Even though iPhone Mirroring is one of my favorite iPhone-Mac ecosystem features that I use every day, there are some quirks and issues that I find problematic. Here’s all about them. And I hope Apple fixes them in future updates.
No option to turn off auto-correct
I keep autocorrect off on both my iPhone and Mac because, aside from English, I also type in another local language that’s written in the English alphabet (and the iPhone’s multilingual typing doesn’t work well for my two languages).
However, iPhone Mirroring seems to ignore the autocorrect settings on both devices and keeps changing my words, which has been a big issue. To be fair, I have noticed this problem only on macOS Tahoe; it worked fine on macOS Sequoia.
No way to access Notification Center or Control Center
I would really appreciate it if Apple added the option to view unopened iPhone notifications and access Control Center toggles when using iPhone Mirroring. Maybe they can assign the Command + 4 and 5 shortcuts to these actions.
Note: iOS app notifications start appearing on the Mac just after setting up iPhone Mirroring; no active iPhone Mirroring session is required. However, I have disabled most iOS app notifications from appearing on my Mac to keep things sane.
Apps refuse to open, and the only way to fix it is by restarting the phone
At least once a week, my iPhone apps stop launching from the Home Screen during iPhone Mirroring. And this behavior continues even if I end the iPhone Mirroring session.
Other times, the app icons disappear from the Home Screen, and only their labels appear (see the image above). And of course, I can’t tap to open these apps.
The only way to fix this issue is to restart my iPhone, which is annoying and time-consuming.
Random disconnections
I have been using multiple virtual desktop spaces on my Mac for more than a decade now. I love this feature so much that I have even set my rarely used Windows laptop to have at least 3 virtual desktops.
But iPhone Mirroring doesn’t play well with my setup. For instance, I will open the iPhone Mirroring window on Desktop 1, and then switch to Desktop 2 or 3 to work in Chrome or Firefox. After a few minutes, if I return to Desktop 1, I usually notice that iPhone Mirroring has paused.
Missing notifications if I use more than one virtual desktop space
This is related to the above tip.
If I have WhatsApp open in iPhone Mirroring, then switch to another desktop space, the iPhone Mirroring session will pause after a while (already explained above). But what’s worse is that during this, I also stop receiving new WhatsApp notifications on both my iPhone and my Mac (I have not disabled WhatsApp notifications from showing on my Mac).
Doesn’t always resume and reconnect
I would love to have iPhone Mirroring auto-connect after pausing or disconnecting. I regularly find myself having to click the ‘Connect’ button even after I have locked my iPhone.
Larger window doesn’t fit the MacBook screen
You can click View > Larger in the iPhone Mirroring menu to increase the window size. This looks perfect on my Mac mini connected to a 28-inch 4K monitor. But on my 13-inch MacBook Air (M4), the larger iPhone Mirroring window doesn’t fit the screen, and the lower portion is cut off. And this is after keeping my Mac’s Dock hidden from the screen! Apple needs to fix this scaling issue.
Some banking and streaming apps don’t work
In the early days of macOS Sequoia, none of my five banking apps would open during iPhone Mirroring. It would say something along the lines of ‘turn off AirPlay/screen mirroring to use this app.’ This seems to have been fixed in macOS Tahoe.
However, apps like Netflix still show a blank screen while playing video in the iPhone Mirroring window.
MacBook media buttons don’t control what’s playing on iPhone
I love the media control buttons in the top row of my MacBook and Apple Magic Keyboard. It controls media in Apple apps like Music, as well as Chrome, Firefox, and elsewhere.
However, these play/pause, next, previous buttons don’t work when I’m using Music or other media apps in iPhone Mirroring. I hope Apple fixes this in an upcoming update.
Which complaints do you have for iPhone Mirroring?
Also, check out: 5 ways Android phone call recorder is superior to iPhone