luiz antonio
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Dual monitor flaw with MBP

With Snow Leopard I used to plug an external monitor to be my primary screen. To do that, I closed my Macbook Pro lid and reactivated the screen using the mouse or keyboard. After that, when I wanted to reopen the lid to use the microphone and camera, I still had my external monitor as my primary and my MBP screen was black.

Now with Lion, when I reopen the lid, the primary monitor is switched back to the MBP. There is no option in the System Preference which I could control that behavior.

It's really annoying and I thinking about falling back to Snow Leopard.

Any idea on how to tweak that?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Jul 26, 2011 7:00 PM

by luiz antonio,Solvedanswer
luiz antonio luiz antonio
Level 1 (0 points)
A:

Thanks for your hint Jonathan! I've already posted my feedback to Apple and hopefully they will listen to us.

About the magnet trick to "hoodwink" MBP, it works just for the wi-fi reception, energy saving and cooling purposes. The front camera stays off with that trick. We really need to ask Apple to put back the previous clamshell mode, or even better: Create more options in the Display configuration for the MBP users.

Posted on Jul 27, 2011 6:57 PM

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luiz antonio

Q: Dual monitor flaw with MBP

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  • by Jonathan UK,

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Jul 27, 2011 11:28 AM in response to luiz antonio
    Level 8 (36,032 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jul 27, 2011 11:28 AM in response to luiz antonio

    Support today quoted Apple's engineers as saying it is "expected behaviour" in Lion for the MBP's internal display to reactivate upon opening the lid, even if you want to use only your external display. A new version of the clamshell mode-related knowledgebase article (replacing HT3131) is due shortly confirming this.

     

    This is despite:

     

    - obvious temperature-related benefits that were achievable (under Snow Leopard) by opening your MBP lid whilst continuing to output solely to, say, a 27" cinema display
    - wifi connectivity benefits of having the lid open
    - the waste of energy and inefficient use of graphics processing power in needlessly running two active screens (ie if running your MBP in clamshell mode would otherwise make it too hot and/or noisy or you need it open for wifi)
    - negative longer-term impact on the battery and components from running the MBP hotter than it needs to be.

     

    For any chance of getting the previous behaviour back, we need to ask Apple to change how Lion handles clamshell mode. Options may include changing Lion's expected behaviour or adding a user-selectable option within System Preferences. Now the situation has been clarified as intentional, user feedback on this issue has become all the more important!

     

    http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

     

    In the meantime, a low strength fridge magnet placed on the inside surface along the right hand edge (perhaps above the Kensington lock slot) may serve to convince a MBP that the lid is still closed. It's not something I'd recommend or do personally, but some others are reportedly finding this helpful in the immediate short term.

  • by luiz antonio,Solvedanswer

    luiz antonio luiz antonio Jul 27, 2011 6:57 PM in response to Jonathan UK
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 27, 2011 6:57 PM in response to Jonathan UK

    Thanks for your hint Jonathan! I've already posted my feedback to Apple and hopefully they will listen to us.

    About the magnet trick to "hoodwink" MBP, it works just for the wi-fi reception, energy saving and cooling purposes. The front camera stays off with that trick. We really need to ask Apple to put back the previous clamshell mode, or even better: Create more options in the Display configuration for the MBP users.

  • by Jonathan UK,

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Jul 28, 2011 6:09 AM in response to luiz antonio
    Level 8 (36,032 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jul 28, 2011 6:09 AM in response to luiz antonio

    No problem, Luiz.

    Thanks for the "answer credit". Oh no, wait - you gave it to yourself!

  • by Jonathan UK,

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Jul 30, 2011 5:50 AM in response to luiz antonio
    Level 8 (36,032 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jul 30, 2011 5:50 AM in response to luiz antonio

    1. Potential solution: Apple wants your forum feedback

     

    Please see a post in the following thread and reply to it as you wish. Apple has reportedly requested us to provide evidence within the forum thread in support of our desire to have the "open lid with screen off" option reinstated (eg the significance of operating temperature differences, levels of reduction in wifi reception, etc). They may then address our concerns with a Lion update.

     

    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3190417?start=60&tstart=0

     

    2. The madness of magnets

     

    It's madness that Apple owners should feel obliged to experiment with passing magnets over the top of their premium-priced computers and sticking them on here, there and everywhere in the hope of finding short-term workarounds. The sooner this problem is fixed at source (ie within Lion), the better!

  • by fedecape,

    fedecape fedecape Aug 15, 2011 10:31 PM in response to Jonathan UK
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 15, 2011 10:31 PM in response to Jonathan UK

    What about Switchresx?