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Is Your Luna Display Slow, Laggy, or Pixelated? Here's How to Fix It

If you’re seeing lag, stuttering, or low image quality with Luna Display, don’t worry, most performance issues come down to connection type, display settings, or network interference. Here’s how to fix them step-by-step.

Updated over 2 weeks ago

🎯 Quick Start

  • Find a fix below: Switch to cable, lower resolution, optimize WiFi, reduce network congestion, close apps, disable Retina, etc.

  • WiFi users: Use 5GHz, lower resolution, switch to a cable connection

  • Cable users: Use native resolution and check that your connection is working

  • Both: Close unnecessary apps, update software, complete factory reset

⚡ Fix #1: Switch Your Connection Type

The best way to fix any issues on WiFi or Peer-to-Peer is to switch to a cabled connection. This solves 95%+ of quality issues on a wireless connection.

There are many different scenarios that can impact the connection speeds between devices on WiFi. This includes:

  • How many walls are in between devices

  • The type of network you're on (2.4G vs 5G)

  • Where you're connected (coffee shop, personal home, work, etc.)

  • Bluetooth devices near by and powered on

  • Hardware issues (resolution, resources eaten up, etc.)

Compatible cables (in order of performance):

  • Ethernet (with or without a USB adapter)

  • Thunderbolt 3/4

  • Thunderbolt 2 with Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter

  • USB-C to USB-C (macOS 10.15+)

  • USB-C to USB-A (macOS 10.15+)

How to connect

Step-by-step cable connection:

  1. Quit Luna Display on both devices:

    • Primary device: Click Luna Display menu → Quit

    • Secondary device: Click Luna Secondary menu → Quit

  2. Connect your cable:

    • Plug cable between your two devices

    • Make sure connections are fully seated in the proper ports

  3. Restart Luna Display:

    • Open Luna Display on primary device first

    • Open Luna Display on secondary device second

    • Wait 5-10 seconds

  4. Verify it worked:

    • Click Luna Display menu bar icon

    • Should show "[Cable Type]" on the top right-hand side of the Luna window

    • If you see "WiFi", "Peer-to-Peer", or continued lag, make sure your cable connection is set up in the computer's Network Settings. It should show as "Connected" or "Self-assigned IP" under the cable type you're using.

Troubleshooting

  • Try different cable types if you have that option

  • Check that the cable supports data transfer (not just charging)

  • Restart both devices with cable connected

  • Go into Network Settings on both devices and check that Thunderbolt/Ethernet/USB says "Connected" or "Self-assigned IP"

  • For more information: Troubleshooting Ethernet and Thunderbolt Connection


    ​If you're still seeing issues with cable connected, continue to Fix #3.

    Don't have a cable right now? Continue to Fix #2 for WiFi optimization.

📡 Fix #2: Optimize Your WiFi Connection

WiFi will never match cable performance (with 7-25ms latency compared to 1-4ms on cable). These steps help maximize WiFi, but cable is always better if available.

Step 1: Switch to 5GHz WiFi

On Mac:

  1. Click WiFi icon in menu bar

  2. Look for network name with "5G" or "5GHz"

  3. Connect both devices to the same 5GHz network

Check if you're on 5GHz:

  1. Hold Option key

  2. Click WiFi icon

  3. Look at "Channel" - if it shows 36 or higher, you're on 5GHz

If you don't see separate 5GHz network:

  • Your router may combine bands under one name

  • Move both devices within 15 feet of router

  • Restart devices to force a reconnection

Step 2: Improve Physical Positioning

Step 2: Improve Physical Positioning

  • Place both devices in the same room as your router

  • Keep devices within 10-20 feet of router

  • Remove obstacles between devices and router (especially walls and metal objects)

Quick test: Move both devices next to your router and test Luna Display. If performance improves dramatically, positioning is your issue.

Step 3: Reduce Network Congestion

On all other devices on your network:

  • Pause downloads and streaming (Netflix, YouTube, Spotify)

  • Close video conferencing apps (Zoom, Teams)

  • Pause cloud sync (Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive)

  • Close unnecessary browser tabs

  • Pause backup software (Time Machine, Backblaze)

Check Activity Monitor (Applications → Utilities):

  • Click Network tab

  • Sort by "Sent Bytes" or "Received Bytes"

  • Quit apps using high bandwidth

Advanced: How to Change WiFi Channel

When to use this: If you live in an apartment building, dense neighborhood, or can see 10+ nearby WiFi networks, changing your WiFi channel can significantly reduce interference.

  1. Log into your router
    Usually one of these:

    • 192.168.1.1

    • 192.168.0.1

    • 192.168.1.254

    • (Sometimes printed on the router label)
      ​

  2. Open the WiFi / Wireless settings section
    ​

  3. Look for “Channel” or “Channel Selection”
    If it’s set to Auto, you can manually choose a cleaner channel.
    ​

  4. Recommended channels
    ​5 GHz:

    • Use channels 36, 40, 44, or 48 (lowest interference, universally supported)

    • (Avoid DFS channels like 52–144 unless you know your devices support them.)

    2.4 GHz:

    • Use only channels 1, 6, or 11

    • (These are the only non-overlapping channels.)
      ​

  5. Save changes and reconnect your devices

This reduces interference from neighboring networks.

🖥️ Fix #3: Adjust Display Settings

Higher resolution = more data = more bandwidth required. Finding the right balance can improve performance dramatically.

Lower the Display Resolution

On Mac (Ventura or newer):

  1. Open System Settings → Displays

  2. Select your Luna Display

  3. Click "Scaled"

  4. Select resolution (try 1920 × 1080 first)

On Mac (Monterey or older):

  1. Open System Preferences → Displays

  2. Select Display tab

  3. Click "Scaled"

  4. Select resolution

On Windows:

  1. Right-click on the desktop and select "Display settings"

  2. Under "Scale & layout", look for the "Display resolution" dropdown menu

  3. Choose a new resolution

  4. Click "Apply"

Testing: After changing, move windows and scroll. Is it smoother? If yes, you found your optimal resolution. If still laggy, try the next lower resolution.

Adjust the Refresh Rate

  1. Open Luna Display Settings (menu bar icon → Settings)

  2. Look for "Refresh Rate" under the "Luna Display" tab

  3. Try these settings:

    • 30Hz - Better for WiFi, less bandwidth

    • 45Hz - Great in-between option (Mac only)

    • 60Hz - Smoother, requires more bandwidth

Disable Retina Mode

  • Click Luna Display icon to pull up the main Luna Window

  • Click the "Disable" Retina button

  • Your screen may flash while this setting adjusts - this is normal

  • Your screen may appear more blurry but you should experience smoother transitions

If you'd like to learn more about display settings and Luna Display, follow our guide here: Luna Display Resolution, Refresh Rate, and Retina Settings

🔧 Fix #4: Close Unnecessary Apps

Other apps can compete for resources when Luna Display is running. Freeing up resources helps performance.

On Your Primary Device (the one you're controlling from):

Close these first:

  • Web browsers (or close unnecessary tabs)

  • Communication apps (Slack, Discord, Teams, Zoom)

  • Creative apps (Photoshop, Premiere, Final Cut)

  • Music/video players/Netflix/YouTube

Keep these running:

  • Luna Display (obviously!)

  • The specific app(s) you need to use

On Your Secondary Device (the screen you're extending to):

Try running just Luna Display and close everything else to see if you notice improvement:

  • All applications

  • Browser windows

  • Background utilities

This can help save resources for the Luna Display connection. Other applications and processes can steal these resources on both primary and secondary devices.

Check Background Processes

On Mac:

  1. Open Activity Monitor (Applications → Utilities)

  2. Click Network tab

  3. Sort by "Sent Bytes" or "Received Bytes"

  4. Quit processes with high transfer amounts

  5. Note if you see a change in quality

Common culprits:

  • Browser processes

  • Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive

  • Backup software

  • Software updaters

🌐 Fix #5: Update Everything

Outdated software can cause performance issues and bugs.

Update Luna Display

  1. Open Luna Display → Settings

  2. Click on "Check for updates"

  3. If an update is found, click "Update" and follow instructions

  4. Update BOTH devices (primary and secondary) if needed

Update macOS / Windows

On Mac:

  • Apple menu → System Settings → General → Software Update

On Windows:

  • Start → Settings → Update & Security → Check for updates

On iPad:

  • Settings → General → Software Update

🆘 Still Having Issues?

If you've tried all the fixes above and still experiencing problems? Try a factory reset before you contact our Support Team.

Factory Reset Luna Display

On Mac (Primary):

  1. Quit Luna Display

  2. Hold Option key and reopen Luna Display

  3. Click "Reset" when prompted

On Mac (Secondary):

  • You will not need to complete a factory reset on the secondary application. This is all completed in the primary application on the primary device.

On iPad:

  1. Delete Luna Display app

  2. Restart iPad

  3. Reinstall from App Store

After reset: Reconfigure your settings and reconnect.

Remember: Cable connections solve 90% of performance issues. If you haven't tried cable yet, start there!

Related Articles
Latency and Expected Speeds: WiFi vs. Wired Connections Explained
How do I improve Luna's performance over Wi-Fi?
How to Check Your Luna Display Connection Type
Luna Display: Quick Fixes for Display Issues
WiFi Display Quality: Fuzzy, Blurry Display or Lag on WiFi
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