MacBook Pro External monitor goes gray

Question

Level 1

36 points

MacBook Pro External monitor goes gray

I have an LG Ultrafine display connected to Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015 MacBook via Thunderbolt cable and the Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter. Using it in closed-cover mode.

Works fine for hours and then for no reason the external monitor goes to a blank gray screen. Fan not running, don't think it is heat related. And, if I just unplug and re-plug the thunderbolt cable back in, it will start to work for a while more before doing it again. Only happens after hours of use. CPU temp shows about 135 degrees Fahrenheit. But it show that at various times throughout day when things are working fine too.

Ideas?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 19, 2021 12:55 PM

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Answer 1

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Jan 21, 2021 10:28 AM in response to pfinfante

Hello pfinfante,

Thanks for that info and for choosing the Apple Support Communities. If we understand correctly, you are having an issue with an external display and your MacBook. To help with this, please follow the relevant steps in this Apple resource for this situation:

Get help with video issues on external displays connected to your Mac

Cheers!

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Answer 2

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Jan 21, 2021 10:46 AM in response to pfinfante

Thanks for replying, pfinfante, and that additional info. Next, try running First Aid on your hard drive with the built in Disk Utility tool, as this can correct simple issues like you're experiencing.

How to repair a Mac disk with Disk Utility

You can figure out if unexpected behavior is related to a user file or setting by trying to reproduce the issue from another user account. This process includes creating a new user account, logging in to it, and testing for the issue.

Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac

Have a great day and thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!

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Answer 3

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Jan 22, 2021 1:04 PM in response to pfinfante

Thanks for trying those steps, pfinfante. Since you are still having an issue with this, please contact Apple directly for further investigation:

Get Support

Cheers!

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Answer 4

pfinfante Author

Level 1

36 points

Jan 21, 2021 10:33 AM in response to jdo_apple

Sorry, but that doesn't help. It all works fine for a long time, and then, all of a sudden for no apparent reason, the external display goes to a blank gray screen. If I unplug/plug the Thunderbolt 2 cable back it immediately works again until it happens next time.

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Answer 5

pfinfante Author

Level 1

36 points

Jan 22, 2021 12:54 PM in response to jdo_apple

Nope, still doing it. I also see it was reported by another user in 2019 with exactly the same problem. Dead ended thread!

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MacBook Pro External monitor goes gray

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