Troubleshooting

When it doesn't work.

These are the failures we hit ourselves, in the order they are most likely to be yours. Each one names the cause, because knowing why it happened is usually what tells you which fix to reach for.

Common problems

The tablet can't find my Mac

Why

Most likely the network, not the app. Guest, café and hotel Wi-Fi commonly enable client isolation, which stops devices on the same network from seeing each other at all. Discovery has nothing to find. Some home routers do the same across bands or on a guest SSID.

Fix

Turn on the tablet's hotspot and join your Mac to it — that bypasses the network entirely and is free. On a network you control, check both devices are on the same SSID and that AP isolation or "client isolation" is off. A USB cable also sidesteps the network completely and is part of Pro.

macOS never asked about my local network — or I said no

Why

The tablet finds your Mac by looking for it on the local network, and macOS gates that behind a permission. Declined once, it is not asked again.

Fix

Switch Wing Display back on under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network.

The tablet connects, but the screen stays black

Why

Screen recording permission is missing. The connection is fine; there is simply no picture to send, because macOS is withholding it.

Fix

Allow Wing Display at System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording, then quit and reopen the app — macOS often requires a relaunch before a new grant takes effect.

I can see the screen, but touching it does nothing

Why

Accessibility permission is missing. Video and input are separate grants, so a working picture tells you nothing about whether control is allowed.

Fix

Allow Wing Display at System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. The menu bar has an Open Accessibility Settings… button that goes straight there.

Cable mode won't come up Pro

Why

Nearly always one of two things: the cable is charge-only and carries no data, or USB debugging is off — the wired path needs it, and the tablet must have accepted the one-time "Allow USB debugging?" prompt for this Mac.

Fix

Swap in a known data cable, turn on USB debugging in Developer options, then unplug and replug and accept the prompt. Cables bundled with power adapters are the usual culprit.

The tablet loses charge while it's plugged into the Mac

Why

USB-C negotiates which side supplies power, and some Android tablets can settle on feeding the computer instead of drinking from it — often after a prompt like "Charge connected device". The tablet then runs its screen off its own battery while charging your Mac.

Fix

Check the USB notification on the tablet and set it back to charging. If the setting won't stick, restarting the tablet reliably restores it. Worth watching on long wired sessions.

The picture stutters or lags

Why

Wireless contention. A busy 2.4 GHz band, distance from the router, or neighbours sharing your channel all cost you frames — and a shared network can degrade at any moment without anything changing on your side.

Fix

Move to the tablet's hotspot — free, and usually enough, because it takes you off the contended network altogether. If it is still not clean, the cable carries far more than Wi-Fi and is unaffected by anything happening on the network; it is part of Pro. Wing Display keeps separate quality settings per connection type, so tuning the cable won't disturb your Wi-Fi setup.

Still stuck

Email support@wingdisplay.com. Tell us your macOS version, your tablet model, and which of the three connection modes you were using — that combination is usually enough for us to recognise the problem.