Troubleshooting Your Ethernet or Thunderbolt Connection
When the Thunderbolt or Ethernet cable connected between your devices is failing to connect the Luna apps, there are a few things you'll need to check to make sure the connection is set up properly. The Thunderbolt or Ethernet connection must be established on your devices prior to launching the Luna apps.
How to check that Thunderbolt or Ethernet Bridge is connected on macOS
The Thunderbolt or Ethernet Bridge is a network interface that allows data transfer between two devices via a Thunderbolt or Ethernet cable. This should be established once the cable is connected between the two devices. To check that the Thunderbolt or Ethernet Bridge has been properly set up:
- Connect your primary and secondary computer via the Ethernet or Thunderbolt cable. Plug one end of the cable into your primary device and the other end of the cable into your secondary device.
- Go to the Apple menu on both your primary and secondary device > System Preferences > Network
- You should see the connection types listed on the left-side menu panel. If using a Thunderbolt cable, you'll look for Thunderbolt Bridge. If using an Ethernet cable, you'll look for USB Ethernet or USB/LAN.
- Once the cable is connected between both devices, the connection status on the left-side menu panel should change to a yellow or green dot and be labeled as "Self-Assigned IP" or "Connected".
If the Ethernet or Thunderbolt Bridge says "Not Connected" or has a red dot, this means that your devices are not registering the cabled connection. If it states "Not Connected", there are a few steps you can try to get it working:
- Try readjusting the cable between your devices by unplugging them and plugging them back in. Make sure the cable is snuggly fit into the port.
- Try another Thunderbolt or Ethernet cable, as the cable you're using could be faulty.
- In the left side menu, select Thunderbolt or Ethernet Bridge and ensure that Configure IPv4 is set to "Using DHCP."
- Power down and reboot both your primary and secondary devices. Check to see that the Thunderbolt or Ethernet Bridge is now connected.
- Contact Apple Support for further guidance.
If the Ethernet or Thunderbolt Bridge says "Connected" or "Self-Assigned IP" and shows a green or yellow dot, this means that your devices are registering the cabled connection. If Luna Display still isn't connecting via Ethernet or Thunderbolt, we'd recommend completing a ping test to make sure your devices are able to communicate through the cabled connection.
How to complete a ping test using a Thunderbolt or Ethernet connection in macOS
- Open the Luna primary application on your primary Mac. Change the connection filter to Allow any network interface (default). You can find this by going to Luna Settings > Mac-to-Mac
- Next, quit Luna Display on your primary device and Luna Secondary on your secondary device
- Open the Network Preferences on your primary and secondary Mac devices
- Check under the Thunderbolt Bridge (for a Thunderbolt connection) or USB/LAN (for an Ethernet connection) and make sure it says "Connected" or "Self-Assigned IP" on both devices
- Open the Apple Network Preferences on your primary and secondary Mac devices and note the IP address for the Ethernet or Thunderbolt connection
- Complete a Ping Test to make sure your devices are able to communicate via Ethernet or Thunderbolt
- To complete the ping test, open Terminal on your primary device (instructions to find this here: Open/Quit Terminal) and run "ping enter the IP address that you gathered from the secondary device".
- Next, open Terminal on your secondary device (instructions to find this here: Open/Quit Terminal) and run "ping enter the IP address that you gathered from the primary device"
- If the ping communication is successful, it will look similar to this ping test result:
If the ping communication is unsuccessful, it will look similar to this ping test result:
- If the ping communication is successful, but your devices do not connect, please reach out to our Customer Experience team for further assistance.
If the ping communication is unsuccessful, please try completing the ping test one more time or resetting the cabled connection.