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MacBook Pro external monitors keep swapping sides!

I have a 2019 MacBook Pro 15" running 10.14.6


EVERY SINGLE TIME I reboot the mac, my 2 external monitors swap sides.


I have it set up with my MacBook in the middle and the monitors to the left and right.


EVERY SINGLE TIME I reboot the mac I am forced to go into the Displays control panel and re-arrange them manually — putting the monitor that was on the left on the right, and vice versa.


I save the changes. I can plug in and unplug the screens without issue. Whenever I need to reboot the mac — BAM... The monitor that was on the left is now on the right, and vice versa. They keep their relative positions vertically, they are just simply swapped.




[Edited by Moderator]

Posted on Aug 21, 2019 6:04 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 22, 2019 10:43 AM

THIS IS SO UTTERLY RIDICULOUS APPLE!!!!!


I set up 2 BRAND NEW monitors today — set them side-by-side.


Now when I walk away, even for half an hour and come back to my machine and log back in — the screens are swapped. The screen on the right is now on the left. The screen on the left is now on the right.


[Edited by Moderator]

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6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 22, 2019 10:43 AM in response to AdamCampbell

THIS IS SO UTTERLY RIDICULOUS APPLE!!!!!


I set up 2 BRAND NEW monitors today — set them side-by-side.


Now when I walk away, even for half an hour and come back to my machine and log back in — the screens are swapped. The screen on the right is now on the left. The screen on the left is now on the right.


[Edited by Moderator]

Aug 23, 2019 7:23 AM in response to AdamCampbell

Now it's happening simply by unplugging the monitors and plugging them back in. They swap sides and the wrong color profile is selected (the monitors end up looking like they are grayscale) — I have to manually go into the displays control panel and MANUALLY drag and drop the monitors back into position and then hit the "COLOR" tab which then makes the proper color profile "snap" into place across all of the external displays.


One thing I've noticed is that I STILL use a 2012 MacBook pro in tandem with the newer ones — and every single time I get a new MacBook (have had a 2015, and 2 2019 models) — the display glitches are WORSE with each new MacBook Pro I end up with.


My 2012 MacBook pro supports THREE external displays out of the box and NEVER has any issues with positioning or anything whatsoever.


And now I have a 2019 MacBook Pro and I cannot connect ANY displays to the device without spending 10 minutes tweaking display preferences EVERY TIME I UNPLUG AND PLUG IN THE DEVICE.

Aug 21, 2019 6:52 PM in response to leroydouglas

Honestly I've done it all. The only thing I haven't done is physically move the monitors after the Mac swaps them again. I am waiting for a couple of new monitor arms so it doesn't make sense to take the time to detach them and swap them until the new arms show up. That's the only reason I haven't physically swapped the screens.


Now if I physically swap the screens that the mac refuses to acknowledge upon restart and it swaps them yet AGAIN I am going to lose it. I might actually throw something if that happens, and we can't have that! (joking).


I haven't tried a CMD+OPT+P+R reset or anything like that yet either. It's a brand spanking new macbook pro about a week old and this problem came right out of the gate even after the newest update.

Aug 22, 2019 10:37 AM in response to AdamCampbell

AND — on top of that, now when I swap the monitors back to their original positions the COLOR PROFILE ALSO RESETS!!!!!!!


And, in addition to garbage "MVP" (Minimum Viable Product) software culture — I accidentally marked the above reply as a solution by accident and your system has zero method for undoing that or deleting the reply in question.


Apple and Microsoft products have become such trash that open source is going to start taking over due to the demand for reliable hardware and software.

Aug 23, 2019 6:02 AM in response to AdamCampbell

Plugged in the MacBook this morning and for once the monitors were both on the correct side, as I had left them before — and now I have to go into the Displays control panel and hit the "color" tab before the correct color profile is set.


This whole "MVP" (Minimum Viable Product) software design culture is pure trash — and this is the kind of poor performance you end up with as a result.

MacBook Pro external monitors keep swapping sides!

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