The picture stutters over Wi‑Fi

Wi‑Fi has short stalls that a cable doesn’t. These steps usually help.

Applies to both Macs over Wi‑FiUpdated 5 October 2026

Set AirDrop to Contacts Only or No One on both Macs: Wi‑Fi stutters when AirDrop is set to Everyone.
Choose a lower quality in the display’s Quality menu, or choose Test Connection… there for a new recommendation.
Use Ethernet, or a cable between the two Macs. A Thunderbolt cable gives the lossless picture; any cable avoids the stalls of a radio.

Check Smoothness… in Settings › Display measures what the display shows and suggests what to try. Check Smoothness

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