The latest Mac OS Catalina has arrived, and one of its highlight features is the Sidecar function. This feature allows you to use your iPad as a secondary monitor for your Mac, giving you extra screen space to work with. However, setting this feature may not be an easy task for everyone. If you are having trouble setting up your Sidecar, there are some tips you can follow to help you get it working correctly.
First and foremost, make sure that both your Mac and iPad are updated to the latest software versions. The beta versions of iOS 13 and Catalina have been buggy, and even the public releases have not been perfect. Apple has been rolling out a lot of updates, so updating your devices may be the simple fix you need for your Sidecar problems.
Secondly, ensure that the hardware you are using supports the feature. Only Skylake Macs and above (processors from Intel) will work with the Sidecar feature. You can check if your Mac has a Skylake processor by going over to your Mac, selecting the Apple logo, and clicking on “About This Mac.” If the processor was introduced in August 2015 or later, then your Mac has a Skylake processor. On the iPad side, ensure that your iPad supports Apple Pencil.
If your devices are up to date and support the feature, try resetting the trust settings on your iPad. The first time you plug in an iOS device to a Mac, it will prompt you to trust that computer. You can reset this prompt by going to General > Reset > Reset Location and Privacy. Resetting this may fix your Sidecar issues.
Another potential fix is to toggle off the “Keep to Day View on Home Screen” option under Settings > Home Screen and Dock. This option may fix the issue for some people.
If you cannot get Wireless Sidecar to work between your Mac and your iPad, use a cable to connect the two. It is recommended to use one of the cables that came with your iPad or iPhone, but if you are using a third-party cable, ensure that it is MFi certified.
You must also sign in to the same iCloud account on both devices for this feature to work. If your iPad is being used by multiple family members, ensure that it is signed in to the correct iCloud account. If everything else fails, sign out of iCloud on both devices and log back in.
Lastly, if you have enabled Sidecar and connected it to your iPad, but all you can see is a black screen, try toggling on and off the “Mirror Display” option under Display Preferences. This option should mirror both displays, and then you can toggle it off again to fix the black screen situation.
We hope these tips will help you fix your Sidecar problems and get it working correctly on your Mac and iPad.