Duet Display is an amazing service that helps to use your other devices like phones, tablets, and laptops as a second screen for your primary PC or Mac. However, it can often get stuck while launching the app simply doesn’t open, or fails to recognize your secondary device while connecting. In case, Duet Display is not working for you or isn’t launching, here’s everything you can do to fix it. Let’s start with simple verifications.
Table of Contents
1. Check the USB Connection
If you are trying to connect both devices using a USB cable, then check the following.
1. First, do not connect the USB cable to a USB adaptor connected to your system. Instead, try connecting to the port of your Mac or PC directly. Some adapters may not work as intended in most cases.
2. If you are directly connected to your computer port, try changing the port and try again.
3. If the port is working fine, try to transfer any data between the devices using that USB cable. Some cables cannot transfer the data and are only meant for charging. Such cables also do not work for Duet Display purposes. If you cannot transfer the data, then try changing the USB cable to fix the issue.
2. Update USB Drivers
If you are connected to the port of your PC or Mac, tried different ports and cables, and are still not able to fix the issue? Then you can try updating the USB Drivers on your System
On Windows
1. Press the Windows key, search for the Device Manager app, and open the app.
2. Now, click on the Universal Serial Bus controllers option and then right-click on the USB Drivers, and then select the Update driver option.
3. On the next page, click on the Search automatically for drivers. If there is any driver available, install the suggested driver and restart the PC.
If you still having issues with the USB Driver, check out how to diagnose and fix the USB Device on Windows
On Mac
1. On Mac, drivers are updated directly via the software update. Just click on the Apple icon at the top left corner and select System Settings.
2. In the Settings app, select General > Software update. It will check for new software updates for your Mac. If there is any update, then install it by clicking on the Update Now button.
3. Check the Internet Connection
If you are using Duet Display wirelessly via Duet Air, then just check out your internet connection and speed. Duet Display may work on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi connections. But Duet suggests using a 5GHz connection for better connectivity and experience. You can check if your Wi-Fi is 2.4GHz or 5GHz.
On Windows
Open the Wi-Fi menu, then beside the currently connected connection, click on the info icon. Now on the Wi-Fi settings page, check the Network band option to see if the connected Wi-Fi is 2.4GHz or 5GHz.
On Mac
Press and hold the Option key and then click on the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar. Besides the Channel option, you can check whether the Wi-Fi network is 5GHz or not.
On Android phone and tablet
Open the Settings app, and select the Wi-Fi or Network option. On the Wi-Fi page, tap on the connected Wi-Fi network. Here beside the Frequency option, you can check if your Wi-Fi is 5GHz or not.
On iPhone and iPad
There is no native way on the iPhone, but you can find it using the Airport Utility app. Once downloaded, open the settings app, select the Airport Utility option, and then grant the permission for Wi-Fi scanning. Now open the app, tap on Wi-Fi scan, and then select the Wi-Fi network. Here besides the Channel option, check the number. If the number is more than 11, then it is 5GHz or else it is 2.4GHz.
It’s better to connect to the same Wi-Fi network. But it’s not mandatory as long as you are connected to the internet on both your devices. If you are connected via the internet on both devices, then check out the speed by simply typing ‘speed test’ on Google. There, you can do the basic speed test directly inside Google Search. You don’t need to high-speed connection, just make sure the connection is more than 20Mbps for a smother connection.
4. Are You Using the Same Duet Account on Both Devices
A minor thing that can cause the connection problem is that we might have logged into two different accounts on both devices. Duet Display only works when both devices have logged in with the same account. Here’s how you can check the account details.
On Windows and Mac, open the Duet app, and select the Settings option from the sidebar. Here besides the Manage your account, you can check your email ID used for the account.
Now on your Android phone, tablet, iPhone, or iPad, open the Duet app and select the Profile icon from the sidebar. Here you should see the email ID beside the Signed In option.
If the email accounts are different on both devices, then you need to log out from either of the devices and log in again with the same account that you used to log in on the other device. Even though you have subscribed to the service on both accounts, you cannot use Duet Display with two different accounts as the sharing is encrypted to your account to maintain privacy and security.
5. Check Your Subscription Plan
Another thing you have to check is the subscription itself. Duet Display does not have any free plan and all users have to subscribe to the platform to use it. But in case, your payment got declined or your subscription failed, then you will lose the functionality.
1. To check the subscription, open the Duet app on your Windows or Mac computer, select the Settings option from the sidebar, and then click on the Manage Account button beside the Manage your account option.
2. Now it opens the Duet dashboard on your default browser. Here select Your Plan option from the sidebar. On the Your Plan page, you can check your current subscription plan and end date.
6. Change to Mode on System Settings
Sometimes even when everything is in place and working fine, Duet might get stuck at launching the Duet page instead of showing your Mac or Windows extended screen. In such cases, the best solution is to change the mode on the system settings and then change back the mode to your needed one. That should refresh the connection and should make it work as intended.
On Windows
Press Windows + P and change the display mode from Extended to Duplicate or vice versa. If the display starts working once you change the mode, you can again change it back to your preferred mode.
On Mac
Open the System Settings app > Displays and click on the Duet device you have connected at the top of the window. Now beside the Use as option, click on the drop-down and change the mode from one to another. If you are on Extended display mode, change it to Mirror mode. Similarly, if you are on the Mirror mode, change it to the extended display mode.
Once done, it can start working by mirroring your screen or using it as an extended display. Now you can change the mode back to the one you need, which hopefully should work as the mode is refreshed.
7. Force Quit the App and Re-open it
When you normally close an app, it does not completely close and you may still face the bug when you re-open it. Instead, you have to completely force quit the app and all of its actions in the background. Then try to re-open it. Here’s how you can do so on various devices.
On Mac
1. Click on the Apple icon at the top left corner, then select the Force Quit option from the menu. Alternatively, you can also press Option + Command + Escape keyboard shortcut.
2. On the Force Quit Applications app, select the Duet app and then click on the Force Quit button to prevent the app from even running in the background. Now you can try to re-open the app again to check if the problem is solved.
On Windows
1. On Windows, click on the Start Menu and search for the Task Manager app and open it. Alternatively, you can also press Ctrl + Shift + Escape keyboard shortcut.
2. Now on the Task Manager, select the Processes tab in the sidebar, select the Duet app, and then click on the End task option to close the app completely.
On Android Phones and Tablets
Close the app, long-press on the app icon, and select the App info option. Here tap on the Force stop option to completely close the app.
On iPhone and iPad
There is no option to completely close the app. Instead, you can close the app and also remove the app from the app switcher. Now you can open the app again.
8. Update the Duet Display App
You can try to update the app to fix any bugs or incompatibility issues with the current version.
On Mac and Windows
Open the Duet app and click on the Settings option in the sidebar. Here make sure the Auto Update App option is enabled. To check for updates manually, click on the Check for Updates button beside the option. If there is any update, you will be able to install the update on your computer.
On Android and iOS phones and tablets
You can check for updates from the respected app stores, Duet app on Play Store for Android devices, and App Store for iPhone and iPad.
Duet Display Not Working
With any of the previous methods mentioned above, Duet Display should start working normally. In case, the problem persists, you can try re-installing the Duet app on both devices or try using Duet with other supported devices to check if the issue is with your computer or phone. However, you can also try Duet Display alternatives.
