We love the affordability yet high performance of a XPPen tablet, but nothing is more inconvenient than when it not or even stop working with your Mac computer.
You may have encounter the issues like mac not detect the xppen display, xppen display shows no signal, pen not responding, etc after plugging in the cable.
If you find yourself facing a xppen tablet that’s not working as expected, don’t despair. More often than not, some simple troubleshooting can solve whatever problem has popped up with your xppen tablet.
In this article, I will help you find out why your XPPen Deco or Artist tablet is not working with mac and what you can do to fix it.
Whether you’re using a regular screenless or a screen XPPen drawing tablet, this guide has got you covered.
Why is my xp-pen tablet not working with mac? 7 Fixes
If your XP Pen tablet is not working with your Mac, here are some troubleshooting steps you can follow:
1. Install the XPPen Driver
Driver lets your XPPen drawing tablet communicate with the MacOS computer. Without it your tablet will not working properly.
If you use your XPPen tablet without its drivers, the operating system will often see it as a mouse, rendering most of its features useless.
With the drivers installed, there will be a bridge between the two, letting the OS know how it should react when the tablet is used in a certain way.
Download the latest drivers from the XP Pen official website. And Uninstall any existing tablet drivers from other brand before installing the new ones.
Otherwise, there will be conflicts between them and your xppen tablet will not work properly.
In addition, Before installing the driver, please turn off all antivirus software and graphics software.
Note: There is a detailed installation tutorial below the article.
2. Check the System Preferences
Your XPPen tablet may not be working on recent a Mac OS computer due to security settings.
Recent Mac OS versions added many security features to keep the computer safe from applications not downloaded directly from the App store.
If an app is downloaded from the internet or directly from a developer, i.e. the XPPen Driver, the OS continues to protect the Mac. These added protections require additional security settings to be adjusted.
Until these settings are accepted, the tablet functions such as the Pen and touch input will not work correctly.
After install the xppen driver, Authorize the app in any macOS security and privacy pop-ups you see.
To be specific, Enable XPPen PenTablet driver under “Accessibility” and under “Screen Recording”.
Note: Mac OS only allows the security settings to be changed within the first 30 minutes of installing the application.
If the issue continues, please over install the driver with the current driver (even if you already have the current driver installed).
3. Uninstall and Reinstall the Driver
If your tablet doesn’t work after a Mac OS update, Maybe some files of XPPen tablet driver got corrupted with the update. Try uninstalling and then installing again from scratch.
Disconnect your tablet from the computer.
Go to your Applications folder in Finder, and find the XP-Pen PenTablet folder.
Launch the Pentablet. If there is a lock at the bottom of the utility, click on this to make changes. Enter your credentials.
Under PenTablet Software, choose to Uninstall. You will be asked to confirm, choose OK.
Go back to Applications, and if your PenTablet folder stayed behind after uninstalling, please delete it and its contents.
Click on the Spotlight icon in the menu bar and type the name of the driver and xppen keyword. Then press Return. If it finds anything, delete all of that, too.
Restart the computer. No XPPen icon should show in your preferences.
Download the latest XPPen Driver from their website. Install the driver. Reboot your computer.
Pro Tips: Don’t ever upgrade operating systems until you have no choice because your favorite programs may won’t work. And It will take some time for xppen technicians to develop new tablet driver that adapt to the new system.
If you don’t know how to uninstall the driver manually, I suggest use the AppCleaner tool.
4. Check the Connections
Once the installation is complete, and the system is stable, connect the tablet.
If there’s no signal that means that it’s not connected. The possibilities are either that your display cable is broken or the cable is incompatible with your Mac.
Make sure all ports are plugged in, if you use a 3-in-1cable. The black USB-A cable is for pen data, red USB-A cable is for power, HDMI is for video data and USB-C cable is for XPPen tablet.
XPPen tablet functions without the red one plugged in, but If your xppen screen is black, try Try connecting it to a separate power source.
Make sure to try your other USB ports especially on the other side of the laptop. Disconnect all other external devices in case one of them is causing a problem with the XPPen tablet.
Make sure your tablet is connected directly to your computer. Avoid using USB hubs, keyboard/monitor ports, or docking stations with the tablets, as they can cause inconsistent behavior.
If you have an old XPPen artist pro model like XPPen artist 15.6 Pro, which only supports 3-in-1 cable. Then You may need a couple of adapters for this tablet, especially you have a macbook air.
One would be a USB A <–> USB C adapter. The other would be a USB-C <–> HDMI adapter. The adapter can sometimes be the source of a poor connection.
If you must use an adapter with the XPPen tablet to connect to the laptop, then try using another adapter especially a different brand.
Usually the Apple adapters are the best for compatibility in most situations if you are currently using a non-Apple adapter.
Finally, I recommend buying the latest XPPen Artist Pro Gen 2 or XPPen Artist 2nd Gen. Because they both support a single USB-C cable connection.
5. Restart Your Mac or Tablet driver
Restart your Mac computer. See if it works. Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve connectivity issues.
If it doesn’t, Launch the pentablet app (xppen driver) Manually and make sure all the updates are installed.
On Mac OS 13.* (Ventura) or above, make sure the driver is allowed to run in the background:
Open Settings > General > Login Items > Allow in the Background and toggle Pentablet app to ON. Reboot the operating system.
6. Disable or uninstall anti-virus programs
Are you running any anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, or third party security software?
These types of apps are not needed on a Mac and usually causes more problems than they solve as they interfere with the normal operation of XPPen tablet driver or macOS.
7. Test in Different Applications
If the pen is simply not working when you try to draw in a certain program (like Clip Studio Paint or photoshop), you may have to reset or your pen sensitivity in that program’s settings, or remove and reinstall the software again.
You can download and Open various free drawing applications (like medibang paint, Krita, or firealpaca) to see if the issue is specific to one program.
How to install XPPen tablet Driver on MacOS?
Below are my guide on how to install the XPPen tablet driver and what security settings need to be selected on MacOS.
Step 1: Head to XP-Pen Website and download the latest Mac driver for your tablet.
Step 2: Install the new Driver (duh). Enter your Mac password where prompted. Confirm you want to open PenTabletDriverUX, MSGDisplay and PenTabletInfo.
Step 3: After install the xppen driver, Go to Applications –> XP-Pen PenTablet –> PenTablet and open it.
Step 4: Open System Preferences and go to Security & Privacy. Select Privacy tab.
Scroll down to Accessibility, verify that PenTabletDriver are there and checked.
If not, you can just add them yourself. Where to find PenTabletDriver? Here: [Your Mac HD]/Library/Applications/XPPenTablet/PenTabletDriver
Step 5: Next, Find “Screen Recording” in “Privacy & Security”. Check that PenTabletDriver is there. If not, add it by youself.
Step 6: After that, Restart your Mac, and Plug in your XPPen display tablet.
Step 7: Go to Applications –> PenTablet –> PenTabletSetting.app and you should be able to set your preferences for pen buttons, pressure, display mapping, and Express Key assignment.
Step 8: Exit the settings app.Your settings should now be usable with your tablet.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the issue with your XP-Pen tablet not working on macOS and get back to enjoy your drawing experience.
The troubleshooting solutions mentioned above should work regardless of the brand of your tablet, e.g. Wacom, Huion, XPPen, Ugee, Parblo, Veikk, Xencelabs, Gaomon, etc.
If that doesn’t work, contact XPPen’s technical support. They would be able to perform remote troubleshooting and assist you accordingly.
But if not, hopefully your product is under warranty still (so long as it is not damaged by yourself, of course). Sometime it may be a hardware problem or a manufacturing defect.
Explore More: The 12 Best Drawing Tablets for Mac of 2025
