Learn how to receive timely updates for deliveries, sports scores, flights, taxi cabs, and more in your Mac’s menu bar via the new Live Activities feature on macOS Tahoe.
As seen on your iPhone and iPad, Live Activities deliver timely updates without opening an app. Mac apps aren’t allowed to show them, but Apple’s macOS Tahoe operating system brings Live Activities from your iPhone to your Mac.
The ongoing Live Activity running on your iPhone automatically shows up in the menu bar of your Mac. And when you click it, the underlying app opens automatically in iPhone Mirroring. Follow along as we guide you through the setup process.
What you need for Live Activities on macOS
Here’s a list of requirements to get the Live Activities feature on your Mac:
- Mac running macOS Tahoe 26. As of now, macOS Tahoe is in beta, and Apple will release it commercially this fall. To try upcoming features before then, install macOS 26 on a different partition without affecting your current setup.
- iPhone running the latest version of iOS 18 or iOS 26.
- Compatible iPhone apps like Uber, Uber Eats, or Flighty.
- iPhone Mirroring set up on your Mac.
- iPhone and Mac must use the same Apple account.
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth must be enabled on both devices.
Allow Live Activities from a nearby iPhone
Live Activities are turned on by default after updating to macOS Tahoe 26. To check, go to System Settings > Notifications and be sure that Allow Live Activities from iPhone is turned on.
Viewing iPhone Live Activities on a Mac
When a Live Activity starts running on your iPhone, it also appears in your Mac’s menu bar, provided both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled and are within Bluetooth range (33 feet or 10 meters).
You can click the Live Activity in the menu bar to expand it and show details. Dismissing the Live Activity on your iPhone also clears it on your Mac, and vice versa.
Double-clicking an expanded Live Activity will open its app within an iPhone Mirroring window on your Mac. We have a separate tutorial explaining how to use iPhone Mirroring to run iPhone apps and receive iOS notifications.
To test Live Activity on Mac, download an app on your iPhone that supports Live Activities. We’ll use Shelf – Create Live Activities for this example. Select the “Today will be awesome” tile in the app and then tap the Launch button to start a Live Activity on the phone. Next, open the Notification Center and tap Allow or Always Allow to give permission to run this Live Activity. The Live Activity will automatically appear in the menu bar of your Mac in a few seconds.
Note: Some Live Activities from my iPhone, such as timers and stopwatches, don’t show up on my Mac, although this may change in future updates.
Tips to fix Live Activities not showing up on your Mac
Try these seven troubleshooting tips to fix issues with iPhone Live Activities not appearing on the Mac.
1) Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Check that the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth icons in the iPhone’s Control Center are blue, allowing for new connections. If they already are, turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off in Settings > Wi-Fi and Settings > Bluetooth and then back on.
2) Turn on Handoff
On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > AirPlay & Continuity and check that “Handoff” is turned on. On your Mac, navigate to System Settings > General > AirPlay & Handoff and turn on “Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.” If both switches were enabled, turn them off and then back on.
3) Restart the iPhone app
Quit the iPhone app that shows the Live Activity, then reopen it. The Live Activity should reappear on your iPhone and Mac.
4) Allow Live Activities for the app
On your iPhone, go to Settings > Apps and select a compatible app that won’t display Live Activities and turn its “Live Activities” switch off and then back on.
5) Update the app
Go to the App Store on your iPhone and download the latest version of the app whose Live Activity doesn’t work.
6) Restart devices
Restart your iPhone and your Mac.
7) Set up iPhone Mirroring again
Open the iPhone Mirroring app on your Mac and click iPhone Mirroring > Settings in the menu bar, then choose “Revoke Access” at the bottom. Restart both devices and set up iPhone Mirroring again.
Also, see: How to fix Live Activities not working or updating for an iPhone app