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External monitor won't wake up after Big Sur upgrade

I have two external monitors connected to MacBook Pro. Used to work fine. After Big Sur upgrade the 2nd monitor will not wake up after the computer comes back from sleep mode. If I power down the monitor and turn back on, the MacBook will see it and restore whatever was on the screen before sleep. Any idea how to fix?

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.0

Posted on Nov 17, 2020 11:58 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 17, 2021 12:13 PM

Sam,


I just started facing this issue today although I've been running Big Sur since the new year.


macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 (20D74)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)

Processor: 2.9 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7

Memory: 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3

Graphics: Radeon Pro 460 4 GB


Peripherals:

  • Kensington SD5200T Thunderbolt 3 40Gbps Dual 4K Docking Station
  • 2x Dell U2415 Displays (1 w/ Displayport <--> Dock, 1 w/ HDMI --> HDMI/USB-C Adaptor --> Dock)
  • 1x Magic Mouse
  • 1x Magic Keyboard w/ numpad


In my case, i actually found that removing power from the dock was the only way to jog the second monitor awake. REALLY ANNOYING

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10 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 17, 2021 12:13 PM in response to Sam_Schwall

Sam,


I just started facing this issue today although I've been running Big Sur since the new year.


macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 (20D74)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)

Processor: 2.9 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7

Memory: 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3

Graphics: Radeon Pro 460 4 GB


Peripherals:

  • Kensington SD5200T Thunderbolt 3 40Gbps Dual 4K Docking Station
  • 2x Dell U2415 Displays (1 w/ Displayport <--> Dock, 1 w/ HDMI --> HDMI/USB-C Adaptor --> Dock)
  • 1x Magic Mouse
  • 1x Magic Keyboard w/ numpad


In my case, i actually found that removing power from the dock was the only way to jog the second monitor awake. REALLY ANNOYING

Dec 16, 2020 2:06 PM in response to Sam_Schwall

I also have this problem that just started after the Big Sur upgrade. I am running a LG 5144x1440 monitor with a CalDigit TS3+ so I can have a single connection. The laptop stays closed and I am using the Apple Magic keyboard and mouse. To wake it up, I open the laptop, but even then it has an odd behavior where when I move the pointer on the laptop trackpad around it pauses almost every second, then goes again. The external monitor doesn't wake until a restart the system.





Jan 28, 2021 4:54 PM in response to Sam_Schwall

I have a MacBook Pro (2018), a CalDigit TS3+ dock, and two LG 4K monitors. This "monitor wake-up" issue started after the Big Sur upgrade. The only method of recovery that works without resorting to a full reboot is to power-cycle the monitor not waking up by unplugging then plugging it back in. Power-cycling the monitor with the power button does NOT fix the issue for me!


Shame on me for upgrading from a (reasonably) stable system... *sigh*

External monitor won't wake up after Big Sur upgrade

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