Using a Mouse and Keyboard With an iPad on an External Monitor
A Bluetooth or USB mouse, trackpad or keyboard connects to an iPad in a minute. Where the cursor can go on the monitor is another matter, and it depends on the iPad: one with an M-series chip can extend with Stage Manager, and the pointer crosses onto the monitor. Every other iPad mirrors, so the pointer stays inside a copy of the iPad's screen. This guide covers pairing, where the pointer goes, the keyboard shortcuts worth knowing, and how to get a cursor across the whole TV from any USB-C iPad.
The quick answer
- Pair it in Settings > Bluetooth. A mouse, trackpad or keyboard pairs like any Bluetooth accessory. A USB one plugs in with the right cable or adapter.
- iPad with an M-series chip? With Stage Manager on, the monitor becomes a second screen: the pointer moves onto it, and you drag windows across with it.
- Every other iPad mirrors. The monitor shows a copy of the iPad's screen, so the pointer only moves inside that copy, black bars and all. No setting changes that.
- Want a cursor across the whole TV on any USB-C iPad? That takes an app that draws its own picture on the TV. ScreenCommand's browser takes a mouse on iPad, or turns the iPad's own screen into the trackpad.
Mirroring, extending, or an app's own picture
Checked against Apple's iPad User Guide for iPadOS 27 and ScreenCommand 2.1 · October 2026| Feature | Mirroring (every iPad) | Extended display (M-series iPads) | ScreenCommand |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the monitor shows | A copy of the iPad's screen | A second screen for app windows | Its own desktop web browser |
| Where the mouse pointer goes | Only inside the copy of the iPad | Across the iPad and the monitor | Anywhere on the TV, in the browser |
| Fills a widescreen monitor | ✗Black bars on both sides | ✓A workspace of its own | ✓At the display's native resolution |
| Your iPad apps and games | ✓Whatever is on the iPad | ✓Moved over window by window | ✗Websites only |
| Which iPads | Every iPad | M-series only, with Stage Manager on | USB-C iPads on iPadOS 17 or later, and iPhone |
| Cost | Free, built in | Free, built in | $4.99 once |
An M-series iPad can do either: extend with Stage Manager, or mirror. While ScreenCommand is open, the TV shows its browser instead of the copy of the iPad.
How to connect a mouse, trackpad or keyboard to an iPad
Apple's steps are the same for a mouse, a trackpad and a keyboard:
- Turn the accessory on. A Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad or Magic Keyboard just needs to be on and charged; put any other brand in pairing (discovery) mode, as its instructions say.
- On the iPad, go to Settings > Bluetooth and turn Bluetooth on.
- Select the accessory when it appears under Other Devices. If a Magic Mouse asks for a PIN, type 0000.
- A mouse or trackpad puts a round pointer on the iPad's screen, which changes shape over text and buttons. A keyboard types into whichever text field is selected.
A USB mouse, keyboard or wireless receiver plugs in with the right cable or adapter. If the monitor's cable already takes the iPad's USB-C port, use a hub or dock with a spare USB port, or pair over Bluetooth instead.
A Magic Keyboard or Smart Keyboard made for your iPad needs no pairing at all: it attaches with magnets.
Already paired with a Mac or another iPad? Apple says to unpair it there first.
Tracking speed, Natural Scrolling and the secondary click are in Settings > General, under Trackpad & Mouse (or Trackpad, for a trackpad).
Where the pointer can go on the monitor
On an M-series iPad, extending with Stage Manager
Turn on Stage Manager in Settings > Multitasking & Gestures. The monitor then works as a second screen with its own windows, and the pointer moves between the two. Apple gives three ways to move an app across:
- Drag the window by its top from one screen to the other.
- Tap the app's icon in the Dock or App Library on the screen where you want it.
- Touch and hold the window controls at the top left of the window, then tap Move to Display or Move to iPad.
Only iPads with an M-series chip can extend. See which iPads support extended display, model by model.
On every other iPad: mirroring
The monitor shows the same thing as the iPad's screen, pointer included. So the pointer moves only inside that copy of the iPad, in the iPad's squarer shape, with black bars on both sides of a widescreen monitor. It can't reach the bars, and apps stay laid out for the iPad. Every iPad without an M-series chip works this way on iPadOS 27, and so does an M-series iPad that's mirroring instead of extending.
Mirroring has its uses, since it shows any app or game. See mirroring and a full-screen browser on the TV, compared.
Moving a browser tab to the monitor (Safari, Chrome, Edge)
On an M-series iPad that extends, a browser moves to the monitor one window at a time, with all of that window's tabs. To put one tab on the monitor, give it a window of its own first, then drag that window across. In apps that support more than one window, Safari among them, touch and hold the app's icon and choose New Window. For Chrome or Edge, check whether the browser offers its own New Window option.
On an iPad that mirrors, nothing moves to the monitor: it copies whatever the iPad shows, tabs included.
What the screen edges do
On the iPad's own screen, the pointer has shortcuts at the edges. At the bottom it opens the Dock, and pushed past the bottom it goes Home. Past the top-right corner it opens Control Center, and past the top edge, near the middle, Notification Center.
Keyboard shortcuts worth knowing on iPad
With a hardware keyboard connected, these come from Apple's iPad User Guide:
- Hold ⌘ to see the shortcuts for the app you're in.
- Hold the Globe key on a Magic Keyboard for iPad or Smart Keyboard to see the multitasking and systemwide shortcuts.
- ⌘-Tab switches apps: hold ⌘ and press Tab until you reach the one you want.
- ⌘-Space opens Search.
- Tab moves between parts of an app, like the folders, the list of notes and the search field in Notes.
- Full Keyboard Access, in Settings > Accessibility, runs the whole iPad from the keyboard: Tab moves between items, and the Space bar activates the selected one.
- Remap a key in Settings > General > Keyboard > Hardware Keyboard > Modifier Keys, to change what Caps Lock or ⌘ does.
A mouse and keyboard in ScreenCommand
ScreenCommand draws its own picture on the TV instead of a copy: a desktop web browser at the display's native resolution, edge to edge. Its cursor covers the whole TV, on iPads that only mirror too, and there are three ways to drive it:
- No mouse needed: the iPad's or iPhone's screen is the trackpad. Glide a finger to move the cursor, tap to click, tap with two fingers to right-click, and scroll with two.
- A mouse or trackpad, on iPad: a Bluetooth or USB mouse or trackpad steers the cursor on the TV, with click, double-click, right-click, drag and scroll. The middle button opens a link in a new tab, and the side buttons go back and forward.
- A hardware keyboard, on iPad and iPhone: it types straight into the page, and the on-screen keyboard stays out of the way. The arrow keys, Tab, Esc, Page Up, Page Down, Home and End work as on a computer.
Using a mouse with it
- Keep ScreenCommand full screen. iPadOS hands a mouse to an app only while it fills the iPad's screen, not side by side with another app or in a window. When it doesn't, a note at the top of the trackpad says so.
- Use on iPad gives the mouse back to the iPad's own pointer, for another app or a setting: tap it at the top of the trackpad, or press ⌥⌘M. To send it back to the TV, tap Use Mouse on TV, press ⌥⌘M again, or click ScreenCommand's trackpad with the mouse.
- Panels on the iPad get the pointer. While Settings or another panel is open on the iPad, or you're editing the address, the mouse works there, and it goes back to the TV when you're done.
- Natural Scrolling is on by default, as on iPad: the page follows the wheel. For classic wheel scrolling, turn it off in ScreenCommand's Settings, where the switch shows while a mouse is connected. It's ScreenCommand's own setting: the one in the iPad's Settings doesn't change the TV.
- Mouse Speed, in ScreenCommand's Settings, sets how fast the cursor moves, for the mouse and the on-screen trackpad alike.
Keyboard shortcuts in ScreenCommand
- ⌘L: the address bar
- ⌘T and ⌘W: open and close a tab; ⌃Tab: the next tab
- ⌘R: reload the page
- ⌘[ and ⌘]: back and forward
- ⌘+, ⌘- and ⌘0: zoom the page on the TV in and out, and back to actual size
- ⌘\: two windows side by side
- ⌥⌘M: the mouse to the iPad and back
On iPad, hold ⌘ to see the list.
On iPhone, a mouse only through AssistiveTouch
iPhone doesn't hand a mouse to apps the way iPad does, so ScreenCommand's mouse support is for iPad. A mouse can still work through AssistiveTouch, Apple's accessibility feature (Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch), which puts its own pointer on the iPhone's screen. Keep that pointer on ScreenCommand's trackpad: click to click on the TV, and hold the button while you move to steer the cursor. A hardware keyboard works on iPhone with no workaround.
On an M-series iPad that is extending with Stage Manager, switch to mirroring in Control Center, under Screen Mirroring, so the browser can use the monitor.
ScreenCommand needs a USB-C iPad on iPadOS 17 or later, or an iPhone on iOS 17 or later, connected by cable or by AirPlay to an Apple TV; a cable gives the least cursor lag. It shows websites, not apps. To set up the connection, see how to connect an iPad to a monitor or TV.
Troubleshooting
- The mouse or keyboard doesn't show up in Bluetooth. Put it back in pairing mode and keep it within about 10 meters (33 feet) of the iPad. If it's paired with a Mac or another iPad, unpair it there first.
- A Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad won't scroll. iPadOS doesn't support scrolling or other gestures on the first-generation Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad.
- The pointer won't go onto the monitor. The iPad is mirroring. On an iPad without an M-series chip, that's all it can do. On an M-series iPad, turn on Stage Manager in Settings > Multitasking & Gestures.
- In ScreenCommand, the mouse moves the iPad's pointer, not the TV cursor. Open the browser on the TV first and make ScreenCommand full screen. If you gave the mouse back to the iPad, tap Use Mouse on TV at the top of the trackpad, or press ⌥⌘M.
- The keyboard types nothing in ScreenCommand. Click the text field on the page first: the keyboard types into whichever field is selected.
- The wheel scrolls the wrong way. For the iPad's own pointer, switch Natural Scrolling in Settings > General > Trackpad & Mouse. For the cursor on the TV in ScreenCommand, use the Natural Scrolling switch in ScreenCommand's Settings.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a mouse with an iPad on an external monitor?
Yes. Pair a Bluetooth mouse or trackpad in Settings > Bluetooth, or plug in a USB one. What it can reach depends on the iPad. On an iPad with an M-series chip extending with Stage Manager, the pointer moves onto the monitor and drags windows between the screens. Every other iPad mirrors, so the pointer stays inside the copy of the iPad's screen. In ScreenCommand, a mouse on iPad steers a cursor across the whole TV, on any USB-C iPad.
Why won't my iPad's cursor move to the external display?
Because the iPad is mirroring. A mirror is a copy of the iPad's screen, so the pointer can only move inside that copy. Only iPads with an M-series chip can extend to a monitor, with Stage Manager turned on in Settings > Multitasking & Gestures. On other iPads, including the iPad (A16) and iPad mini (A17 Pro), mirroring is all iPadOS offers, though an app can still draw its own picture on the monitor, with its own cursor, as ScreenCommand's browser does.
How do I move a browser window or tab to the external monitor on iPad?
On an M-series iPad extending with Stage Manager, drag the browser's window to the monitor by its top, or touch and hold the window controls and tap Move to Display. The window brings all its tabs, so to show one tab on its own, give it a window of its own first, if the browser supports more than one window, as Safari does. On an iPad that mirrors, nothing moves: the monitor copies the iPad. ScreenCommand puts its own browser on the monitor instead, with up to 4 windows of 12 tabs, two of them side by side.
Do I need a mouse to use an iPad with a monitor?
Not for mirroring: you touch the iPad, and the monitor shows the same thing. On an M-series iPad that extends, a mouse or trackpad is what moves the pointer onto the monitor, though Move to Display sends an app there by touch. ScreenCommand needs no mouse at all: the iPad's or iPhone's screen is the trackpad for the cursor on the TV.
Can I use a mouse with an iPhone connected to a TV?
Only through AssistiveTouch, Apple's accessibility feature. Turn it on in Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch and pair the mouse under Devices, then Bluetooth Devices, and a pointer appears on the iPhone's screen. In ScreenCommand, keep that pointer on the trackpad: a click clicks on the TV, and holding the button while you move steers the cursor. A hardware keyboard works on iPhone without any of this.
What keyboard shortcuts work on an iPad with an external keyboard?
Hold ⌘ to see the shortcuts for the app you're in. ⌘-Tab switches apps, ⌘-Space opens Search, and Tab moves between parts of an app. On a Magic Keyboard for iPad or Smart Keyboard, holding the Globe key shows the systemwide ones. In ScreenCommand, ⌘L opens the address bar, ⌘T and ⌘W open and close tabs, ⌘R reloads, and ⌘+ and ⌘- zoom the page on the TV.
More product questions (pricing, gestures, privacy) are covered in the main FAQ.