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Mac Virtual Display question

4sallypat

4sallypat

macrumors 601
Original poster
Sep 16, 2016
4,037
3,788
So Calif
Vision OS version 1.0.2:

When I pull up Mac Virtual Display from the control center, I see no Macs on the VP to choose from.

Nothing shows up on the Virtual Display screen - blank window...

Is there something I need to do with my Macs to talk to the VP?

I have a M2 Macbook Air and Studio Mac M1 both on the same WiFi.
 
I can't get it to work consistently either. It's supposed to just pop up a "connect" button above the Mac itself, when it works. (I've never gone into control center for this) Not sure if the lid needs to be open on a MacBook. (and not sure how that'd work on a mini or other desktop then)
 
You didn't mention them, so let's start with the requirements:
  • Are you running Sonoma?
  • Are you using the same Apple ID with 2-factor authentication enabled?
  • Are wifi and bluetooth both enabled?
The AVP must also be seeing an open laptop with an active display.
 
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TLewis said:
You didn't mention them, so let's start with the requirements:
  • Are you running Sonoma?
  • Are you using the same Apple ID with 2-factor authentication enabled?
  • Are wifi and bluetooth both enabled?
The AVP must also be seeing an open laptop with an active display.
Click to expand...
Ok, here it goes:

Studio Mac: Sonoma, different Apple ID - no 2FA on my desktop - wired LAN GB - BT on.

Macbook Air M2: Ventura, work Apple ID - no 2FA on Macbook - same WiFi & BT on.
 
I noticed that I needed my MacBook Pro to be unlocked and then pressing the Digital Crown seemed to make the connect button appear above the Mac. Make sure there are no windows in front of the Mac as well.
 
TLewis said:
See: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213971

I can't tell if you're violating 0, 1, or 2 of the requirements.
Click to expand...
Thank you for that from Apple.

I guess I am not able to use the AVP with my Mac Studio because I use wired LAN, no 2FA and not the same Apple ID.

Guess VP is a big fail for me.

Apple really needs up their game and get real people situations instead of locking down features that fail wide adoption of their newest tech....
 
You need to have your MacBook open to see the connect button without having to go into Control Center.
 
I didn't see it for my Mac too (the way they want you to experience), I had to trigger it from the control center of the Mac
 
If you’re having issues seeing the connect icon on the AVP, restart your Mac and your AVP. After doing that it reliably shows for me. Also if it doesn’t show just connect through control center.
 
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symphony said:
I didn't see it for my Mac too (the way they want you to experience), I had to trigger it from the control center of the Mac
Click to expand...
Can you tell me how you did that ?

I went to my Mac Studio, Control center, and can't see it on my VP.
 
4sallypat said:
Can you tell me how you did that ?

I went to my Mac Studio, Control center, and can't see it on my VP.
Click to expand...
I went to my menu bar control center, went to mirror icon that you normally go to for extending to your iPad like sidecar and my AVP appeared there
 
bizzy045 said:
If you’re having issues seeing the connect icon on the AVP, restart your Mac and your AVP. After doing that it reliably shows for me. Also if it doesn’t show just connect through control center.
Click to expand...
I restarted both and no go.

Waiting for a call from Apple Support on this one.

A major feature that's not working does not give me any confidence in keeping this expensive toy.
 
4sallypat said:
I restarted both and no go.

Waiting for a call from Apple Support on this one.

A major feature that's not working does not give me any confidence in keeping this expensive toy.
Click to expand...
What kind of Mac? It has to be Apple silicon. Like everyone else WiFi must be on and 2FA must be enabled.
 
4sallypat said:
Thank you for that from Apple.

I guess I am not able to use the AVP with my Mac Studio because I use wired LAN, no 2FA and not the same Apple ID.

Guess VP is a big fail for me.

Apple really needs up their game and get real people situations instead of locking down features that fail wide adoption of their newest tech....
Click to expand...
Sucks to be you. 99.999% of my activity so far has been using the Vision Pro as a gigantic 4k Mac display while I work in coffee shops
 
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Having the same problem. I was able to get it to work yesterday but not consistently. Today is another story. I can’t get it to work at all and I’ve tried restarting both the Vision Pro and my M1 MacBook Pro several times. All OSs are up-to-date.

Is there a trick to this?

It seems they have some bugs to work out. I hope they can figure it out soon. It’s a great feature, when it works. Looking at you AirDrop. 👀
 
Last edited:
You don't need to use wifi for your mac's connection; you just have to have it on.

For my wired computers, I even connect to my wifi access point but then disable IPv4 (just turn off DHCP on the network setting). "Set Service Order" has failed to work reliably for me since Ventura. The wifi radio itself must be enabled for the Continuity series of features, though, which this is under. The wifi radios between two devices directly exchange some info.

I can connect to any of my wired machines with the AVP mac screen feature. I've never once seen the AR pop hovering over my screens, though, and always have to use the AVP control center to intitiate. This doesn't seem wifi related (I've tried wifi only). I think it's becuase I run a /22 network and there's some dumb logic expecting a /24, who knows.
 
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TLewis said:
See: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213971

I can't tell if you're violating 0, 1, or 2 of the requirements.
Click to expand...
You were correct!

2FA, Apple ID, and network was required with Mac Virtual Display to work.

  1. My Studio Mac now works - had to change
    Apple ID to match the AVP,
  2. Turn off LAN on a different subnet,
  3. Turn on WiFi on same subnet as AVP,
  4. 2FA turned on the AVP.

The funny thing was the Apple Support rep could not figure out how to pair the iPhone with the AVP for handsfree use so had to use the speakerphone for 45 minutes....
 
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4sallypat said:
Thank you for that from Apple.

I guess I am not able to use the AVP with my Mac Studio because I use wired LAN, no 2FA and not the same Apple ID.

Guess VP is a big fail for me.

Apple really needs up their game and get real people situations instead of locking down features that fail wide adoption of their newest tech....
Click to expand...

Yes, the AVP being a locked down media consumption toy like the iPad ist the greatest disappointment, because like this it can never be my main computing device.
 
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TheRealDrJones said:
Yes, the AVP being a locked down media consumption toy like the iPad ist the greatest disappointment, because like this it can never be my main computing device.
Click to expand...
Exactly - it's a $3500 toy.

I have iPads and never use them - my kids use mine.

I consider the VP and iPad in the same category - games, music, movies, etc...

Not for serious Mac users...
 
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4sallypat said:
Exactly - it's a $3500 toy.

I have iPads and never use them - my kids use mine.

I consider the VP and iPad in the same category - games, music, movies, etc...

Not for serious Mac users...
Click to expand...
Looks like 1.1 will fix your multiple Apple ID issues, but probably after return period.

Starting in visionOS 1.1, Apple Vision Pro will treat MDM accounts just like on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This will really unlock using Apple Vision Pro for work for a lot of folks.

We know businesses want to be able to manage identity, deployment, management, security and privacy for devices in their organizations, and we’re working to ensure Apple Vision Pro can be managed at scale alongside iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.
MDM features for Apple Vision Pro in visionOS 1.1 beta include account-driven enrollment and important management features, such as app installation, Managed Apple IDs, network configurations, single sign-on, and support for Exchange and Google Workspace.
We’re actively working with MDM developers to support the feature set.
Click to expand...
 
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Lobwedgephil said:
Looks like 1.1 will fix your multiple Apple ID issues, but probably after return period.

Starting in visionOS 1.1, Apple Vision Pro will treat MDM accounts just like on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This will really unlock using Apple Vision Pro for work for a lot of folks.
Click to expand...
Will AVP work on MDM like Airwatch or Mosyle ?

We use them where I work to manage all our iPads, Macs, iPhones....
 
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