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Screens don't restore properly after sleep

I'm seeing a strange problem recently, which may relate to a hardware change but also might be a Big Sur issue, though I haven't found any reference to it. Here's the story.


I recently upgraded my late-2014 Mac mini to use two 2560x1440 gaming monitors, replacing the two older 1080p monitors. In the process, I found that the mini-DP-to-HDMI interface I'd been using only supports up to 1080p, while the native HDMI port supports 4K. So, to allow both monitors to work at their designed resolution, I switched to DP for both monitors, per Mac mini specs, and it works great -- full 2560x1440 on both screens, nice and crisp.


But here's the problem: about half the time, when I wake it up after sleep, one or both desktops are empty. Mission Control shows all the open windows, but even if I click on one, it goes away once Mission Control does. The only solution is to move it, within MC, to the other screen, then restore, and it will appear, at which time I can slide it back where it belongs. Since I usually have five or six open windows at a time, it gets to be a real pain.


I thought I'd found the problem when I discovered the Spaces settings, and un-checked the "Rearrange" option, but that didn't work.


Has anyone else seen this problem?


Mac mini, macOS 11.0

Posted on Dec 6, 2020 10:11 AM

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Posted on Dec 12, 2020 11:13 AM

I've found a solution, or so it seems. While exploring the screen-related settings, I found (under Mission Control) the check-box "Displays have separate Spaces". I un-checked, logged out and back in again, and quickly realized that wasn't going to work for me, so I went back and checked it again. After another logout/login, I rearranged my windows, and haven't seen the problem since.


I suspect it was some glitch in the migration of screen settings to Big Sur.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 12, 2020 11:13 AM in response to jdo_apple

I've found a solution, or so it seems. While exploring the screen-related settings, I found (under Mission Control) the check-box "Displays have separate Spaces". I un-checked, logged out and back in again, and quickly realized that wasn't going to work for me, so I went back and checked it again. After another logout/login, I rearranged my windows, and haven't seen the problem since.


I suspect it was some glitch in the migration of screen settings to Big Sur.

Dec 11, 2020 3:28 PM in response to DMDirector

Hey there DMDirector,


We understand there is an issue with open windows not restoring correctly to your monitors. We'll be happy to help.


To begin, we'd recommend starting with an SMC and NVRAM reset. Reference the steps in the two links below.

How to reset the SMC of your Mac

Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac


Also, double-check that your monitors and settings are correctly configured with this guide: Use external monitors with your Mac


If you still experience issues, another option would be to create a test user account to see if the same thing happens there. This would let us know if the issue is system-wide or isolated to one account. Create the user with the steps here: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac


However, if this is still occurring, we'd recommend reaching out to Apple Support directly. Use this link: Get Support


Cheers!

Dec 14, 2020 7:30 AM in response to karina184

It seems I spoke too soon. When I awoke the machine this morning, one window of the two on the right-hand monitor didn't restore properly. Mission Control shows both windows, but on restore, one disappears. As before, I was able to recover it by moving it to the other screen while in the Mission Control view. After restore, it appeared on the left as expected, after which I was able to drag it back to the right-hand screen.


Bottom line, the issue is still open.

Dec 18, 2020 1:21 PM in response to raina_b22

Well, I will tell you from long (and often painful) experience that this bug will be solved one of two ways: (1) enough people see it and report on it that there's enough information to find the source; or (2) it will be fixed as a side effect in the process of correcting some other, more widely reported bug. So for the moment, I'm just going to keep tabs on it and document it as well as possible. That's the first step in finding it, anyway.


And it's not as though it's a big deal, just an annoyance. If it happened more often, it would be a bigger problem, but then it would also be easier to track down. Thanks for everyone's help, though!


Screens don't restore properly after sleep

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