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greg2u Author

Level 1

52 points

Broken: Universal Control Keyboard Mouse Sharing OS Sequoia 15.0

After MacOS Sequoia 15.0 was installed Sept 18, 2024 (on both my MBP 2021 14in and MM 2018), the linking of keyboard and mouse between MBP and MM is now broken (universal control). If I can get it to work for 1 minute, it then breaks, despite the display icon showing that such sharing is active on both devices. Yes, I have restarted Bluetooth, WiFi, and both devices too.

The "universal control" to share the keyboard and mouse seems broken and buggy, even if it works for a minute, then breaks.

Yes, the keyboard and mouse are official Apple products too.

I use this feature all the time, and hope there will be a bug fix very soon.

Anyone else having this problem? Any solutions?

Mac mini, macOS 15.0

Posted on Sep 19, 2024 8:45 AM

Top-ranking reply

Kasezilla

Level 1

32 points

Posted on Oct 4, 2024 5:29 AM

Same here and it's killing my workflow. Apple this needs to be a priority it's important to many of us.

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34 replies

greg2u Author

Level 1

52 points

Oct 30, 2024 8:18 AM in response to TCC Bob

I agree with @TCC Bob.....I updated both the MM and the MBP to Sequoia 15.1, then restarted both machines, then turned on the sharing of keyboard and mouse.

It appeared to be working fairly well most of day. However, I still experience intermittend "drops" and "freezes", where the mouse AND keyboard control seem to be frozen, and stuck between the two machines.

I have been able to get the universal control back by using the MBP's touchpad and keyboard, then toggle and hit esc on one or both machines. So far, that has "unstuck" the keyboard and mouse when that has happened (which originally this approach was not working).

Therefore, with Sequoia 15.1 updates and restarts, things have definitely improved. The function is not flawless.

For Apple, having this function achieving only a "functional and intermittently annoying standard" still leaves room for improvement.

Tom AdS

Level 1

44 points

Oct 31, 2024 1:22 PM in response to greg2u

I have had the problem since Sonoma and have found two possible solutions for myself (for MacBook Pro M1 Pro with MacMini M1):

1. turn on Bluetooth sharing on the involved Macs and restart.

or/and

2. delete all (including the Airpods) Bluetooth devices (except mouse and keyboard) - and restart. Then reconnect airpods etc.

Result: Universal control has been working as it should for days now.

Curious.

Tom

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Nov 6, 2024 3:35 AM in response to dazawood

Anyone with 15.1 still have it working okay? I sacked off UC when I realised it was broken and have been using Logitech Flow ever since. It's good but still not perfect, and obviously doesn't extend to the iPad or iPhone. So I'm very keen to use UC again.

greg2u Author

Level 1

52 points

Nov 18, 2024 8:35 AM in response to greg2u

Still breaks: Sequoia 15.1....

This still works, then breaks, throughout the day. My MM is the "main" system with the Apple Keyboard and Mouse. I use UC with my nearby MBP. Each time it stops, it is with the MBP that stops working with UC, and I have to use the MBP touchpad and keyboard to hit ESC, then re-open Settings/Displays on the MBP. It then automatically reconnects UC on the MBP. This will work for many minutes, or maybe an hour or more. However, it then fails at some point, and I have to go through the steps to get the MBP working again with the UC and the MM.

The MM will function with the keyboard and the mouse, but the UC is not working with the MPB.

At present, I have to keep the MBP's Settings/Displays window ready and available for the very frequent drops of UC.

I have gone through all the steps of system updates on both machines, along with signing out then back in to the same iCloud account on both machines. I have also removed (forget this device) both the keyboard and the mouse from the MM, and then added them back on the Bluetooth settings.

I continue to have very frequent freeze/drops of the UC, on the MBP side.

Any similar experiences? Solutions?

Nov 18, 2024 9:18 AM in response to dasoga

No, it does not work.

And by the way, signing in and out of iCloud lost me one hour... and a day later the Photo app has yet to become again fully operational on the iPad, as it is still rebuilding...

Nov 20, 2024 10:44 PM in response to dazawood

15.1 didn't fix it for me. 15.1.1 didn't fix it either. Drops out after a second (if that). Very difficult to diagnose. The only workable solution is Teleport 1.3.5. It's imperfect, but unlike the Apple solution it works.

Not happy.