Universal Control No Longer in Beta in macOS Monterey 12.4 and iPadOS 15.5

[MacRumors]

Universal Control is no longer a "beta" feature, with the beta labeling removed in the macOS Monterey 12.4 and iPadOS 15.5 release candidate versions that were seeded to developers and public beta testers earlier today.

Apple in March released Universal Control as part of macOS Monterey 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4, and since launch, it has had a beta label as Apple has worked to iron out bugs and clear up any minor issues.

Under System Preferences > Displays > Universal Control, the beta labeling next to the Universal Control options has been removed. Likewise, there is no longer a beta label on the iPad under System Preferences > AirPlay > Handoff > Cursor and Keyboard.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1524820053954273284

Universal Control is designed to allow you to use a single mouse/trackpad and keyboard across multiple Macs and iPads, with the feature designed to work automatically with macOS Monterey 12.3 and later and iPadOS 15.4 or later.

Though Universal Control has been available in a beta capacity, it has worked well for users, which is why Apple has been able to remove the beta labeling just a couple months after the feature first launched.

Article Link: Universal Control No Longer in Beta in macOS Monterey 12.4 and iPadOS 15.5

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Interesting, currently there are still plenty of lag issues so unless they did something in the upcoming release it’s very much a beta.

Wonder when Private Relay is going to drop the beta tag as well.

 

[Moonlight]

Does that mean it will work? because it doesn't right now with my Mac studio and iPad pro

 

[frostbit3]

Been using Universal Control with my M1 iPad Pro and M1 Macbook Pro, has worked almost flawlessly. Only issue I've had is sometimes the keyboard doesn't get registered as the input on my iPad, but clicking out to OSX and back into iPadOS fixes it.

 

[Infinite Vortex]

Is anything software, from anyone, really out of beta these day??

 

[Bull 07]

What time is left for Google to copy it?

 

[eliehass]

Does that mean it will work? because it doesn't right now with my Mac studio and iPad pro

Is it not working at all? It works pretty well for me with an M1 MacBook Air and iPad Pro. Sometimes it takes a minute to pair, but once it does it's usually fine.

 

[headlessmike]

Even as a beta it works astonishingly well on my unsupported 2012 Mac mini. I haven’t noticed any lag or pairing problems, it just works.

 

[Moonlight]

Is it not working at all? It works pretty well for me with an M1 MacBook Air and iPad Pro. Sometimes it takes a minute to pair, but once it does it's usually fine.

Nope, wouldn't stay connected

 

[juareza94]

Does anyone know if they've finally resolved control keys working when using a keyboard connected to the MacOS environment in the iPad OS environment? Current version I've used in the latest public, stable release, doesn't allow me to use things like the shift key to capitalize characters. Seemed like a big oversight...or just error on my end I'm barely trying to isolate.

 

[StudioMacs]

Does that mean it will work? because it doesn't right now with my Mac studio and iPad pro

Works perfectly with my Mac Studio and 2021 12.9" iPad Pro.

Sounds like you need to configure one of the devices correctly.

 

[StudioMacs]

Does anyone know if they've finally resolved control keys working when using a keyboard connected to the MacOS environment in the iPad OS environment? Current version I've used in the latest public, stable release, doesn't allow me to use things like the shift key to capitalize characters. Seemed like a big oversight...or just error on my end I'm barely trying to isolate.

On the iPad try Settings > Accessibility > Keyboards > Full Keyboard Access (on)

This has solved some issues for people with third party Logitech keyboards.

 

[Captain_Mac]

Wonder if iPadOS 16 / macOS 13 will break compatibility with 15/12, as 15.5/12.4 did with prior versions ?

 

[frostbit3]

Does anyone know if they've finally resolved control keys working when using a keyboard connected to the MacOS environment in the iPad OS environment? Current version I've used in the latest public, stable release, doesn't allow me to use things like the shift key to capitalize characters. Seemed like a big oversight...or just error on my end I'm barely trying to isolate.

Mine works no problem. It also translates my key remappings that I have as I remap fn within OSX to also be control for control+c in terminal. Works in both OSX and iPadOS

 

[Libertine82]

After the initial getting head around with using an external screen it’s worked flawlessly on a MacBook Pro 2016 with iPad Pro 12.9 and iPad mini 6. One of the best features in years

 

[ignatius345]

I have not been able to get this to work at all. I'm running 12.3.1 on an M1 MacBook Air and on an M1 iMac, both signed into the same Apple ID, both with good wifi connections (if that matters). Went through and checked everything in that little Universal Control settings screen on both machines. Tried "pushing" through with the cursor through all edges of both machines to see if the cursor was going to push through somewhere unexpected. Nada. Maybe this update will fix it?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

I have not been able to get this to work at all. I'm running 12.3.1 on an M1 MacBook Air and on an M1 iMac, both signed into the same Apple ID, both with good wifi connections (if that matters). Went through and checked everything in that little Universal Control settings screen on both machines. Tried "pushing" through with the cursor through all edges of both machines to see if the cursor was going to push through somewhere unexpected. Nada. Maybe this update will fix it?

You gotta do some research. You need to update your OS to a supported version at a minimum.

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

Use the keyboard, mouse, or trackpad of your Mac to control up to two other nearby Mac or iPad devices, and work seamlessly between them.

support.apple.com

 

[G46&Fbnth5]

From Mac to iPad it works fine, but from iPad Magic Keyboard to Mac it is still a disaster.

 

[BigBlur]

You gotta do some research. You need to update your OS to a supported version at a minimum.

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

Use the keyboard, mouse, or trackpad of your Mac to control up to two other nearby Mac or iPad devices, and work seamlessly between them.

support.apple.com

MacOS 12.3.1 is currently the latest public version. I think that's a typo on Apple's page or they updated it prematurely to reflect the non-beta version coming in 12.4, which isn't available yet. It used to say macOS 12.3, when Universal Control was initially released.

I have not been able to get this to work at all. I'm running 12.3.1 on an M1 MacBook Air and on an M1 iMac, both signed into the same Apple ID, both with good wifi connections (if that matters). Went through and checked everything in that little Universal Control settings screen on both machines. Tried "pushing" through with the cursor through all edges of both machines to see if the cursor was going to push through somewhere unexpected. Nada. Maybe this update will fix it?

Sheepish-Lord does make a good point. Make sure you are meeting all the requirements...Apple ID is using 2FA, Bluetooth is on, Handoff is on, in close range, etc.

 

[ignatius345]

You gotta do some research. You need to update your OS to a supported version at a minimum.

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

Use the keyboard, mouse, or trackpad of your Mac to control up to two other nearby Mac or iPad devices, and work seamlessly between them.

support.apple.com

I think you gotta do some research Despite what that support article says, Universal Control came out in 12.3 which, like I said, I have installed.

Apple in March released Universal Control as part of macOS Monterey 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4, and since launch, it has had a beta label as Apple has worked to iron out bugs and clear up any minor issues.

And sure enough, Universal Control settings appear on both machines:

 

[bradman83]

Does anyone know if they've finally resolved control keys working when using a keyboard connected to the MacOS environment in the iPad OS environment? Current version I've used in the latest public, stable release, doesn't allow me to use things like the shift key to capitalize characters. Seemed like a big oversight...or just error on my end I'm barely trying to isolate.

Out of curiosity what keyboard are you using? I know some generic Windows-centric keyboards have wonky key mapping. I have the built in MBP keyboard, a Logitech MX Keys bluetooth keyboard and an iPad Magic Keyboard and all work fine.

 

[nortonandreev]

From Mac to iPad it works fine, but from iPad Magic Keyboard to Mac it is still a disaster.

Yep. Nothing has been fixed since the first beta build was available.

 

[ignatius345]

Make sure you are meeting all the requirements...Apple ID is using 2FA, Bluetooth is on, Handoff is on, in close range, etc.

All of those things are true. The two Macs are within inches of each other, Handoff is on (and functional), Bluetooth and Wifi are on, same Apple ID, 2FA turned on. I'm a bit stumped here, honestly.

The only possible fly in the ointment I can think of is that on each of the Macs I run separate personal and work user accounts, signed in to different Apple IDs. Though when I've tried to get Universal Control working, I'm making sure they're both logged into my work account. I guess there could be some bug with the multiple users?

I'll try 12.4 when it comes out of beta, see if that helps, I guess.

 

[StudioMacs]

Yep. Nothing has been fixed since the first beta build was available.

Did you file a bug report?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Uhh, what? Despite what that support article says, Universal Control came out in 12.3, which, like I said, I have installed.



And sure enough, Universal Control settings appear on both machines:

View attachment 2004353

I understand it’s been available since 12.3 BUT the Apple support article clearly states the requirement as 12.4 or later so maybe there was an issue with 12.3 since Apple does not list it. Do your thing but if you’re not willing to go through an Apple support article and do what’s necessary then I’m not sure what to say. Apple customer support would have you update to 12.4 per the document as well.