Level 2

193 points

Big Sur 11.1 External Display Issues!

I've installed macOS Big Sur 11.1 right after it launched today. My mistake lol

Unfortunately, I noticed my Type-C ports no longer recognize my two external monitors. I'm using HDMI to Type-C. So far my troubleshooting is as follows:

PRAM reset. This seemed to help until I locked the display. Once unlocked via Touch ID, the True Tone went off and one of the two monitors went out and will no longer connect. Woot. Normally, when connecting an external display, the screen goes black then back on, however, the screen short-of lags and then doesn't ever detect an active connection.
SMC reset. This actually didn't help at all... :(
Fresh install, same issues.

Any suggestions?

MacBook Pro

Posted on Dec 14, 2020 3:44 PM

Top-ranking reply

Ethan Becker

Level 1

38 points

Posted on Feb 16, 2021 4:54 AM

Same problem. Just installed 11.2.1 - No Joy.

I'm running a Macbook Pro 2016 - 2019

32GB ram 4TB.

I'm connected to a J5Create JCD543. Via USB-C

2 DELL SE 2719HR displays.

Also tested on a 2019 Macbook Air. - No joy

Prior to Big Sur, my set up was solid.

Work Arounds: As of Feb 16 2021

Option 1: j5Create just launched a driver. But...well... as of now, it's not useable. It works. Kind of... but it's DJTVirtualDisplayAgent and some other USB virtual software that needs to be approved by security. It enables the second display, but with a 1 or 2 second screen lag. So any interaction with items on that display are slow. Like using Virtual PC in the 1990's. Maybe they will improve this.

Option 2: Use 2 USB-C ports. So, one cable goes into the j5Create hub and the second goes into an HDMI to USB-C adapter. Not the end of the world, but does require an extra USB-C port. results in normal use of 2 displays.

Option 3: I tried other hubs (prices may have changed since posting this.)

USB-3 Hub 123.99

https://amzn.to/3jV4aYp (both displays worked, but requires a special USB-C dual port cable) - returned

Portable USB-C hub pro $59

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0855GZ7PT (both displays worked, but also requires 2 ports, plus, it's a short cable, all cables must be visible on the table. I'm sure you know what I mean.. messy. - returned

Docking Station OKX $149

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HLXLW1Q (Yes, best choice so far. only requires 1 cable and has lots of ports. BUT It does require a driver.

https://www.displaylink.com/downloads

It's still a hack. requires you to be logged into the user account that you have installed the software. So, that means 1 display will be active while rebooting, up until you actually log in, then after about 15 seconds, it launches the second display. No lag, it works well as a work around. This one I'm keeping.

Oh, to save you time, I tried installing this displaylink software to use with other hubs. No dice, it looks for it's own hardware. sorry... (as of the time of this posting. Maybe that will change)

Summary:

I kept the OKX docking with displaylink for my home office. It's nice and clean, with the hub hidden and a 1 simple cable into my USB-C port (also provides power). Nice... but cluncky when rebooting. Must wait for software to load.

At work, I kept the j5Create. 1 USB-C cable from the hub, and all my devices are neatly tucked away. Requires a second HDMI-USBC cable to power 2 monitors, and takes 2 ports. Hopefully Apple will figure out the conflicting software or someone will find a terminal hack to help us all out.

Ethan-

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743 replies

Maxaxmax

Level 1

4 points

Dec 19, 2020 8:08 AM in response to Ratz_Fatz

Same over here! MBP 16'' with an external LG 4K monitor (32UD88-W).

With DP to USB-C and USB-C to USB-C the OS does not recognize the monitor correctly. The resolution switches from 720p to 1080p with 30Hz.

My solution is to connect the monitor with a HDMI to USB-C cable. Now the OS is saying my monitor is 5120 x 2880 (5K/UHD+ - Ultra High Definition Plus). lol. But it is looking good.

Dec 19, 2020 9:21 AM in response to mwventre

This workaround worked for me. Thank you!

It was quite a frustrating experience to go from 11.0 to 11.1 and get my workflow disrupted. I now have full 4K resolution but I have lost HDR.

Not sure how this have escaped QA. Looking at the blast radius of this, I hope that Apple rolls out a fix soon.

Dec 19, 2020 12:38 PM in response to iTimC21

Same issue:

13“ MBP 2019 <- Thunderbolt -> CalDigit TS 3plus <- DisplayPort -> LG 34WK95U-W

Before BigSur no problem. Now: external monitor could not be found. Even if I try to workaround and connect directly via thunderbolt.

Needs to be fixed ASAP!!

Dec 20, 2020 1:49 AM in response to iTimC21

My case is MacBook Pro 2019 + USB-C hub + HDMI connection to Samsung S24D300HL (1920x1080). I can only have either 1024x768 or 1080p. Never see 1920x1080. For the time being it is okay, but you cannot move your movies to Samsung screen to play.

Dec 20, 2020 3:20 PM in response to iTimC21

I took delivery of my new 2020 MacBook Pro 13 a few days ago. I have a Philips 499p9h monitor. Yesterday I went to set up the Mac, and to connect to the monitor with a thunderbolt to usb-c cable (Belkin). The Mac isn't detecting the monitor, and the monitor is saying no source. Sounds very similar to the issue that others are having.

Dec 20, 2020 4:08 PM in response to iTimC21

Same issue on the Macbook pro 16" 2019. My Macbook doesn't detect my LG Ultrawide at all, it doesn't even charge through the monitor with the USB-C cable.

It was working fine on 11.1 for a few days. Didn't make any changes.

Had a similar issue with 11.0. Then the fix was to unplug the power cable of the monitor, and plug it back in.

Tried:

SMB reset
PRAM reset
Unplug power of monitor
Different USB-C cables

Dec 21, 2020 11:34 AM in response to Manglet

My workaround (MacBook Pro 13 2020 into a Philips 49 monitor) is to run a usb-c to HDMI cable. So now I have the screen in action, but when I open up Displays it won’t give me options for the correct resolution/aspect ratio. Really frustrating. Does anyone know if Apple are aware of this? I’m stunned that such a fundamental flaw hasn’t been fixed - this is rendering my home office set-up very uncomfortable.

Dec 21, 2020 3:06 PM in response to iTimC21

I'm experiencing the same issue. After updating my Macbook Pro to Big Sur 11.1 i cannot connect my LG external screen using a DisplayPort-USB-c cable anymore. With Catalin I didn't have any problems, but now my Macbook doesn't recognize the screen any longer. Now, i am forced to use a HDMI cable but even that option has problem because the picture is now frequently flickering.

At work though, I am using an older LG screen and that screen I can still connect with the same DisplayPort-USBc cable. I really don't understand it.

Does anyone have a suggestion or do I have to wait for a fix? It's absolute ridiculous that Apple changes the OS in a way that I cannot use equipment anymore that I have bought for a lot of money!!!

bramdm

Level 1

16 points

Dec 22, 2020 3:23 AM in response to iTimC21

I don't know much about these problems. So I can be of no help unfortunately.

But I want to voice the Big Sur/external monitor problem so Apple can do something about it. I have my MacBook Pro 13inch 2017 on a Philips 279C9 monitor. The display lags sometimes and mostly produces bad images (like blurry screen saver images) or slow with loading of images.

Luckily, USB-C still recognizes the monitor though.

Dec 22, 2020 2:08 PM in response to iTimC21

I have the same issue. MacBook Pro 16, MacSales thunderbolt 3 dock usb-C cable.

BenQ 32 4k direct connect to MacBook, LG5K connected to dock via usb-C cable.

LG is always ok - used as secondary display

BenQ 32 is the primary display - when starting up it opens at 1080p. After a restart, PRAM reset, it may work correctly, sometimes 2-3 PRAM resets.

Once it goes to sleep or shut down it's right back to the same thing. Highly frustrating.

It worked perfect before 11.1.

j.ant.

Level 1

8 points

Dec 22, 2020 2:29 PM in response to Geestig

Recently I got a MB Pro 16 that came with Catalina. After connecting my LG 27UL850-W 4K display colours were horrible, I found a solution in another thread a seriously I was considering update to Big Sur with the hope that this bug would be fixed but it looks it’s only getting worse 😩

On the other hand, when I use the same display with my old MB Pro 2013, colours and definition are gorgeous, so, no thank you, I won’t get Big Sur for a while as I do need best performance in my external monitor for my photography work.

burkard1

Level 1

4 points

Dec 24, 2020 1:01 PM in response to iTimC21

Apple truly borked this update. It's rendered my $1000 display unusable. Does Apple even have a QA department anymore? And then you have people who seem to just want internet points replying with frickin general help articles as a way to accumulate internet points. Oh look, my post count went up, but I still don't understand the issue at all (@kareng12 "community specialist" - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252179066?login=true&page=1 - what specialist recommends general help articles?).

My first question is DOES APPLE EVEN HAVE QA?

My second question is when will this be fixed?

CamrenS

Level 1

4 points

Dec 25, 2020 1:07 PM in response to iTimC21

Updated on christmas eve and now my BenQ 34" monitor looks like a VGA screen from back in the day. No options I can see to downgrade back to 11.0.1 Not good. And this comes right after seeing Apple announce Apple Car. Could you imagine this type of roll out for something like that? Again, bad news all around :-/ ugh.

keisis44

Level 1

18 points

Dec 26, 2020 12:26 PM in response to iTimC21

Same issue here, with a few adjustments:

Both HDMI to HDMI and USB-C to DisplayPort can't display anything above 1080p30 on my BenQ PD2700U monitor (should be 2160p60).
When I used monitor controls to downgrade to DisplayPort 1.1, it allows for 2160p30, but not 60.

I don't seem to have lost HDR abilities when I use DisplayPort 1.1, which is funny, because HDR wasn't supported by DisplayPort until 1.4...

What's up Apple? You good? Please fix ASAP!

MacBook Pro 16" 2019, Big Sur 11.1

Dec 26, 2020 11:08 PM in response to iTimC21

Same issue,

MacBook Pro 16" <-- BenQ PD3220U (vía Thunderbold 3) <-- Dell U2715H (Connected to BenQ USB 3 Input)

This setup worked in Catalina. Yesterday I updated to BigSur and I've found this annoying display issue.

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Big Sur 11.1 External Display Issues!