Having trouble getting Universal Control and other Continuity features to work on iPad and Mac after installing iPadOS 16.4 and macOS Ventura 13.3?
- What’s happening? People have reported issues with various Continuity features on their iPhones and Macs, such as Universal Control and Handoff.
- Why care? If you encounter this error, you will not be able to use Universal Control and other Continuity features to seamlessly switch between devices.
- What to do? If your livelihood depends on Continuity functionality, don’t install iPadOS 16.4 and macOS 13.3 until Apple sorts it out.
Universal control issues in macOS 13.3 and iPadOS 16.4
Some of the affected users have reported their experiences on Reddit, Apple support communities, and other online forums.
People are unable to launch various Continuity features after installing updates, including Universal Control and Universal Clipboard. The former lets you use a single mouse or trackpad to work across multiple Macs and iPads, while the latter lets you easily copy and paste between devices.
Other Continuity features are negatively impacted, such as Handoff, which allows you to start an app on one device and continue on another.
MacRumors notes that online reports suggest that Universal Control is the main feature of Continuity that was negatively impacted by updates. These issues occur on both Intel processors and Apple’s silicon Macs.
Did Universal Control stop working when they updated to macOS 13.3 for someone else? Today I will find out how much I rely on it.
— Paul Frederiksen (@iamdesertpaul) March 29, 2023
Possible solutions to try
Typical troubleshooting steps like rebooting devices, reinstalling macOS, and resetting network settings don’t seem to do anything to resolve these issues. However, for some people, restarting the Mac in safe mode and then starting it in normal mode has fixed problems with universal management.
You should also try disabling and re-enabling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on your devices by adding UniversalControl.app to your macOS firewall settings and check if Bluetooth Sharing is enabled in System Preferences → General → Sharing.
Other suggested fixes include toggling Universal Control in System Preferences → Displays → Advanced on macOS and Settings → General → AirPlay & Handoff → Cursor & Keyboard on iPadOS, signing out of your iCloud account on both devices and signing back in, unchecking Use Your Own. Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac, or Allow Apple Watch to unlock your Mac box in System Preferences → Touch ID & Password in macOS, then check the box after reboot.
Continuity is Apple’s general term for various features that allow devices to work in an integrated manner. This requires your devices to be within range of Bluetooth, have Wi-Fi turned on, and signed into the same iCloud account. Read the Apple Support document on using continuity features for more information.
iOS 16.4.1 is coming soon as a temporary update
This is not the only problem that users have encountered after installing the latest updates. The stock Weather app has issues and some people have complained about having to re-enter saved Wi-Fi passwords in iOS 16.4.
Apple is rumored to be working on a temporary iOS 16.4.1 update to fix these issues, but it’s not clear if that update will fix the Continuity bug. Apple is also testing iOS 16.5 with minor improvements such as a new Sports tab in the News app and using Siri voice commands to start and stop screen recording.