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Universal Control: Not working with iPad Mini with wifi enabled on MacBook Pro 14

Does anyone have any issues with trying to get the universal control to work with iPad mini 6 or any iPads? I have issues with my MacBook Pro 14 inch trying to link to my iPad when my wifi connection is selected. If I leave wifi on and unselect my wifi connection, universal control works. The moment my wifi connection is re-enabled/selected, universal control drops out.



When I reselect my wifi connection, the universal control stops working and I get this error message: A connection error has occurred. I have my iPad mini literally next to my MacBook pro.



I have turned off my universal control on my MacBook pro and restarted it. I have also turn off the Handoff and Cursor and Keyboard on iPad mini and restarted it. Then turn it back on both MacBook Pro and iPad. I have sign out my appleid on MacBook pro and issue still persist. I have also turned off wifi and bluetooth on both devices and restarted it, then turned it back on.


Unsure what else to do except to rebuild the MacBook Pro from backup. This was a feature I was so looking forward to using.

Posted on Mar 15, 2022 1:32 PM

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Posted on Mar 16, 2022 4:19 PM

I have managed to the resolve the issue with the Universal Control between my MacBook Pro and iPad mini.


Issue turned out to be related to firewall issue. Firewall was blocking Universal Control when the internet was on for my wifi connection.


In System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall > Firewall Options... >

  • Block all incoming connections is not checked
  • Universal Control.app - Allow incoming connections.


The other issue I had was that I had Intego NetBarrier that was blocking the Universal Control. I had to remove that Network Preferences.


Universal Control is working for me now.



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4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 16, 2022 4:19 PM in response to carly78

I have managed to the resolve the issue with the Universal Control between my MacBook Pro and iPad mini.


Issue turned out to be related to firewall issue. Firewall was blocking Universal Control when the internet was on for my wifi connection.


In System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall > Firewall Options... >

  • Block all incoming connections is not checked
  • Universal Control.app - Allow incoming connections.


The other issue I had was that I had Intego NetBarrier that was blocking the Universal Control. I had to remove that Network Preferences.


Universal Control is working for me now.



Mar 16, 2022 6:50 AM in response to carly78

carly78 wrote:

Does anyone have any issues with trying to get the universal control to work with iPad mini 6 or any iPads? I have issues with my MacBook Pro 14 inch trying to link to my iPad when my wifi connection is selected. If I leave wifi on and unselect my wifi connection, universal control works. The moment my wifi connection is re-enabled/selected, universal control drops out.


https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/03e91b1e-9f1c-4cb6-b8e1-53d012b8e1f7

When I reselect my wifi connection, the universal control stops working and I get this error message: A connection error has occurred. I have my iPad mini literally next to my MacBook pro.


https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/f8d4acc1-cf48-4111-b191-5c03d547dc88

I have turned off my universal control on my MacBook pro and restarted it. I have also turn off the Handoff and Cursor and Keyboard on iPad mini and restarted it. Then turn it back on both MacBook Pro and iPad. I have sign out my appleid on MacBook pro and issue still persist. I have also turned off wifi and bluetooth on both devices and restarted it, then turned it back on.

Unsure what else to do except to rebuild the MacBook Pro from backup. This was a feature I was so looking forward to using.



Verify your hardware is compatible —

Universal Control: Use a single keyboard and mouse between Mac and iPad - Apple Support



—Verify Mac and iPad both are on the same wi-fi, both have blue tooth on—

and

—Each device must be signed in with the same Apple ID using two-factor authentication.




System Preferences, click Apple icon in upper left:

>System Preferences>Displays>Universal Control> Check first two boxes


—Allow your cursor and keyboard to move between my nearby Mac or iPad

—Push through the edge of a display to connect to a nearby Mac or iPad


reboot if necessary …




Mar 16, 2022 4:10 PM in response to leroydouglas

@leroydouglas : Thanks for your suggestion but I had done all those and that did not resolve the issue I was having. I even went as far as signing out of my AppleID across my MacBook pro and iPad mini and signing back in. None of that resolved the issue.


Universal control does work when I turn internet off the wifi on my MacBook pro.



Mar 17, 2022 9:44 AM in response to carly78

Dear Carly78,


I believe firewall settings are limited when you enroll your MacBook to company profile (which means your company manages your MacBook).

In this case, does it mean that Macbook managed by Company using a company profile setting will not be able to use Universal Control?

It's weird since I can use Sidecar in my MacBook and Ipad but cannot use Universal Control.

Really looking forward to using Universal Control.


Thanks

Universal Control: Not working with iPad Mini with wifi enabled on MacBook Pro 14

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