Universal Control Issues

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Level 1

34 points

Universal Control Issues

I know this has been brought up in the past, but is anyone else still having issues with Universal Control?

For me it tends to work better between iPad and Mac, but Mac-to-Mac seems to break often. In order to get it to work again I have to try a variety of things on both devices; such as, restarting, turning Universal Control off and back on, turning iCloud/Handoff on and off, toggling the firewall settings, and more.

Eventually it works, but it will sporadically stop working after some time (no pattern to it). I've tried many different combinations of settings with no luck.

If anyone has any ideas why this happens or if you're seeing these issues too, I'd be happy to learn of a more permanent fix. I have a feeling this is something that Apple may need to address in a software update.

Seeing as this feature is no longer listed as "beta" in the settings (and enabled by default) I would think it would work, especially on devices that are only a couple of years old (2020 and 2021).

The main devices I use are both MacBook Pros; one Intel and one M1. It's possible that it has issues between the two different chipsets, so if anyone can test with M1-to-M1, Intel-to-Intel, or M1-to-Intel, I'd appreciate it. This could help isolate any hardware inconsistencies.

Thank you!

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 13.2

Posted on Feb 28, 2023 11:52 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 2, 2023 10:46 AM in response to wesgir

Hey there wesgir,

Are these devices close together? The article, Universal Control: Use a single keyboard and mouse between Mac and iPad, states: “Each device must be within 10 meters (30 feet) of each other and have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Handoff turned on.”

Take a look at that article for other requirements and see if that has any impact on the issue.

Take care.

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Answer 2

SnickZ.

Community Specialist

Mar 2, 2023 12:59 PM in response to wesgir

Hello wesgir,

Let’s make sure both devices are up to date. The latest macOS is 13.2.1, and iPadOS 16.3.1.

Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support

Update your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

If your devices didn’t require updating, or updating didn’t help, we recommend contacting Apple Support. They’ll have the tools at hand to help with the issue: Get Support

All the best.

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Answer 3

Jeff_W.

Community Specialist

Mar 6, 2023 10:21 AM in response to wesgir

Hello wesgir,

OK, if that is the route you want to take, that is fine. Let us know if you have any further questions.

Cheers.

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Answer 4

wesgir Author

Level 1

34 points

Mar 2, 2023 12:37 PM in response to barberlives123

Hi, yes. All of that criteria is met.

It works, just not reliably. I’d say 90% of the time. When it stops working, it involves a lot of turning features off and on until it works again. Haven’t been able to identify a pattern.

Again, I have seen this happen with multiple devices (usually Mac-to-Mac) and I’ve seen it reported in the past as well. I don’t know if there is a fix/workaround, but I’ll be sure to open a bug ticket.

If anyone has found a consistent way to fix this, please let me know.

Thank you!

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Answer 5

wesgir Author

Level 1

34 points

Mar 5, 2023 07:14 PM in response to SnickZ.

Hello Snick Z., all of my devices are up-to-date.

As this is an issue that affects every Apple device I've tried, I don't think it's something Apple Support can help with. I was hoping to see if others were still experiencing this issue and, if so, if they had any workarounds for the time being.

I'll submit a bug report to Apple in the meantime. Thank you everyone for your help.

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Answer 6

wesgir Author

Level 1

34 points

Mar 7, 2023 08:43 AM in response to Jeff_W.

I've been trying to isolate the issue more every time this happens by trying changes in different orders and from each machine one at a time.

In my most recent attempt, simply toggling the Bluetooth off and back on one of the devices (the Intel MacBook Pro) allowed it to connect.

In order to isolate the issue further, I will try from the M1 first next time. This should help determine if the issue is with the Intel processor or the Bluetooth connection in general. Then I will try these same steps with other Macs to rule out individual device issues.

Hopefully I'm on the right path and can provide a quick fix to those that need it and information to Apple if necessary.

In the meantime, if anyone else experiences this issue, please toggle Bluetooth on one device and see if it fixes it. If so, please let us know so we can provide this information in the bug report.

Thank you to all who have helped.

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Answer 7

Mar 29, 2023 11:52 AM in response to wesgir

Trying checking out your firewall preferences in settings chief. Had the same issue and it turned out that my firewall on one device was off and the other was on. One was allowing the Universal Control.app to allow connections, while the other was not. It worked for me, so hopefully it works for you!

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Universal Control Issues

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