Universal Control - Frequent Disconnects

[stgeorm]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to see everyones experiences with Universal Control?

For me it's great when connected and works perfectly, but fairly frequently it seems to disconnect, even when both my MacBook Pro and iPad Pro are awake. It seems to happen for no apparent reason.

Sometimes, I can reconnect by choosing 'Link keyboard and mouse to:' but quite frequently that option will be gone, and I have to go into Display Preferences and toggle off Universal Control, or turn Wi-Fi off on my iPad Pro for my MacBook Pro to 'see' it again.

It can be really annoying, sometimes it happens constantly, sometimes I can go for a while without it happening but will happen multiple times through the day. Oddly it almost seems to happen less when my iPad Pro isn't plugged into power.

Does anyone have this set up and it's working perfectly?

I have a MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021 and an iPad Pro 2020 (with M1 chip.)

Many thanks,

Michael

 

[chinds1]

Morning all,

I have seen the same problem between a MacBook Pro running Ventura 13.0.1 and a Mac Mini running 13.0, but it's been intermittent since introduction. Sometimes the mouse and keyboard get caught on the MacBook and there is no access to the Mini until the system reconnects. They are within 4 feet of each other, and have good wifi connectivity.

Anyone else seeing this issue?

Thanks,

Chris

 

[mpower99]

I am also having this issue. It happens to me so often and disrupts my work. I have a 13" MBP and 14" MBP within one foot of each other on my desk. One is running Ventura and the other is running Monterey as my organization does not support Ventura yet. It seems like this continues to be an issue even when both devices are running Ventura... Not sure what I can do.

Sometimes I can trick it into working again by mirroring and un mirroring the displays, or disconnecting/reconnecting a monitor to one of the MBP. But this is really annoying. At the very least Apple could add a 'detect displays' function to restore it.

Also curious to know if anyone has a setup that is working properly with Universal Control and what you have done to make it happen.

 

[eyeseeyou]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to see everyones experiences with Universal Control?

For me it's great when connected and works perfectly, but fairly frequently it seems to disconnect, even when both my MacBook Pro and iPad Pro are awake. It seems to happen for no apparent reason.

Sometimes, I can reconnect by choosing 'Link keyboard and mouse to:' but quite frequently that option will be gone, and I have to go into Display Preferences and toggle off Universal Control, or turn Wi-Fi off on my iPad Pro for my MacBook Pro to 'see' it again.

It can be really annoying, sometimes it happens constantly, sometimes I can go for a while without it happening but will happen multiple times through the day. Oddly it almost seems to happen less when my iPad Pro isn't plugged into power.

Does anyone have this set up and it's working perfectly?

I have a MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021 and an iPad Pro 2020 (with M1 chip.)

Many thanks,

Michael

I have a similar experience, although I have a 2018 iPad pro.
With the latest update to venture, when it disconnects, the universal control toggle isn't even there, but the option to extend my monitor to the iPad is. After I select extend to iPad, the universal toggle is there again, which is pretty jarring. This used to never happen before Ventura and ipados 16.2

 

[stgeorm]

Do you use Logitech devices? I found that the following pretty much solved my issues:

- Changing my Logitech Mouse and Keyboard for Apple Magic Mouse & Keyboard (Kind of an expensive fix though)
- Ensuring laptop remains open (This made a big difference in my setup of MacBook Pro and iPad Pro)

 

[eyeseeyou]

Do you use Logitech devices? I found that the following pretty much solved my issues:

- Changing my Logitech Mouse and Keyboard for Apple Magic Mouse & Keyboard (Kind of an expensive fix though)
- Ensuring laptop remains open (This made a big difference in my setup of MacBook Pro and iPad Pro)

I do use Logitech devices. The mx3 changed my life lol.

I absolutely hate using the Magic Mouse so I guess I’ll have to deal with this issue.

Maybe it’s an issue with the Logitech software?

 

[stgeorm]

I do use Logitech devices. The mx3 changed my life lol.

I absolutely hate using the Magic Mouse so I guess I’ll have to deal with this issue.

Maybe it’s an issue with the Logitech software?

Yeah I think it is. The MX3 is way better than the Magic Mouse but Magic Mouse ok for my needs, and seems to work a but nicer with my iPad Pro

 

[eyeseeyou]

Yeah I think it is. The MX3 is way better than the Magic Mouse but Magic Mouse ok for my needs, and seems to work a but nicer with my iPad Pro

The major deal breaker with the Magic Mouse is the way my hand/wrist/fingers have to grip it. It causes my wrist to hurt. I’ve seen an attachment to add to it which allows my palm to rest on the mouse and or put it at a downward slope but I feel like I shouldn’t have to but an attachment just to make it comfortable.

Anyhow I might give it another try if this disconnection issue gets annoying enough.

 

[0kwhyn0t]

I'm having this exact issue. Both of my Mac Mini's within 15 feet of each other (one M1 and one Intel) running the latest version of Ventura, they stay connected for a few min and then disconnect. That leaves the mouse pointer right in the middle of the target mini's screen. Both on ethernet, both sharing an Apple Magic Keyboard (non Touch ID) and a rechargeable Apple Magic Mouse. I'm using Google Wifi as routers, both have wifi enabled and are connected as secondary network devices.

 

[Mac2133]

Do you use Logitech devices? I found that the following pretty much solved my issues:

- Changing my Logitech Mouse and Keyboard for Apple Magic Mouse & Keyboard (Kind of an expensive fix though)
- Ensuring laptop remains open (This made a big difference in my setup of MacBook Pro and iPad Pro)

This worked! Thanks!
Leaving the laptop open did the trick. Universal Control is now quite stable.
Note that I do (and continue to) use a Logitech Keyboard.

 

[chrisf60647]

I love UC but it's odd for me with the disconnects. I have a Mac Mini and MBP right next to each other. Im using a Magic Mouse and Keyboard.

Sometimes UC works great but it drops a lot. I am thinking it might be something with the work laptop (firewall) but I cant put my finger on it.

There is no consistent pattern to it.

 

[B3B3]

UC has been a continuous problem since it was introduced; on some days it will work perfectly, but most of the time it will drop out every few minutes for no apparent reason. Error logging doesn't give much insight; there was some additional logging a previous version of macOS, but that has disappeared with macOS Ventura 13.4, so I'm back in the dark again.

My computers are a 2022 Mac Studio M1, and a 2021 MacBook Pro 16" M1.

When it works it is excellent. When it doesn't work, it's awful. In the last year, I've brought this to Apple's attention on multiple occassions to try and get it resolved. I can't work it out, and they don't seem to be able to help.

 

[jmpage2]

What's strange is that for the first six or so months when I had an Intel iMac and an M1 MacBook Pro, it worked pretty much perfectly.

I got an M2 Mac Mini to replace the iMac and the constant disconnects make the feature feel crippled and incomplete.

I will sometimes go an hour or two with it working fine, and then it will simply stop working. Sometimes I can get it to reconnect by pushing the mouse cursor up against the edge of the screen, but often it simply won't work and then will reconnect again a short time later.

Working a normal day I have it disconnect probably ten times at least.

 

[AndrewSignerts]

Funny, this thread is soon 1 year old, and people are still experiencing the same issues. I'm on the latets Ventura (Aug. 22) on my iMacPro and MacBook Air (M1). The iMacPro has the tgb+mouse. This is my work setup, and they're just a few millimeters away from touching each other. They're on the same WiFi, and the iMacPro even has an ethernet cable.

Thing is, it discconects randomly just like all others in this thread has reported. But what's interesting is that it also RECONNECTS again, without me doing anything.
So, I'm working, suddenly it stops working, I revert to use the blasted Trackpad on the MacBook Air, and a minute or so later Universal Control is working again. 15min later it doesn't, then reconnects, then works for almost an hour straight.

I cannot see any pattern to this at all.

 

[tychay]

Same. For the last few months it's been working fine. I get back from vacation and now I'm getting drop offs randomly. I know it's not the keyboard/mouse because when I open Displays I see that the other computer disappears. It will sometimes reconnect. That was the same symptoms months ago (two same model Intel macbook pros, about 5 feet apart connected by both wired (USB gigE) and wireless connection).

 

[pshufd]

I've used Synergy for this since around 2008 and decided to give Universal Control a try and used it for a few months and then it broke with a maintenance update but was fixed in the next update. But I found that I got disconnects so I went back to Synergy and that's what I'm using today. It's far more reliable and works with Windows and Linux if I need to add that to my desktop.

 

[oKUtItyp]

The same thing happened to me also between Mac Studio M2 and iMac 2017. It just discounted for no reason, and reconnect itself a few minutes later.

I used Logitech MX Keys and Magic Mouse.

 

[idigum]

I've been experiencing more problems since updating to Sonoma. It was working great with rare disconnects. For the past few weeks, since updating OS, It happens 2-3 per hour. I have M1 Studio and 2018 Intel MBP and use Magic Mouse and Keyboard. The greatest problem I have with this disconnect is when the cursor gets stuck on the laptop and I'm unable to get it back onto the Studio. At least when it gets stuck on the Studio, I can use the trackpad on the laptop to regain control.

 

[fatalhorizon]

I've been experiencing more problems since updating to Sonoma. It was working great with rare disconnects. For the past few weeks, since updating OS, It happens 2-3 per hour. I have M1 Studio and 2018 Intel MBP and use Magic Mouse and Keyboard. The greatest problem I have with this disconnect is when the cursor gets stuck on the laptop and I'm unable to get it back onto the Studio. At least when it gets stuck on the Studio, I can use the trackpad on the laptop to regain control.

I noticed the same. I jumped on the Sonoma beta back in July. Prior to that, UC was working pretty well with only seldom disconnects. On the beta, it was immediately disconnecting all the time like it used to do when the feature first launched. I chalked it up to beta being beta and ignored/worked around it. Thing is, I'm on the public release of Sonoma and it hasn't gotten any better. I'm using an M1 Pro MacBook Pro and M1 iPad Pro, both open and on the same desk.

 

[technicalpeach]

I have been having this issue with both my new (used) Intel MacBookAir and my brandnew M3 iMac. I use a Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse combo with the dongle, and they would occasionally cut out for no reason whatsoever. After some troubleshooting and intense googling, I stumbled on this Reddit post that suggested the problem (which I did not have with the same dongle/keyboard/mouse combo on my previous 2017 MacBookAir) was possibly caused by wireless interference from the USB 3.0 ports (a known issue). I plugged my dongle into a USB male-female extension cord, moving the dongle a ways away from all the USB 3.0 ports, and have had no random disconnections so far.

 

[jmpage2]

I have been having this issue with both my new (used) Intel MacBookAir and my brandnew M3 iMac. I use a Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse combo with the dongle, and they would occasionally cut out for no reason whatsoever. After some troubleshooting and intense googling, I stumbled on this Reddit post that suggested the problem (which I did not have with the same dongle/keyboard/mouse combo on my previous 2017 MacBookAir) was possibly caused by wireless interference from the USB 3.0 ports (a known issue). I plugged my dongle into a USB male-female extension cord, moving the dongle a ways away from all the USB 3.0 ports, and have had no random disconnections so far.

I have a USBC dock under my Mac Mini, so I will see if unplugging it changes anything. Thanks for the idea.

 

[jmpage2]

So, I disconnected my USB-C dock and I only had one time where I didn't get a connection over the span of about a week and that disconnection only lasted for a couple of minutes.

So, a bit anecdotal still but it does seem that other devices could affect how this feature is working.

 

[jmpage2]

Well I was wrong as the disconnects continue.

One possible wrinkle in my setup that might be a factor is that the MacBook is on WiFi and the Mac Mini is on wired ethernet... however both are on the same VLAN.

I also have enterprise grade mesh WiFi.

Any of these could be contributing factors... but it is annoying that when I was doing this with the iMac it worked pretty much perfectly.

 

[Gmtisrad]

@jmpage2

You mentioned you have a mesh network. I use the eero mesh network with the echo dots as extenders. I turned off my echo dots in the eero app and this issue doesn't happen anymore. It was happening within 2 minutes of me linking my devices every time. 2021 MBP M1 14" and 2021 MBP M1 16".

 

[jmpage2]

I have a lot of square footage so mesh is the only way to go in my home. The Mini is actually wired at 10Gb/s but still has to have wifi enabled or features like Airdrop don’t work.

If i knew what to look for in the logs i could probably debug this further.