Universal Clipboard not working on a Mac: what to check
If Universal Clipboard stops working, check that both devices use the same Apple Account, have WiFi and Bluetooth on, have Handoff on and are near each other. Then install updates and restart both. This is Apple’s own troubleshooting advice from its Universal Clipboard article, checked on 4 November 2026.
Check in this order
- Same Apple Account. Open System Settings on each Mac and check the account name at the top. The two devices must be signed in with the same Apple Account.
- WiFi and Bluetooth. Both must be on, on both devices. Switch each off and on again if you are unsure.
- Handoff. On macOS Ventura 13 or later, go to Apple menu, System Settings, General, AirDrop & Handoff (Apple’s page also writes AirDrop & Continuity) and check “Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices”. On earlier versions it is in System Preferences, General. Apple says Handoff is on by default.
- Distance. Apple says the devices must be near each other. Bring them close.
- Software updates. Install any available Apple software update on both devices.
- Restart. Restart both devices, then confirm the setup and distance again.
Check the test itself
- Copy something small, such as a word, on one device, and paste on the other straight away.
- Apple says the copied content remains on the other device “briefly, or until you replace it by copying something else on either device”. If you copied something else in between, the first item is gone. Retry with a fresh copy.
- The Handoff article says the device handing off a task must be unlocked. That sentence is about Handoff in general, so make sure both screens are unlocked and awake when you test.
What Apple does not say
Apple’s article gives no list of content types or size limits and does not cover signing out and back in. If you have done everything above and it still fails, the pages checked give no further steps.
A different way to move something
For a file or a longer piece of text, send it with another method for now, and come back to fix Universal Clipboard when you have time.
If you only need to bring back something you copied earlier on the same Mac, see how to see clipboard history on a Mac. The full requirements list is in what Universal Clipboard needs.
NotchStar’s Clipboard keeps the 50 most recent copies in memory, so you can click an earlier one to copy it again. That is a separate list per Mac.
