It seems that Apple is finally taking the iPad lineup serious as a productivity model. We were provided Pro-level hardware late last year, and with the release iPadOS, we are one step closer to a Pro-level software experience.
However, the fun didn’t stop there as Apple also included some awesome integrations between macOS Catalina and iPadOS. One of which is Sidecar, which allows you to essentially turn your iPad into a secondary display for your compatible Mac.
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In addition to just turning your iPad into a secondary display, Apple also made it possible to do the following with your iPad:
- Mirror content to display the same content
- Use Apple Pencil with various apps via Sidecar
- Create content with iPad and Apple Pencil and insert it into any document on Mac
This added functionality is fantastic for those who own both a Mac and iPad and want to be able to turn the iPad into a product similar to the Wacom tablet.
Unfortunately, Apple has decided that this feature should not be available to everyone who can run macOS Catalina.
Seeing error message “you can’t open the “Sidecar” preferences pane because it is not available to you at this time?”
Check if your Macs is officially compatible with Sidecar
Sidecar requires a Mac with Skylake processors and later models and an iPad that support the Apple Pencil.
Here’s a list of both the Macs and iPads that are compatible “out of the box” with Sidecar from Apple’s official list of Macs and iPads that support Sidecar.
These iPad models support Sidecar, running iPadOS (iPads with Apple pencil support)
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro
- 11-inch iPad Pro
- 10.5-inch iPad Pro
- 9.7-inch iPad Pro
- 6th generation or later iPad or later
- iPad mini (5th generation)
- 3rd generation iPad Air
Currently, these Mac models “officially support” Sidecar, running macOS Catalina
- 2016 or later MacBook
- MacBook Air introduced in 2018 or later
- 2016 or later MacBook Pro
- Mac mini introduced in 2018 or later
- iMac introduced in late 2015 or later
- iMac Pro introduced in 2017 or later
- Mac Pro introduced in 2019
Now, the list of Catalina-compatible macOS devices is actually much larger, opening an opportunity for older Macs to potentially be compatible with Sidecar. Unfortunately, Apple made a seemingly-arbitrary cut off for Catalina computers that are not “compatible” with Sidecar.
How to enable Sidecar on an incompatible Mac (workaround)
Okay, now for some possibly good news.
There is a workaround that might enable Sidecar. In our testing with various Mac models and years, this trick worked on some and not on others–with little rhyme or reason. But it’s worth a try!
If it doesn’t work, the most common experience is Sidecar showing up in Preferences, but your iPad doesn’t show up in the devices dropdown menu.
In order to try and enable Sidecar on your Mac if it isn’t on the list, follow these steps:
- Connect your iPad to your Mac with a cable
- Open Terminal from your macOS Catalina computer
- Type “defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display AllowAllDevices -bool true; defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display hasShownPref -bool true; open /System/Library/PreferencePanes/Sidecar.prefPane” into Terminal (without the quotes)
- Press Enter
- Enter your password if you are prompted
Once you have input that line of commands into Terminal, your System Preferences opens up. From there, if it worked, you see a new option next to Displays called ‘Sidecar’ and you too can enjoy the fun.
How to connect Sidecar
Provided that you have macOS Catalina and iPadOS installed, you can now access Sidecar easily. Open up the System Preferences, tap the Sidecar icon, and enter the settings.
From there, you will want to click on the dropdown menu under “Connect to”. Select the device that you are looking for, and then watch the magic happen.
Apple has also included a few additional settings for you to tinker with after Sidecar is enabled
- Show Sidebar: on the left/on the right
- Show Touch Bar: on the bottom/on the top
- Enable double tap on Apple Pencil
- Show pointer when using Apple Pencil
You will have to tinker with these settings to find the best layout for your needs. But regardless, after Sidecar is enabled and turned on with your iPad, you will have the most portable two-display set up, all courtesy of Apple.
How to disable Sidecar via Terminal
If you have played around with Sidecar and realize that it really doesn’t work for you, then you may want to disable it. There’s a chance Apple could end up closing this loophole in the future regardless, but for now, you may want to close it yourself.
In order to do so, follow these steps
- Open Terminal from your Mac
- Type “defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display AllowAllDevices -bool false; defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display hasShownPref -bool false” into Terminal
- Press Enter
- Enter password if prompted
You may want to restart your Mac really quick after the terminal commands have been completed. This will wash any remnants of Sidecar clean so that you don’t have to worry about any issues with future releases of macOS Catalina.
Sidecar not working due to incompatibility?
If you tried to get Sidecar working with your iPad and Mac but it just refuses to get going, there still are third-party apps like Duet Display that support older Macs and a much larger variety of iPads–Duet even supports iPhones!
It’s not free. But it does have many devoted fans who love that it works with so many different devices!
Conclusion
The inclusion of Sidecar likely means the end of the line for apps like Duet or products such as Luna Display. However, with the self-imposed cutoff for older macOS devices with Catalina, those not ready to deal with faulty keyboards will be able to rely on those products for the time being.
We really wish Apple had just made it possible to use Sidecar with all Catalina-compatible computers, but we can’t get everything we want. Hopefully, future releases of Apple’s latest software don’t block this workaround from being useful, but it wouldn’t surprise us to see that happen either.
Let us know if you have run into any issues when trying to use Sidecar and we’ll be more than happy to try and help. In the meantime, stay tuned for more iOS 13, iPadOS, and macOS Catalina content coming soon.
Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.
He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.
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error message for me : “to see this preference pane, you may need to connect a device to this computer”
but my iPad air withe 13.1.2 is connected !!
THANK YOU! That terminal script worked me. It’s been so frustrating, now I’m sorted. Cheers
Hello,
I have a Mac mini (Late 2014), 2,6 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and an iPad 6th generation. Both have the latest versions of the software (macOS 10.15, iPadOS 13.1.2) The iPad is connected to the mac via cable and visible in the finder.
I’ve tried all of the steps on this page, but I’m still receiving the message “You can’t open the “Sidecar” preferences pane because it is not available to you at this time. To see this preferences pane, you may need to connect a device to your computer.”
Many thanks.
Hi Joao,
To get Sidecar to work with older, not officially supported Macs is hit or miss.
In your case, it sounds like Sidecar will not work with your Mac Mini–Apple officially only supports Mac mini introduced in 2018 or later–so your Mac is 4 years outside of that supported window.
We suggest you look at third-party alternatives if you want this functionality on your Mac.
Sorry about that. Certainly, Apple has disappointed a lot of its users by limiting Sidecar support.
Liz
It’s seem working in beta version only. I tried it few weeks ago before Apple released it.
My MacBook Pro 2015 available to run this with iPad Pro 2017. But beta version only.
Now I tried with official release version and failed with it.
This is my experience that I tried in beta release version.
– Speed : better than any third library that I used before (included duet display)
– Density is not good enough, enough for you read document or chatting in iPad’s screen. Playing movies or video games will be bad.
Anyway, I feel sad because my MacBook Pro haven’t enough hardware to run this features. Maybe I have to way few years and save money for getting better MacBook Pro.
My iPad is compatible for sidecar but my MacBook Pro is a late 2013 model that is not compatible with the list.
I am very disappointed that the sidecar “workaround” did not work for me.
The message I got was 4796:211994 and 4797:212006 Rep argument is not a dictionary. Defaults have not been changed.
If you have any ideas to try I would certainly appreciate it.
Thank you for listening.
Brenda
HI Brenda,
Currently, you can use a third-party app called Duet Display to use incompatible Macs and iPads like Sidecar–it’s not free but a lot of people swear by it!
It’s also a good idea to submit your user feedback to Apple
I tried your workaround on iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) with no success. I’m wondering if anyone has had success. I am running the Catalina 10.15; the public release.
Same hardware, same problem
Tried getting it to run on 15″ MBP late 2013 and iPad Pro 10,5″ with your workaround – but without any luck. Very disappointing that Apple didn’t include older macs. Will have to use Duet instead …
Ran the script on my 2015 MBP, running catalina 10.15 beta and it didn’t work.
No worry!!!! Use YAM Air App instead of Sidecar on incompatible Macs/iPads over Bluetooth connectivity (No lightning cable, No Wifi access, No iCloud account.) You get the same experience as SideCar and also works on your iPhones and iPads.
absolutly true. I think Yam is the best. I bought it (to have extended display)
works great with Catalina, no lag with cable
but : you can’t have the touch bar on the iPad as proised by Sidecar… too bad
Sidebar enabled with the Terminal script, don’t work with me on my MacBook Pro 2014 and iPas Air 13.2.1…
too bad
So keep Yam so far
Guys, apple took this ability away 2 betas ago, back in beta 6 I believe.
There now is no working “workaround” for this as of yet and I doubt there will be.
Even so, the quality on your iPad when in use is horrible and looks like old analog tv … so you would have that to then complain about.
I’m sure Apple is trying to get consumers to now buy newer devices, I’m not surprised they shut it down. It’s Apple…
Really disappointing. Duet can do a decent job with a 2015 Macbook Pro, but Apple can’t? Steve Jobs, we miss you.
in catalina beta 7 it no longer work that method
i have the same problem
I am using a new iPad Pro. My MacBook Pro is 2016. Not Mid 2016. I couldn’t use sidecar. I am in the latest public beta versions inn both devices. Any ideas in how can I use it? Thank you.
if you solve your problem，please tell me how to，cuz I got the same as you
On my MacBook Pro 2017 there was no SideCar until I’ve used the command in Terminal and restarted both devices, but when I go to Settings -> Sidecar I see “No Devices” when plugging my iPad Air 2, although it’s absolutely visible in Finder and I can sync it with no problem.
Any thoughts?
Hi Frank,
Are you using the latest betas for both your iPad and Mac? Take a look at software update and see if anything pops-up. Apple just released an update to macOS Catalina two days ago.
Also, have you tried using a cable instead of over the air–this might jump start it to work. Check that Bluetooth is on for both devices–and disconnect them from any other devices to see if that makes a difference.
Check out this article Sidecar not working in iPadOS and macOS? How to fix Sidecar problems for more tips too!
Good luck,
Liz
Hey there Andrew,
I am running MacOS Catalina on my early 2015 MacBook Pro and once I entered the code the sidecar icon showed up but my iPad Air 6th Gen did not. Please help me!
Hi Dev,
What beta version of macOS Catalina and iOS13 are your devices using?
Quite a few folks are finding it more and more difficult to get Sidecar to work with older Macs and iPads, with each beta version it seems to get harder and less likely to work!
Liz
I am running the latest Beta of Catalina on my 2012 MacBook Pro.
I have my iPad iPadOS Beta 5, I inserted the line in Terminal and Sidecar did show up, but no compatible device was found. Could not drop down the box.
I was hoping that would work but might have to wait unless you know of something else to try.
this method works well with Catalina beta 3 but not for beta 4 (19a512f)
It would appear Apple has now nixed the workaround. I’m using the developer betas – macOS 10.15 Beta #4 (19A512f) and iPadOS 13.0 Beta #4 (17A5534f). If anyone out there has a solution, I would love to hear about it. My hardware is MacBook Pro (late 2013) and iPad Pro 10.5″.
not work for me
mackbook pro late 2011
ipad air2 ios13
It’s not working for me. I have a 2015 15-in MBP with Catalina dev beta 3 and 10.5 iPad Pro with iPadOS dev beta 3.
I run the terminal command and Preferences opens with a message “You can’t open the “Sidecar” preferences pane because it is not available to you at this time. To see this preferences pane, you may need to connect a device to your computer.”
My iPad Pro is connected via USB to the MBP.
I know these are not officially supported for Sidecar but I was hoping to get it working.
I’m trying to get it to work with an older (late 2012) Sidecar
Sidecar shows up ok but when I try to connect I get a dialog that says “Unable to connect to “<>” and then “Sidecar requires a newer version of IPadOS”.
But I see no updates when I check for updates.
Happens both wirelessly and over USB.
Any suggestions?
Hi Kent,
What version of Catalina and iPadOS are you using?
Current is third versions of each. So try restarting your devices and check again for an update–with no other apps open.
You may also want to download the ipsw file and update your iPad via Finder app (for Catalina) or iTunes instead of Over-The-Air–these updates tend to be a lot more stable.
Other than that, Sidecar is fickle, especially with older devices so it’s also possible that it works with some beta versions and not others–and who knows about the public release!
Apple states that Sidecar officially only works with these models:
27-inch iMac (Late 2015 or newer)
iMac Pro
MacBook Pro (2016 or newer)
MacBook Air (2018)
12-inch MacBook (early 2016 or newer)
Mac mini (2018)
Mac Pro (2019)
But we can try!
Good luck,
Liz
I’m using the public betas. My Catalina version is 10.15 Beta (19A501i) and my Ipad has 13.0 (17A5508m) .
Interesting enough that upon reading about activating Sidecar to older Macs it worked like Apple intended for older Macs to have it, but with recent updates to beta 3 on both platform I know get “The Device is Timed Out” and will not work.
Now keep in mind I have the iPad Pro running iPad OS 13 beta 3 developers and MacOS Catalina beta 3 developers of course, and before this, all was running fine.
I believe there is an issue on a rewrite on command from Apple that has created this issue, I have yet to find it if so, also the issue on iPhone 7, and 7 plus dark mode and the backlight of the device has a connecting issue that the backlight runs the brightest level and cannot be corrected with dimming nor turning off the auto-brightness.
This is an internal issue.
But please if there is a workaround on the Sidecar please let me know.
Thank you for your effort and time to inform all of us.
My mac is MacBook Pro 2018 and i was able to open Sidecar with your guide above but it’s not picking up my iPad and i have the beta installed on both (i have the newest iPad Pro)
any advice?
Hi Ves,
Make sure both devices use the same Apple ID–that’s a requirement for Sidecar. Also, connect both to the same WiFi network and turn on Bluetooth on both devices.
Are you seeing any error messages like “you can’t open the Sidecar preferences pane because it is not available to you at this time?” Are you connecting wirelessly or via USB?
If trying to connect wirelessly, try connecting first via cables and see if you can get Sidecar to work.
Also, give this a try:
1. Open System Preferences on your Mac
2. Choose Sidebar
3. Select Devices under Connect to
4. Select your iPad Pro
Follow this with either a restart or logging out and then logging back in.
I’ve used the work around to enable sidecar on my mid 2015 MBP.
Both Duet and Astropad do a much better job of the second monitor (Duet) and Cintiq emulation (Astropad).
So disappointing since I could have purchased a 2016 MPB but chose the 2015 model because of its upgradable SSD and legacy ports.
I hear it’s the hardware acceleration for HEVC that determined the cut-off point for the sidecar feature.
Sad to say I won’t be using sidecar on my MBP since the workaround allows sidecar to run on older machines but doesn’t actually function in any useful way.