Universal Clipboard not working? How to fix it

What Universal Clipboard needs

Apple lists these conditions. If any one is missing on any device, copying works but pasting on the other device doesn’t:

• Every device is a Mac, iPhone, iPad or Apple Vision Pro that meets Apple’s Continuity system requirements.
• Every device is signed in to the same Apple Account.
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are turned on on every device.
• Handoff is turned on on every device. Apple turns it on by default.
• The devices are near each other: within about 10 metres (30 feet), Apple’s Mac User Guide says.

What you copy stays on the other device’s clipboard only briefly, or until you copy something else on either device, so paste soon after you copy.

How to fix Universal Clipboard, step by step

Apple’s own advice is to install updates, restart, and check the setup on every device. The other steps are fixes that often help when those don’t.

1. Turn on Handoff on every device. On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, General, AirPlay & Continuity (or AirPlay & Handoff) and turn on Handoff. On a Mac, open System Settings, General, AirDrop & Continuity (or AirDrop & Handoff) and turn on Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.
2. Check the Apple Account on each device. On an iPhone or iPad, your name at the top of Settings; on a Mac, your name at the top of System Settings. The account must be the same everywhere.
3. Turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off and on again. Do it in Settings rather than Control Center, which only disconnects them for a while, and do it on both devices.
4. Bring the devices close together. Universal Clipboard only reaches devices within about 10 metres (30 feet), so keep them close while you copy and paste.
5. Turn off a VPN or security app for a moment. Apple warns that a VPN or third-party security software that blocks local network connections can stop Continuity features from working.
6. Restart both devices. Apple lists a restart among its own fixes for Universal Clipboard.
7. Update iOS, iPadOS and macOS. Install any available update on every device. It is the first fix Apple suggests.
8. Sign out of the Apple Account and back in. Leave this until last, on the device that won’t paste: signing out stops iCloud on that device until you sign in again, and asks which data to keep on it.

If it still fails after all of that, Apple Support can check the device.

When the other device isn’t an Apple device

Universal Clipboard can’t reach Android phones and tablets, Windows PCs or Chromebooks, and it can’t reach an Apple device that is out of Bluetooth range, such as your iPad at home while you are out with your iPhone. No setting changes that.

For those, use a clipboard app that works over the internet. UniClip runs on Android, iPhone and iPad, and on any computer in the browser: send the text from the share sheet or Android’s selection menu, and tap it on the other device to copy it.

Questions

Why is Universal Clipboard not working between my iPhone and Mac?

Usually because Handoff is off on one of them, they are signed in to different Apple Accounts, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is off, or they are too far apart. Check all four on both devices, then restart both.

How long does Universal Clipboard keep what I copied?

Briefly. Apple says the content stays on your other device’s clipboard for a short time, or until you copy something else on either device.

Does Universal Clipboard work with Android or Windows?

No. It only works between Apple devices on the same Apple Account. To copy between an iPhone and an Android phone or a Windows PC, use a cross-platform app such as UniClip.

Do my devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi network?

Apple asks for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to be turned on and the devices to be within about 10 metres (30 feet) of each other, not for a shared network. A VPN that blocks local network connections can get in the way, though.