User profile for user: braintoniq
braintoniq Author
User level: Level 1
103 points

Dual Monitors on M1 Mac mini

Just received my maxed out M1 Mac Mini. And am struggling to find a solution to run my dual 4K monitors, and am looking for solutions.

The first thing I tried was 2 new HDMI 2.x cables, using the Mini's HDMI port, and then purchasing a new Thunderbolt 4 hub that had a HDMI 2.x port.

However, if the Mini goes to sleep, when the monitors turn back on, the Display Arrangement and scale settings get all screwed up; they'll reverse right/left position, and go from the default full resolution to something weird like 1280x720.

I haven't seen anything on the Interwebs about successful dual monitoring on the new M1 Mini, so looking for anyone who's found a solution that doesn't take up all the ports. My next trick will be to purchase a Thunderbolt to dual DP (DisplayPort) hub and see if DP is more stable.

Posted on Dec 9, 2020 7:36 AM

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User profile for user: jefforyfromcanberra
jefforyfromcanberra
User level: Level 1
13 points

Posted on Feb 3, 2021 5:02 AM

Hi Wally,


I have been running two PDU2700Us using the Mini M1 and a CalDigit TS3+ thunderbolt dock connected via the USBC/TB port. This worked without any problems once I sorted out the connections and installed the late-December version of BigSur (there was some flickering on wakeup on the shipped OS version).


I was not able to get both monitors to run at high resolutions from just the M1 using various adaptors (in fact that was a while ago so maybe it just didn't work at all) Either way I was buying a TB dock anyway so decided to use it to enable a dual highres 4k setup.


One BENQ is connected the the the MacMini's HDMI port and is running at 60HZ at 3840x2106. The second is running from the DisplayPort(1.3) of the TS3+ also at 60Hz 3840x2106.


Switching between different resolutions is really fast when you need to and the BENQs provide a rock solid fantastic value for money 4K experience. These are really great monitors and I would only go more upmarket if I needed to do professional graphics/film work - and I think these would be fine for that anyway.


Meanwhile the M1 just stays cool and quiet on tasks that had my MBP fans maxing out (prior to getting the M1 I was running the BENQs directly from the MBP).


Hope that helps.




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User profile for user: wally mcgoo
wally mcgoo
User level: Level 1
8 points

Feb 20, 2021 5:45 AM in response to jefforyfromcanberra

UPDATE: Two Monitors working on a Mac Mini M1 16gb

Thanks Jeffory - I have a successful set up. I bought the mac mini M1 with 2 - BenQ PD2700U and a OWC Thunderbay 4 (thunderbolt) which also has a DisplayPort 1.2 port at the back.

I have a HDMI connected directly to one of the monitors. The thunder bay is connected to the Mac Mini M1 via the included thunderbolt cable and the second monitor is connected to the DisplayPort 1.2 port in the back of the Thunderbay. I am using no adapters anywhere and all cables are relatively short. Less than 1.5metres.

It works perfectly, wakes from sleep without issue. Have not had to restart I have the set up 4 days already and I work all day on the machine. On another note I do fid some blue tooth glitches, hanging etc. I am running the latest Mac updates as of 20th Feb 2021.

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Dual Monitors on M1 Mac mini

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