Big Sur 11.1 External Display Issues!

Big Sur 11.3 seems to have fixed this issue for me with:

MacBook Pro 16' 2019 with AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8GB

BenQ SW271

Now I'm able to reliably connect to my SW271 with USB-C at 4K 60Hz. Thank god Apple FINALLY did something to address it after a long 5-month period. This bug literally rendered my whole workspace setup unusable for such a LONG time. Hopefully Apple can improve its bug resolution time in the future, especially those related to hardware which make equipment worth thousands of dollars useless!!! This is definitely not the kind of experience I expect after investigating so much $$$ into Apple products.

11.3 does not fix the issue for me. I have a late 2015 IMac and new MSI 34 inch monitor. There is no 60Hz at higher resolutions particularly at 5k2k notwithstanding Apple promises that it can deliver at 6k. Apple have really lost their way. I will not be buying any M1 products in the near future. A total disappointment after waiting so long!

The recently released 11.3 update fixed my USB-C connected external display resolution failures as well. Widescreen BenQ EX3501R QHD now working again on my Macbook Pro 16" without the hack of downgrading the monitor's display port (DP) version from 1.4.

Are drivers required for speakers / monitors like they are for external devices like printers? I had a problem with my Samsung 4K tv not recognizing USB-C to HDMI and that went away after I pushed the power button down on my remote and kept it down to reset the TV. Have you tried the speakers connected directly to the Mac? or via a hub? If your controls for the audio output modes (amplify, surround) are via the monitor then that would be a problem.

I took the plunge last night and installed 11.3 and my monitor works on my 2019 16" but at first boot it felt like it was running 30hz. After rebooting it's feeling much smoother. I also noticed that when picking your scaled monitor resolution it no longer shows you the resolution it's being downscaled ("Looks like") from if at all (at least for my LG 32DU99 it doesn't). It does however show it's being downscaled from 2x the res properly in System Information @ 60hz.

Quick follow-up, using a USB-C dongle and plugging in HDMI to monitor seems to work better and brings my audio back. Too bad I went out of my way to get a monitor with USB-C and USB hub only to have to Apple render it useless. Nice apple :smh:

It still detected the audio device. Ultimately macOS shows my display and audio device as HDMI whether its directly connected via USB-C or via the USB-C to HDMI dongle. But since 11.3 when connected directly via USB-C there is no audio output, but the audio device is still present. I can switch between built-in speakers and the Acer display audio and get audio and silence respectively.

For reference, my display is Acer XR342CK bmijqphuzx. Running macOS 11.3 on MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019).

I wanted to connect my 2019 27inch iMac with my M1 macbook pro using thunderbolt so that I can use iMac as a monitor but found out that It is not possible due to Big Sur OS(confirmed over apple support call).

Now that 11.3 is out, I am waiting for my thunderbolt cable to arrive and will test it again. I'll post here, might help if anyone has same issue as mine.

if one dongle connection works to connect to the display and Acer audio output device then at least there's that. My Mac Mini 2018 lost an HDMI port in Big Sur but can connect a second display using USB-C to HDMI.

After the Update to Big Sure 11.3 everything works now fine for me with my 4K Benq 32" and 24" Huion Pro PenDispaly on Mac Book Pro 16" 2019. There are no problems with black screens and I get also the 60hz. I use one cable USB-C to USB-C. And the Huion is connected on a USB-C Hub with HDMI.

Now I can get back to regular work without switching the cables.... Bohhh - that takes a long time for this update solution...

I hope you all can solve your problems in a similar way with the update. I keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for the daily support and tests to all who have written in here.

No change using a 20” Apple Cinema Display LCD via a USB C - DVI adaptor on a MacBook Pro. The display still turns into a strobe light if your MacBook goes to sleep etc. it’s fine until you log in, then flashes in and off et. Until you restart. Guess Apple doesn’t care about supporting their own legacy products or anyone who can’t afford to fork out for a new USB C/HDMI Display

Finally.... Problem solved!

It looks like 11.3 solved the problem for me. MacBook Pro 16" 2019 AMD Readon PRO 5500M 8GB with two external displays, Dell U3417 (never had a problem) and BenQ SW271 (is up and running again after the update to 11.3).

I've restarted it several times, no problems yet, fingers crossed.

Jos

I have Big Sur 11.3 but I can't stream videos to my 4K LG OLED TV unless I use the Apple TV application and bought the movies from Apple. GREAT TECHNOLOGY APPLE!!! WHY DO WE STAY WITH YOU???? NOW WHAT??? PLUG AND PRAY LIKE OLD WINDOWS???????

The LG will play H264 and H265 so it's not my TV!!!!!!!!

I can connect to my TV by HDMI cable and get full 4K resolution after I OPTION + SCALED in monitor preferences. This works.

I can connect via HDMI to an ACER monitor that is 19xx by 12xx.

I WILL NOT BUY ANY 4K MONITOR, EVEN FROM THE APPLE STORE, UNTIL THIS GETS FIXED!!!!

THIS IS A **** GOOD REASON TO BUY THE SURFACE PRO!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe because it’s a 2012 Mac running Windows. Lucky are you that you can even run windows on that pos. Besides, Apple is responsible for providing proper drivers for their hardware in Bootcamp, another Apple problem 🤷‍♀️

Changed behaviour with Big Sur 11.3.1.

So far I had a workround: to switch my external Benq monitor to Display Port 1.2.

Now the display doesn't wake up properly after going to standby – even with DP 1.2.

Apparently Apple is working on the issue. But the updates didn't make any better.