 2023 03:26 PM

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Answer 1

Tisoncam

Level 1

9 points

Jan 29, 2023 02:04 PM in response to thirdhalf

Did some more digging on this problem—I think the issue is related to the WiFi glitches noted in this discussion: Mac Mini M2 wifi issues - Apple Community

If I turn off the 5GHz band on my Eero, the problem goes away.

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Answer 2

thirdhalf Author

Level 1

46 points

Jan 30, 2023 07:46 AM in response to thirdhalf

Well, it helped at first, but the problem returned. What I did:

Kept existing wifi network (Deco 2.4 Ghz / 5 Ghz)
Turned on wifi network from my Apple Time Capsule, named 5Ghz network "Apple test 5Ghz" and 2.4Ghz network "Apple network 23423ag"
Connected my Mac M2 Mini wifi to the 2.4Ghz network "Apple network 23423ag"
Connect iPad M1 Pro wifi to same 2.4Ghz network - "Apple network 23423ag"

Cursor and keyboard were butter-smooth at first, but after a while, the problem returned. Perhaps I need to expunge all 5Ghz connections to fully prevent the problem? Still seems like a software bug.

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Answer 3

thirdhalf Author

Level 1

46 points

Feb 7, 2023 05:57 PM in response to thirdhalf

I found a workaround!

Connect iPad via USB-C cable
Disable wifi on iPad temporarily

This seems to direct Universal Control through the USB-C cable only, and it works beautifully and consistently. Awaiting a fix for the wifi connectivity.

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Answer 4

thirdhalf Author

Level 1

46 points

Feb 8, 2023 07:41 AM in response to Tisoncam

Well, it worked once but when I tried it again today, it didn't work. Here's what I did:

Connected USB-C cable between iPad and Mac mini directly - problem remains.
Turned off wifi on iPad - problem remains
Switched to Ethernet on the iPad and kept wifi off - problem remains.
Disconnected Ethernet and re-connected USB-C cable between Mac mini and iPad - problem remains.
Disabled both bluetooth and wifi on the iPad - problem resolved
Re-enabled wifi and bluetooth on the iPad while USB-C cable was connected between Mac and iPad - problem remained resolved for that session

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Answer 5

thirdhalf Author

Level 1

46 points

Jan 30, 2023 05:03 AM in response to Tisoncam

Confirmed - just switched to a dedicated 2.4Ghz band on both devices and the problem disappears. The problem is tied to 5Ghz band on the wifi!

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Answer 6

thirdhalf Author

Level 1

46 points

Jan 29, 2023 01:51 PM in response to Tisoncam

Today I opened a case with Apple engineering. I shared live diagnostics and a screen recording to demonstrate the issue. They are escalating, so I will let you know what I find out.

All system diagnostics indicate that the hardware is functioning properly, so the current hypothesis is that this is a software bug present in MacOS 13.2.

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Answer 7

Tisoncam

Level 1

9 points

Feb 10, 2023 07:59 AM in response to thirdhalf

That's frustrating—I hope Apple fixes this soon. FWIW, running an ethernet cable to the mini and connecting the iPad over USB-C seems to have fixed the problem on my end, at least for the past three days. Interestingly, I tried Universal Control with the new mini and my 2018 mini that I'm getting ready to sell. The problem appeared there when the M2 pro mini was connected to ethernet and the 2018 mini was on WiFi.

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Answer 8

thirdhalf Author

Level 1

46 points

Feb 21, 2023 05:20 AM in response to thirdhalf

After 3 full days testing this with MacOS 13.2.1, with connection between Mac Mini and MacBook wirelessly, I have not seen the problem reappear.

It appears that MacOS 13.2.1 fixes the issue with Universal Control.

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Answer 9

Tisoncam

Level 1

9 points

Jan 29, 2023 11:29 AM in response to thirdhalf

I'm having this problem too (M2 Pro mini and M1 iPad Pro). Have tried restarting, removing possible sources of interference, etc. No luck. No problems with my old 2018 Mini and M1 iPad Pro.

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Answer 10

thirdhalf Author

Level 1

46 points

Jan 29, 2023 02:06 PM in response to Tisoncam

Thank you Tisoncam, I will try briefly disabling 5Ghz, hoping that it won't wreak havoc on my HomeKit devices 😀

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Answer 11

Tisoncam

Level 1

9 points

Feb 7, 2023 06:48 PM in response to thirdhalf

Thank you! Turning off WiFi on the iPad was the piece I was missing. I finally gave up and ran an ethernet cable, but I’ll give this a try when I’m next working at home.

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Answer 12

thirdhalf Author

Level 1

46 points

Feb 10, 2023 07:09 AM in response to thirdhalf

Update - problem has returned, and nothing seems to keep it fixed. The steps above fixed it temporarily, but repeating these steps on a different day didn't resolve the problem. Back to square 1.

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