Mac|Life

> Sidecar keeps falling off

Why is my iPad Pro’s Sidecar connection so unreliable that it disconnect­s when in use?

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In most cases, connecting an iPad to a Mac using Sidecar just works, but when it doesn’t it can prove tricky to fix. Wireless Sidecar connection­s rely on good Wi–Fi and Bluetooth signals, which limits the distance between the iPad and Mac to a maximum of about 11 yards of uninterrup­ted sight, and works best when they’re closer. Neither can be sharing their internet connection, and both should be running the latest version of iPadOS/macOS. Anything causing interferen­ce or interrupti­on to wireless transmissi­on can break this. Domestic appliances such as microwave ovens, poorly shielded USB, or Thunderbol­t cables or hubs are common culprits. Sometimes reconfigur­ing a Wi–Fi router to use different channels can free others for use by Sidecar’s connection.

Monitoring Wi–Fi and Bluetooth signals using an app like iStumbler reveals dropouts which result in disconnect­ion. Those could occur from interferen­ce, or if either the Mac or iPad have a hardware problem.

 ??  ?? A good utility to monitor Wi–Fi and Bluetooth signal strength like iStumbler can show dropouts which disconnect Sidecar.
A good utility to monitor Wi–Fi and Bluetooth signal strength like iStumbler can show dropouts which disconnect Sidecar.

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