iPhone Mirroring does not work correctly in iOS 18

[whitby]

Having got this to work correctly the first time I used it (iPhone 15 Pro Max to M2 15' MBA), it now refuses to work with my iPhone 15 Pro Max and insists on trying to work with my 2nd phone, an 11 Pro Max. Both Phones are on iOS 18.0.

There is a reset option (Under Settings on the Mac) that does not work, giving me a message 'Unable to Reset iPhone Access Try again later". Whatever that means. So it looks as this so called new feature is completely broken (BTW my iPhone 15 Pro Max shows the MBA as under Handoff and Continuity in Settings >General). I have rebooted both devices and the Mirroring option obstinately sticks with the 11 Pro Max and I cannot change it. They are both on the same network and use the same Apple Account. What is really funny is that the iPhone 15 Pro Max is next to the MBA and the 11 Pro Max is on a desk 30 or 40 feet away.

I do wish Apple would test their stuff. Nice feature if it worked, but completely useless as of this point in time.

 

[whitby]

Update: Since no one replied or commented, I assume no-one had the same experience (maybe because I am the only one with two or more iPhones). I found that the issue was that the phone you pair with is selected under Mac OS Settings > Desktop & Dock > Widgets > iPhone (really logical place for this, not). You can also see it under iOS Settings > Airplay & Continuity > iPhone Mirroring which allows you to delete the mirrored Mac but has no effect when you next try to pair the phone from the Mac. Also the Reset option in the iPhone mirroring app settings does not appear to either work or do anything, it always shows an error. Bottom line is use the Mac OS Desktop & Dock setting to get the mirroring app to try and pair with the required iPhone.

What is odd is that I paired the Mac with the correct phone and then next time it went to my other phone which I had neither selected anywhere, nor ever paired with it. Why?

Unnecessarily complicated I think. But then maybe I am stupid and do not have a brain. Both are possible. Anyway problem solved.

 

[davecobb]

Having the exact same issue. I've tried every restart possible, and it always times out. And I can't reset the mirroring settings without the error you mention. What a sh*tshow.

 

[ssn637]

I also have this issue with iOS 18.1 Beta 5 and an iPhone 16 Pro. I also can no longer connect to either my iPhone or iPad mini via Personal Hotspot, which I use to go online when traveling by train where no WiFi is available. Not sure if these issues are linked somehow but both were working with Beta 4.

Edit: I was able to restore connections to my iPhone 16 Pro and iPad Mini via Personal Hotspot by deleting all references to their device names in the Passwords application. iPhone Mirroring was also successful, albeit with intermittent connection losses.

 

[hook_]

Thanks for the save, I couldn't get mine to reset either.

This worked for me.

Mac OS Settings > Desktop & Dock > Widgets > iPhone (change to other option)