Guide
Use your iPad as a Mac display without Sidecar
Sidecar is free and built in, and if it works for you, keep it. This guide is for when it doesn't: the iPad is signed in to a different Apple Account, or Sidecar never appears.
When Sidecar can't be used
According to Apple, Sidecar needs:
- the Mac and the iPad signed in to the same Apple Account,
- the two within 10 meters of each other (or joined by a cable),
- a supported Mac and iPad, with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Handoff turned on.
That rules out a family member's iPad, an iPad from work, a second-hand iPad on another account, and using the iPad anywhere far from the Mac.
What you need
- A Mac with macOS 15 or later and Kite for Mac (free)
- An iPad with iPadOS 18 or later and Kite for iPad ($9.99, once)
- A USB-C cable, or Tailscale on both devices for Wi-Fi (free for personal use)
The Apple Accounts on the two devices don't need to match. Kite doesn't use an account of its own either.
Set it up
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Install Kite for Mac and allow two permissions
Open Kite from Applications. The setup window asks for Screen Recording (to send the picture) and Accessibility (to turn taps into clicks), and ticks each one off as you allow it.
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Install Kite for iPad
Open it once. A short tour shows the ways to connect.
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Connect with a cable
Plug the iPad into the Mac with a USB-C cable. Kite connects on its own, with no network involved. This is also the lowest-delay way to use it.
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Or connect over Wi-Fi
Install Tailscale on both devices and sign in to the same Tailscale account. Your Mac then appears as a card on the iPad. The Tailscale account is separate from your Apple Account.
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Click Allow on the Mac
The first time, the Mac asks whether to allow this iPad. After that it connects without asking.
Arrange it like any other display
macOS treats the iPad as a monitor. Choose its side from Kite's menu bar icon, or drag it in System Settings › Displays. Windows drag across as they would to any external display. To show your Mac's screen on the iPad instead of extending it, choose Mirror in the three-finger menu on the iPad.
What Kite can't do
- Up to 60 fps. macOS draws added displays at 60 Hz, so a 120 Hz iPad still gets 60.
- macOS shows the purple screen-recording indicator while Kite runs. Every Sidecar alternative shows it.
- One iPad per Mac at a time.