Trying to use your iPad as an additional monitor for your MacBook or other Mac and cannot get Sidecar to show up or work?  Finding it challenging to connect your iPad to your Mac using Sidecar? Or seeing other errors when trying to get your Mac to see your iPad such as “unable to connect,” “device timed out,” or “you can’t open the Sidecar preferences pane because it is not available to you at this time?” 

If these errors sound familiar, we got you covered with our top tips to get Sidecar working on your Mac and your iPad.i

Follow these quick tips to get Sidecar working on your iPad and Mac using iPadOS and macOS Catalina+

• Make sure iPadOS and macOS are on the latest versions available–Sidecar requires iPadOS (iOS13) and macOS Catalina+
• Sidecar requires Macs with Skylake processors and later models and iPads that support Apple Pencil
• Reset the Trust This Computer setting on your iPad
• Check that you are logged into the same AppleID/iCloud account on both your iPad and Mac AND have two-factor authentication enabled
• Some users found that changing their Apple ID’s password and then updating both devices allowed them to connect with Sidecar wirelessly
• Type in Sidecar using your Mac’s spotlight search
• For device timed out errors, try disabling Keep Today on Home Screen in Settings > Home Screen & Dock (or under Display & Brightness)
• If your iPad is showing a black screen, change the setting to Mirror Display and then go to your preferred setting
• For problems connecting wirelessly or timing out, plug your iPad into your Mac using a Made For iPad (MFI) cable and then open Sidecar from your Mac’s System Preferences
• For wireless connections, make sure both devices connect to the same WiFi network and that the signal is strong and stable. Keep your devices within 10 meters or less (that’s nearly 30 feet!)
• Sign out of your Apple ID/ iCloud on both devices (iPad and Mac), restart both and then sign in to the same Apple ID on both, then reboot again–after that try using Sidecar
• Make sure your Mac and your iPad are compatible with Sidecar
• For older and unsupported Mac, you can try to force compatibility with your Mac using macOS Terminal app (for Catalina and above)–this may or may not work for your Mac

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No Time? Check out our video!

A brief bit about Sidecar

Sidecar is Apple’s latest addition to its Continuity portfolio–features designed to create a seamless experience between all types of Apple devices, from Macs to iPhones, iPods, and iPhones. Sidecar is for iPads and Macs only and is supported by iPadOS and macOS Catalina+.

Extend your Mac’s screen to your iPad

With Sidecar, folks that own iPads and Macs can now extend their Mac’s display to their iPad. Sidecar allows you to work with multiple apps on different screens, just like any other second monitor. And if desired, you can mirror the screens so both your iPad and your Mac show the same content, for easy sharing with others.

Sidecar even supports Apple Pencil, so when you pair your iPad with an Apple Pencil, you can use the pencil to draw, sketch or write in any Mac app that offers stylus support!

Sidecar works with wires or no wires (wireless)

And like all Continuity features, Sidecar can run on a wireless connection (or a wired connection), making it easy to add a second monitor when on-the-go.

Does Sidecar support portrait mode and landscape mode?

Sorry folks, but at this time Sidecar only works in landscape mode.

You can change your iPad to work on either the left and right side of your Mac’s main screen, but nothing happens when you move the iPad into portrait mode, it just stays in landscape mode.

Getting the error “you can’t open “Sidecar” preferences pane because it is not available to you at this time?”

Most folks see this error due to the following reasons:

• Not signed in with the same Apple ID on Mac and iPad, so check that you are
• Not updated to the latest version of iPadOS and/or macOS–update as needed
• Using an incompatible Mac or iPad (click article link to learn how to make your older model Mac recognize Sidecar–this may or may not work depending on your model)
• Search for “Sidecar” in Spotlight Search on your Mac to access Sidecar’s settings. On older unsupported Mac, you still might see these settings but find it will not open anything

What Macs and iPads support Sidecar?

Here’s what we know about Sidecar support for both iPads and Macs from Apple’s official list of Macs and iPads that support Sidecar.

These iPad models support Sidecar, running iPadOS

• 12.9-inch iPad Pro
• 11-inch iPad Pro
• 10.5-inch iPad Pro
• 9.7-inch iPad Pro
• iPad (6th generation or later)
• 5th generation iPad mini )
• iPad Air (3rd generation)

Currently, these Mac models “officially support” Sidecar, running macOS Catalina

• 2016 or later MacBook
• 2018 or later MacBook Air
• MacBook Pro introduced in 2016 or later
• Mac mini introduced in 2018 or later
• 2015 or later iMac
• iMac Pro introduced in 2017 or later
• 2019 Mac Pro

Using an older Mac?

If your Mac is not listed in the officially supported list, there are still some alternatives that might get Sidecar working. Check out this article to learn how to enable Sidecar on older Macs. Again, this sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t.

Using Sidecar on an unsupported Mac doesn’t look the best. The image quality is generally compromised, with lower screen resolution and may get choppy graphics,  flickering, and laggy screen experience. However, most folks who tried this found that text is easily readable.

Seeing unable to connect errors?

Check Sidecar’s requirements

• You must log into the same Apple ID on both devices for Sidecar to work
• Two-factor authentication must be enabled on both the iPad and Mac
• Bluetooth must also be active on both devices
• If connecting wirelessly, make sure both devices connect to the same WiFi network

Try pairing your iPad to your Mac using Finder or the Music app (or any of the iTunes replacement apps.)

• Connect your iPad to your Mac with a cable
• Wait for your Mac to recognize the iPad
• If asked, Trust the device and enter a PIN if needed

Reset the trust relationship

• Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Location & Privacy
• Connect your iPad to your computer
• Wait for the Trust alert to ask you whether you trust that computer
• Select Trust

iPad shows a black or dark screen when using Sidecar?

If you connect your iPad and see a black screen, try this:

1. Go to your Mac’s System Preferences > Display
2. Choose Arrangement
3. Toggle Mirror Display on and off

Check how you connect your iPad to your Mac

Connect your devices using your mac’s System Preferences 

• Turn on your Mac, then your iPad
• Open System Preferences and click on Sidecar
• Select your iPad from the Connect to the drop-down menu
• Wait for your Mac screen to become visible on your iPad

Connect your devices using AirPlay 

• Turn on your Mac, then your iPad
• Tap the AirPlay icon in the top menu bar on your Mac
  • If you don’t see the AirPlay icon in your menu bar, go to System Preferences > Displays and check the box for Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available
• Wait for your iPad to show up under the listed devices to AirPlay to: or Connect to:

When your Mac and iPad connect to each other with Sidecar, your AirPlay icon changes to a rectangle, indicating it’s connected to another device (your iPad)

Seeing “device timed out” errors when trying to connect or maintain the connection to your iPad?

If you can’t connect your Mac to your iPad via Sidecar or keep the connection active because the device times out and you see a message on-screen, you are not alone!

A lot of folks report seeing the error that their devices timed out. But we’ve got a few solutions and a reader tip that should help.

Getting poor connection errors?

If your WiFi signal isn’t stable or strong, then Sidecar struggles to connect to your iPad wirelessly.

• Wake up your Mac! Make sure you Mac isn’t power napping, asleep, turning the display off automatically, or putting its hard drive to sleep–these things cause poor connection errors on your iPad when using Sidecar
• The easiest remedy is to connect your iPad and Mac using a cable, if possible
• If not, try connecting to a 5 GHz network and/or check that your Mac and iPad have the same DNS nameservers associated with your chosen network
• Restarting the iPad often helps get a better connection between devices

Sidecar only working with a wired connection?

If Sidecar is working when you connect your iPad to your Mac using an MFI cable, but it’s not working wirelessly try these tips:

• Verify you use the same WiFi network on both devices
• Enable Bluetooth on both the Mac and iPad
• On both your Mac and your iPad, sign out of iCloud, reboot both, sign back into iCloud, and finally restart again. Then, try Sidecar using WiFi

Not seeing  Sidecar in System Preferences?

If you do not see Sidecar in your Mac’s system preferences, the first thing to check is your iPad and Mac model’s compatibility. And if using an older Mac, follow these steps to get Sidecar to show up.

If your Mac and iPad support Sidecar (or you used the older Mac workaround), but you still don’t the Sidecar icon in your Mac’s system preferences, try the following:

• Check that you turned on Bluetooth on both the Mac and iPad
• Connect to the same WiFi network on your Mac and iPad
• If connecting wirelessly, move your iPad closer to your Mac
• Tap the AirPlay icon on your Mac’s top menu bar and try connecting to your iPad from there. You may need to wait a few minutes for AirPlay to see your iPad
• Plug your iPad into your Mac with a lightning or USB-C cable and see if it connects with a direct-wired connection
• Check that you are logged into the same Apple ID on both devices

Is Sidecar not recognizing your touch on your iPad? Only works with Apple Pencil?

Apple designed Sidecar to extend or mirror your Mac’s display, but it did not make Mac apps responsive to your touch on your iPad’s screen. You can use your finger to change options in Sidecar’s sidebar and the touch bar–but that’s about it within the Sidecar app on iPad.

You can use your Apple Pencil because it is like a mouse or pointing device, but Apple claims our fingers are not sufficiently precise for Sidecar.

Sidecar Setup doesn’t work with Apple Pencil? Update macOS Settings

If you are having issues getting your Apple Pencil to work with your Sidecar set up, you may want to re-visit your security settings on your MacBook running macOS Catalina using the following steps.

1. Click on System Preferences
2. Choose  Security and next click on the Firewall tab
3. Click on the lock at the lower-left corner and enter your password
4. Choose Firewall-Options
5. uncheck “block all incoming connections” (or something similar – depending on your language settings) on the very top of the window
6. Restart Sidecar

How to use Sidecar on your iPad

Where are my iPad’s Sidecar settings?

There are no settings for sidecar on an iPad–you find sidecar’s settings on your Mac only, using System Preferences >Sidecar and the AirPlay Menu.

How to change which side Sidecar places my iPad?

Sidecar defaults to placing your iPad’s screen to the right of your Mac. But many folks want to change this to the left side of your Mac’s main display.

Luckily, changing that is easy!

Visit System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement to make any changes to your iPad’s display location, resolutions, and color profiles.

Want to Mirror your Mac’s screen?

You can also mirror your Mac’s screen on your iPad by check-marking the option to Mirror Display in your AirPlay’s menu.

You can also find a checkbox to mirror your display in System Preferences > Displays> Arrangement.

Sidecar’s default is to use your iPad as a separate display.

How to send apps to your iPad using Sidecar

Sidecar lets you use your iPad just like you would any external monitor. That means you can drag and drop apps and windows between the two monitors.

Sidecar add another way to send apps to your iPad

Hover your cursor just over the green dot that normally expands a window to see some new options. Choose Move to iPad to send that app to your iPad’s screen.

If you want to quickly send it back to your Mac’s main display, hover over the green dot again and choose Move Window Back to Mac.

Sidecar includes three different ways of interacting with content on your iPad

1. The Sidebar. When your iPad connects to your Mac with Sidecar, you see a Sidebar full of options on the left edge of your iPad’s screen. These sidebar options include controls and modifier keys for apps that support Sidecar. The sidebar also has your on-screen keyboard access toggle and a button to disconnect
2. The Touchbar. The bottom of your iPad’s display includes controls similar to a MacBook’s TouchBar for things like volume, mute, screen brightness, and contrast, launchpad, player controls, and Siri. Press the arrow to expand and see all the available controls!
3. Your iPad’s keyboard: Tap the keyboard icon in the sidebar to access the on-screen keyboard in order to type on your Mac app using your iPad’s floating keyboard. At this time, Sidecar supports only the floating (small) keyboard, not the full-size iPad on-screen keyboard

Yes, you can use your iPad as an iPad even when in Sidecar mode!

Sidecar works just like any app on your iPad, so you can switch to different apps using the app switcher, even when connected via Sidecar to a Mac. Pretty awesome.

When launching the app switcher, you’ll see Sidecar listed as an app preview, just like all open apps.

And you can force close Sidecar, just like normal

• When you force close Sidecar, it automatically disconnects from your Mac
• You see a message on your Mac that it is unable to connect to your iPad as the device was disconnected

Sorry folks, Sidecar doesn’t work unless you sign in with your Apple ID and log in to iCloud. That’s true even if you connect your iPad to your Mac via USB-C.

Does SideCar support multiple iPad displays?

At this time, you can only connect one iPad with Sidecar. So there is no multi-iPad support in Sidecar–at least not yet.

 Reader tips

• I couldn’t get Sidecar to connect for the life of me with my iPad 12.9 and my 2019 MBP–turned off Today View and presto no problems! Sidecar now works perfectly!
• Turning on Keychain in system preferences and on my iPad’s iCloud did the trick for me–I was always get timed out errors!
• My iPad Pro and 2019 MacBook Pro worked fine connected with the USB wired connection but I couldn’t get it to work wirelessly for the life of me!  I tried everything over and over with no success. Then, as a last ditched effort, I changed my Apple ID password. Once I updated that password on both devices I was able to use Sidecar wirelessly!
• Nothing worked until I turned off iCloud on both the iPad and iMac–then waited while iCloud synced everything up again. Then Sidecar worked wirelessly and wired!
• Try connecting your iPad with a cable and selecting your iPad in Finder first to establish a trust relationship.  See if your iPad shows up in AirPlay and then see if you can extend your Mac’s display to it.  And check in System Preferences too for the Sidecar icon.
• For me, I had to reinstall of Catalina to get Sidecar working on my Mac and iPad (both listed as supported models)
• I had to sign out of iCloud on both my iPad and my Mac, reboot, then sign back in with my Apple ID (same on both devices.) After that, Sidecar worked perfectly!
• I had to rename my iPad to something different, but once I renamed my iPad–no problems connecting to Mac using Sidecar
• Check that you have Two-Factor authentication enabled on both your iPad and Mac. For Macs, go to Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud > Account Details. Enter your Apple ID. Click Security. Click Turn On Two-Factor Authentication. For iPads, go to Settings >Apple ID > Password & Security and turn on Two-Factor Authentication
• Disabling my VPN was the only thing that got Sidecar working for me
• I had to sign out of iCloud on my devices, reboot, sign back into the cloud, then restart once more. After that Sidecar worked!

For most of her professional life, Amanda Elizabeth (Liz for short) trained all sorts of folks on how to use media as a tool to tell their own unique stories. She knows a thing or two about teaching others and creating how-to guides!

Her clients include Edutopia, Scribe Video Center, Third Path Institute, Bracket, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Big Picture Alliance.

Elizabeth received her Master of Fine Arts degree in media making from Temple University, where she also taught undergrads as an adjunct faculty member in their department of Film and Media Arts.