Big Sur 11.1 External Display Issues!

The good news is that one of the Benq ambassadors experienced the issue and reported that onto his YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yJIea2UVp0&t=501s

I can't believe Apple will just discard that with "external monitors support is not our business". Even because companies like BENQ, LG and more collaborate with apple to design products dedicated to mac users (i.e. thunderbolt 3 support).

Same here:

Before 11.1 - no issues. display correctly identified and able to display native resolution with HDR enabled

After 11.1 - display not recognized correctly after. Native resolutions incorrect. Max resolution 1080p with 30Hz refresh rate.

My temporary workaround incl. HDR enabled:

in System Preferences

-> Display Settings

-> Option-Click on Scaled.

-> Click checkbox "Show low-res modes".

-> Choose your native display resolution.

-> Refresh rate dropdown still greyed out and shows 30Hz.

-> Display should run on native res @30Hz now. Unplug you USB-C cable from computer and put it back it.

-> Correct native resolution is still active and refresh rate dropdown is not greyed out anymore. change it to your native setting like 60Hz. DONE.

I have to do this every time my Macbook Pro 16" falls into sleep. I extended the screensaver time so it works for me for an entire workday. I have to do this workaround only once in the morning which is not ideal but fine for some time now.

I have a similar workaround with my Mac Book Pro 16, Benq EW3270U (4K) and Wacom Cintiq 22.

Its more easier if I plug in only one external Screen. But when I want to use a 2nd extern Screen with only 1920x1080 most of the time, the 4K monitor fall back into low-res modus.

Apple please FIX it !!! I want to work with that computer and not spent the most of the time in searching a solution.

I'm running the external display along with a XP-Pen Innovator 16. Same thing. I can make the display work 4k@60Hz sometimes, but no way with the XP-Pen plugged in as well.

It looks like Apple implemented in the OS for all models the restrictions they have on M1 silicon. Something like "Hey, M1 silicon can't run properly two ext displays, so let's do that on MBP16 too!" :(

*Correction to my earlier post. The external 4k display, using USB-C connection, that is working properly here with the MBP running 11.1 is an LG, not a Dell.

I wanted to edit my comment, don't think I can because it was a few days ago.

The more of us reporting it, the bigger the pressure to have a solution.

I started bugging @AppleSupport on Twitter and it worked as they replied and got interested in my case.

Apple don’t read these forums but they are open to help when they get a call. I was on the phone for more than a hour with Apple Support from Sydney a couple of days ago. After PRAM reset, deactivating HDR and TrueTone and SMC reset and other tricks, at least the two external LG monitors work at native resolution (4K & FHD) with decent colours with my MBP16. I’ve been said Apple knows the issue and a fix will come soon.

I’m not wishing bad luck, but I bet the issue will creep back up. Please let us know, because if you are indeed saying these tricks fix the issue, the pressure on Apple will go down, not up. Myself and another member on this thread thought the issue was fixed, but it came back.

Update: like some others have mentioned above, I was able to get my 42" LG 4k monitor working again by using an HDMI via USB-C dongle instead of direct USB-C from monitor to laptop. The display settings are a little weird in that it doesn't let you select the resolution or refresh rate at all (as it typically does) but only allows you to select the scaling level. Seems to be working fine otherwise.

That's why insist, everyone, I repeat, everyone shall report this to Apple as I did.

In this thread there are so many posts complaining about this issue but only a few stating that they actually reported it to Apple. For me Twitter was a start point as I didn't have a phone number and I didn't want to go to an Apple Store with a trolly carrying my gear. People angry for weeks due to this issue. Report it, put pressure on Apple, get it fixed and happy days.

Navigating on https://getsupport.apple.com/ you can find a link for a callback from Apple, and yes, they do call. Even though there is a link on top right of this very page.

Hello,

I may have a solution to your problem. There are brands of adapters that are plug and play with no drivers. Although there are some that need a driver to run the adapter. Now, I have a MacBook Air from late 2017 that I upgraded to Big Sur and the adapter no longer worked (I have a adapter that needs a driver). I contacted the company and they said they needed to make a new driver because of problems with the new OS and their current driver. It seems to me that MacOS Big Sur might have had some compatibility issues. If I may ask, do you know what brand your adapter is? Do you know if it needs a driver? Reply with the model number and brand if you want and I can probably help you more.

NG_5

This is the adapter I'm using that works with my 2019 16-in MBP and LG 42" 4K monitor

https://www.amazon.com/LENTION-Multi-Port-Charging-Compatible-Thunderbolt-dp-B07L721BFK/dp/B07L721BFK/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

Also, when I spoke with Apple tech support on Monday, I told the guy about this thread and that there are hundreds of other people having this issue and after he made me go through all the redundant bs that he's required to ask when it's a monitor issue he finally put me on hold for a bit and when he came back he confirmed it's a widespread issue they are aware of and actively working on. So I'm pretty sure they are well aware.

Hi guys,

have somebody done downgrade like me and installed catalina? Because it is broken now I said this, I’m reading your post talking about drivers and so on but I think this problem is bigger. In catalina now my laptop has the same result with monitorsZ

thsnks!

@soctic,

After three calls with Apple Support, I did a downgrade / recovery via internet to Catalina without a complementary restore via TimeMachine (all my data is in the cloud, all apps like Adobe Photoshop / Office 365 I made a fresh install).

My issues with the displays are solved with this (I have a Dell U3417W and a BenQ SW271, although the Dell did work ok after the BigSur update, the issues were with BenQ-monitor).

I lost way to much time with this bug, I don't understand how this could happen.

Good luck!

Jos

Totally agreed. I downgraded and even swapped out my current graphics card (W5700X) for the original one that came with my Mac Pro (580X) that has only ever been used with Catalina. The problem persisted on both cards regardless of OS version after updating to 11.1. I even dual boot to keep my media/music software separate as it takes a while for the software I use to support a new OS version. Firmware is the one thing that can mess up both partitions and this is the case here.

They'll never do it, but the professional users really need a way to roll back firmware.

I have a LG 43" also and without doing any research (thinking I would be able to plug and play and not have to troubleshoot) and I spent 2 days searching for a solution. The lower resolution and bad picture quality was driving me insane! I almost boxed up the monitor thinking that was the main issue. (I did try swapping cables and ports, restart computer etc.) I found your solution eventually, but it's good to know that at one point everything worked fine prior to 11.1 and that it's an OS issue. I hope it gets fixed soon also, would like to get the HDR back and have it set on 1.4 @ 60Hz.