taylorann731
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: My 2015 Macbook pro won't connect to a tv via HDMI

I tried to connect my 2015 Macbook Pro 13" Retina display, OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 to a tv with an HDMI cord and the HDMI port on the computer and it isn't working. I used the cord with an adapter on a friends older model and it worked just fine so it isn't the tv and I don't think it is the cord. I even tried it on mine again with the adapter in the thunderbolt display and that would not work either. What settings can I change on my computer to make it work? I really hope that there isn't something wrong with the actual ports on the computer! Please help.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jan 7, 2016 7:17 PM

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taylorann731

Q: My 2015 Macbook pro won't connect to a tv via HDMI

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  • by BobTheFisherman,

    BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman Jan 9, 2016 7:52 AM in response to taylorann731
    Level 6 (15,577 points)
    Jan 9, 2016 7:52 AM in response to taylorann731

    OS X El Capitan: Use your TV as a display

     

    Make sure your TV display is set to the input port you are using.

  • by norm123,

    norm123 norm123 Jan 9, 2016 7:54 AM in response to taylorann731
    Community Specialists
    Jan 9, 2016 7:54 AM in response to taylorann731

    Hey taylorann731,

    I understand that you are having issues with you MacBook Pro using your TV as an external monitor. Let's see if we can get that sorted out. 

    The first thing that comes to mind is to see if your MacBook Pro sees your TV as an external display. The way you would know this is by looking in the Display Pane of System Preferences. The give away is going to see a Gather Windows or Detect Displays shows up there. This would be located in the lower right hand corner of this window and should be similar to the image below. 



    If you see Gather Windows, then you will want to click on this and then change the resolution for the TV by following the steps outlined below. Keep in mind that you will be starting on Step 3.
     

    Change your display resolution

    1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
    2. Click the Displays icon.
    3. Click Default for display. If you see more than one resolution listed, choose a resolution and refresh rate. If the display turns off when you change resolutions, press the escape key to undo the change.

    If you can't change the resolution of your display because you can't see an image, restart your Mac in safe mode to reset the display resolution to defaults.

    If starting in safe mode doesn't resolve the issue, reset your Mac's NVRAM and SMC to reset the video ports on your Mac to their defaults.


    Take a look at the first article for additional troubleshooting to get your TV to show up as an external monitor. The second article explains what the Gather Windows option does. 

    Get help with video issues on external displays connected to your Mac
    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201177

    OS X El Capitan: Display pane of Displays preferences
    https://support.apple.com/kb/PH22160

    Take it easy.