macOS 15.2 Screen Mirroring is always active

[Shin-Ra]

According to these Macrumors articles this is normal/expected behaviour but having updating to 15.2, when I saw screen mirroring active and unable to ‘Stop Extending’ I was puzzled.

macOS 15.2: Selectively Screen Share to Your Apple TV

In macOS Sequoia 15.2, Apple has added some new AirPlay features that allow you to selectively choose which elements of your screen you wish to...

www.macrumors.com

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-sequoia-15-2-beta-adds-new-airplay-options.2442167/

It seems from 15.2 any external display, even if it’s your primary display, it’s considered an extended display. Not very intuitive for Macs without a built-in display especially as the option to ‘Stop Extending’ is shown in red text but does nothing.

I’ve disabled the Menu Bar module for Screen Mirroring as it gives the impression, compared to pre 15.2 behaviour, that AirPlay’s doing something when it’s just direct HDMI output.

 

[Andrey84]

According to these Macrumors articles this is normal/expected behaviour but having updating to 15.2, when I saw screen mirroring active and unable to ‘Stop Extending’ I was puzzled.

macOS 15.2: Selectively Screen Share to Your Apple TV

In macOS Sequoia 15.2, Apple has added some new AirPlay features that allow you to selectively choose which elements of your screen you wish to...

www.macrumors.com

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-sequoia-15-2-beta-adds-new-airplay-options.2442167/

It seems from 15.2 any external display, even if it’s your primary display, it’s considered an extended display. Not very intuitive for Macs without a built-in display especially as the option to ‘Stop Extending’ is shown in red text but does nothing.

I’ve disabled the Menu Bar module for Screen Mirroring as it gives the impression, compared to pre 15.2 behaviour, that AirPlay’s doing something when it’s just direct HDMI output.

In that article, where does it say that it's normal for Screen Mirroring to be enabled all the time?

 

[Fishrrman]

I did not write was is posted below.
I saw it on reddit and archived it.
This seemed to solve the problem for one user:
===================================
So, just an update on how I managed to fix it, in case someone else has this problem. This is after HOURS of faffing around!

- Create a new (test) user account.

- Log into that user account.

- Delete the file /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist

- Reboot!

- When you get back into the login screen, you'll notice that the "missing" monitor has turned up again

- Log back into the new user account, and you'll see that the Screen Mirroring thingamabob in Control Centre has this monitor selected.

- Open up Display Settings and rearrange the screens to your layout.

- Reboot and now log back into your normal account. Your settings should persist.

- Delete the new (test) user account as it's not needed any more. Or, leave it. Up to you.

- Should be all working now!
===================================

 

[Shin-Ra]

In that article, where does it say that it's normal for Screen Mirroring to be enabled all the time?

At the end of the article:

Notably, the same menu for selecting between full-screen, app-specific, or window sharing also appears when connecting a Mac to a TV via HDMI.

But having seen more people’s experiences and how it breaks other Screen Mirroring features I’m back on the side of this being broken.

I did not write was is posted below.
I saw it on reddit and archived it.
This seemed to solve the problem for one user:
===================================
So, just an update on how I managed to fix it, in case someone else has this problem. This is after HOURS of faffing around!

- Create a new (test) user account.

- Log into that user account.

- Delete the file /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist

- Reboot!

- When you get back into the login screen, you'll notice that the "missing" monitor has turned up again

- Log back into the new user account, and you'll see that the Screen Mirroring thingamabob in Control Centre has this monitor selected.

- Open up Display Settings and rearrange the screens to your layout.

- Reboot and now log back into your normal account. Your settings should persist.

- Delete the new (test) user account as it's not needed any more. Or, leave it. Up to you.

- Should be all working now!
===================================

This seems to be a fix for (some users) clicking ‘Stop Extending’ and the display no longer being detected, but not the overall problem with Screen Mirroring always showing as active.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/1hchdsw/comment/m1s06oq

 

[Feed0]

This must be one of the reasons I can't EXTEND my Mac mini M2 to my iPad.

Whenever I attempt extending, my TV freezes, my iPad locks its screen . I have to turn my TV off, so I can use my Mac again. Instead I can "Link mouse and keyboard to: iPad".

But I want to EXTEND the display and I can't seem to make it work. I could have studied for the last 2 hours. But nope! I wasted my morning trying to fix this 15.2 Sequoia bug.

 

[dizmonk]

So in essence, other than that elaborate fix, there's no way to "turn off screen mirroring?" This is a problem especially when I use Keynote.

 

[dizmonk]

So in essence, other than that elaborate fix, there's no way to "turn off screen mirroring?" This is a problem especially when I use Keynote.

Does anyone else have this problem and/or a solution? Thanks.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

It seems from 15.2 any external display, even if it’s your primary display, it’s considered an extended display. Not very intuitive for Macs without a built-in display especially as the option to ‘Stop Extending’ is shown in red text but does nothing.

It's not clear to me what's going on with that... I've never noticed a problem from either of my Mac minis (M1 and M4 Pro), both running macOS 15.3.1. Can you explain exactly where this issue is causing problems?

FWIW each of my minis has two displays; one is "Main" and one is "Extended." I don't often AirPlay from them but in testing, either can AirPlay to an ATV as an additional "Extended" display, or to an iPad.

The way this issue is phrased, it makes it sound like "This is an issue for ANY Mac running macOS 15.2 or higher" and unless there's some problem I'm just not observing... that doesn't seem to be the case!

 

[Shin-Ra]

MacOS 15.3 fixed the issue for my simple setup (Mac mini to HDMI TV) but some with multi-display setups still have problems.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/since-updating-to-macos-15-2-my-mac-mini-seems-to-think-the-screen-is-being-mirrored.2445257/page-2

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Hmm... never came across that myself, on either mini. Each uses one HDMI and one other display (Thunderbolt LG on one; USB-C DP Alt on the other).

Must have to do with the specific display being used... HDMI TV behavior possibly?

 

[dizmonk]

This is the problem. There used to be an option entitled "Stop Mirroring." I'm on 15.3.1 M4 Macbook Pro.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

This is the problem. There used to be an option entitled "Stop Mirroring." I'm on 15.3.1 M4 Macbook Pro.

Hmm - if you connect to a TV, though, what other options do you have?? Extend, Mirror, or Choose window or app seems pretty comprehensive to me. What would "Stop Mirroring" even do? Turn off the main display and replace it with the TV?

 

[dizmonk]

Hmm - if you connect to a TV, though, what other options do you have?? Extend, Mirror, or Choose window or app seems pretty comprehensive to me. What would "Stop Mirroring" even do? Turn off the main display and replace it with the TV?

It's hard to explain. When there was a "stop mirroring" option, when I would be in Keynote, if I clicked stop mirroring it went back to presenter mode. (See attached screenshot.) After these new updates, I don't get that option anymore. Also when I unplug the HDMI cord, while using Keynote, my computer locks up. I have to physically hold the power button down to restart it.