Remember that Sidecar is different from Universal Control. Universal Control lets you use a single keyboard and mouse as input sources for iPad and Mac. Meanwhile, Sidecar turns your iPad into a secondary display for your Mac.

1. Check device compatibility

Sidecar functionality is limited to certain Macs running macOS Catalina or later, and iPads must be running at least iPadOS 13 or later. Before you start troubleshooting, check whether your Mac and iPad are running the latest software and compatible or not. Below is the list of compatible devices.

Mac compatibility

• MacBook Pro (2016 or later models)
• MacBook (2016 and later)
• MacBook Air (2018 or later models)
• iMac (2017 or later models)
• iMacPro
• Mac mini (2018 or later models)
• Mac Pro
• mac studio

iPad compatibility

• iPad Pro (all models)
• iPad (6th generation or later)
• iPad mini (5th generation or later)
• iPad Air (3rd generation or later)

2. Verify your Apple ID

Using the same Apple ID on Mac and iPad is one of the main requirements to use the Sidecar feature. So, your iPad and your Mac must have the same Apple ID account. Here's how to check if you have the same ID on both.

Mac

Step 1: On your Mac, click on the Apple menu and open System Preferences.

Step 2: On the System Preferences page, click Apple ID.

Step 3: Write down your Apple ID.

iPad

Step 1: On iPad, launch the Settings app and tap on your name. Make sure your Apple ID matches that of the Mac.

Step 2: If the Apple ID is different, sign out and sign in with the same Apple ID.

3. Enable two-factor authentication

Another important requirement for Sidcar is to set up two-factor authentication for your Apple ID. For security reasons, you will need to enable two-factor authentication for your Apple ID.

Mac

Step 1: Click the Apple menu in the upper left corner and select System Preferences.

Step 2: Click on Apple ID in the upper right corner.

Step 3: Select "Password & Security" and make sure two-factor authentication is enabled. Otherwise, click on the Activate button, enter your phone number and activate it.

Once you enable two-factor authentication on one device, it will automatically sync across your other Apple devices.

iPad

Step 1: To make sure that two-factor authentication is enabled on your iPad, open the Settings app, tap on your name, then tap on the “Password & Security” option.

Step 2: You should see "Two-Factor Authentication" is enabled. If not, turn it on and configure it.

4. Update iPad and Mac software

Since Sidecar only works with macOS Catalina or later and iPadOS 13 or later, you'll need to check if your Mac and iPad are running at least that. To check and apply the latest software update, here is what you need to do.

Mac

Step 1: On your Mac, click the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the menu bar and select System Preferences.

Step 2: In the System Preferences window, click on the Software Update setting and your Mac will start scanning for any pending updates.

Step 3: If an update is available, click on the Update Now button.

iPad

Step 1: On iPad, launch Settings and tap General.

Step 2: Tap on Software update setting and install all pending updates.

5. Enable Bluetooth and WI-FI on Mac and iPad

You must keep Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on your Mac and iPad for Sidecar to work.

On Mac, click the Control Center button and enable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

On iPad, swipe down from the top right corner and enable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi from the Control Center menu.

Step 3: You also need to make sure that both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

6. Enable Transfer on Mac and iPad

Sidecar uses the built-in transfer feature on Apple devices, so you need to enable it on your Mac and iPhone.

Mac

Step 1: Click the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the menu bar and select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: In the System Preferences window, click on General.

Step 3: At the bottom of the General section, enable the option "Allow transfer between this Mac and your iCloud devices".

iPad

Step 1: On your iPad, launch the Settings app tap on General. Tap on the “Airplay & Handoff” option.

Step 2: Enable the toggle next to Handoff.

7. Reset trust settings

When you connect your iPad to the Mac for the first time, it asks you to trust the device. If you are trying to use Sidecar using a wired connection, you should try resetting the trust setting on your iPad.

Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your iPad and tap on General in the left column. Scroll down the right pane to tap the “Transfer or Reset iPad” option.

Step 2: On the Transfer or Reset iPad screen, tap the Reset button.

Step 3: From the pop-up menu, select the "Rest Location & Privacy" setting and confirm using your iPad passcode.

The next time you connect your iPad to your Mac, it will ask you to trust your Mac again.

8. Restart iPad and Mac

Sometimes you need to restart your Apple devices for the changes to take effect. So restart your Mac and iPad and try using Sidecar again.

Mac

Step 1: Click on the Apple menu in the upper left corner and then click on the Restart option from the menu.

iPad

Step 1: If you're using one of the newer iPads and you don't know how to turn it off, press and hold the power button and the volume up key to bring up the power menu.

Step 2: Slide the on-screen power button to turn off your iPad.

Step 3: Wait for a minute and press and hold the Power button to restart the device.

Use the iPad as a sidecar with your Mac

After following the solutions mentioned above, Sidecar will work for you. Although you can use Sidecar in wired and wireless mode, you should use wired mode for more reliability and better performance. Which of the above steps help you fix Sidecar not working on my iPad and Mac? Let us know in the comments below.