Washed out external monitor on M1 Mac mini on usb c

Found some solutions. I've had the exact same problem. I have a M1 Mac Mini using 35-inch LG monitor via USB-C to Display Port. Prior to 11.3, turning off the monitor then back on again used to fix it and the colors would no longer be washed out. After upgrading to 11.3 I initially had no problems with the color, but I started fiddling around with the HDR settings (in System Preferences -> Display) - big mistake - _don't_ check the HDR tick box. I ended up checking the HDR tick box and the colors became washed out again, even after unchecking the box. I tried turning off/on the monitor, unplugging the monitor, rebooting, changing out to a USB-C to HDMI cable then back to USB-C to Display Port - but none of these worked - still washed out colors. The solution I found was to mirror my display via AirPlay Display (in System Preferences -> Display) to my Samsung TV, then turn off the AirPlay Display, and my monitor reset back to the nice dark/vivid colors and no longer washed out. That worked for me, hope that helps :)

I've exactly the same issue with my Mac mini 2018 (Macmini8,1) running macOS Big Sur 11.2.1: External display has washed out colors when using USB-C to DisplayPort cable !!

I bought two USB-C to DisplayPort cables and the result is always the same: washed out colors.

The same monitor with an HDMI cable works perfectly. I've also tried an USB-C to HDMI adaptor with an HDMI cable and it also works perfectly. This makes me believe that the issue is really related to the DisplayPort.

Macmini8,1 with Intel UHD Graphics 630 to iiyama ProLite XUB2595WSU:

• HDMI cable: no issue
• USB-C to HDMI adaptor + HDMI cable: no issue
• USB-C to DisplayPort cable: washed out colors

I don't have washed out colors when I plug my Windows laptop into the same monitor using the USB-C to DisplayPort cable !! The monitor and the cable are therefore not the root cause of the issue.

We are not the only ones to have the issue:

• External display attached to MacBook Pro has washed out colours
• Fixing the External Monitor Color Problem with My 2018 MacBook Pro
• External Monitor Color Space, Part 2: Big Sur

Regards,

Xavier Mawet

It's been mentioned before but a functioning work-around is to use a USB-C to HDMI cable. I use one, and now I'm getting the full color range on both of my LG 27UK570s. (One monitor goes into the Mac Mini's HDMI port, the other goes into one of the USB-C ports) Of course this means you need to also have an HDMI port on your USB-C monitor, but most do.

You can use something like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083Z8QBJ5/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A306CRYOBV3KI3&psc=1

Since USB-C monitors make up a small subsection of the market, I've given up on Apple fixing this. This is probably the best we're gonna get for some time.

Just wanted to share with other. This toggling HDMI UHD Deep Color setting (or equivalent on the newer LG 4Ks) off and then on seem to have worked and has survived power downs, reboots, and MacOS updates over that past 20+ days. So, do try that. I can do fully 60HZ DisplayPort 1.2 protocol. No HDR as it will require USB-C or HDMI 2.1 or DP 1.4, I think.

I think on most LG 4K displays "HDMI UHD Deep Color" (increased bit depth for xvYCC video) is grayed out in case of DisplayPort and USB-C connections as well as "Black Level" since both are HDMI specific settings. These settings are certainly disabled on my LG 4K display when I use USB-C. The issue is that M1 Macs sometimes send limited range RGB (this is the equivalent of "Black Level"="Low" setting for HDMI connections) over DisplayPort (or DisplayPort Alt Mode over USB-C). This is clearly a problem of the M1 GPU driver.

if you have HDMI UHD Deep Color available when using DisplayPort or USB-C on your LG display, then it must be a specific firmware issue with your display. Toggling it on and off might force the m1 Mac to redetect the display and freakishly set the correct RGB range by sheer luck (just like it sometimes sets it correctly when changing display configurations via mirroring etc). If you use the display with HDMI UHD Deep Color set to "On", then the limited range RGB issue should not come up at all since you are using xyVCC (extended range YCbCr), which has other problems and not really recommended for computer displays as default.

My m1 mac now consistently works well for weeks after doing the screen mirroring trick only to fall back to limited range RGB for no apparent reason sometimes. Then I do the trick again and it works again for weeks. Strange ehh.

Hey,

there is a solution to this problem:

1. Install XCode from the app store
2. Go to /Library/Preferences in Finder
3. Click on com.apple.windowserver.display.plist
4. Under Root/DisplayAnyUserSets/Configs/Item X/Item X/LinkDescription change Range (this will define if the display output is limited RGB range or full - you want the latter so set it to 1) and PixelEncoding (this decides if encoding is RGB or YPBPR - you want the former so set it to 0).

After this you have to reconnect the display or reboot.

For more info take a look at this discussion:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/m1-mac-external-display-fuzzy-fonts-colors-ypbpr-vs-rgb.2276345/page-21

If you have a lot of Item-s you can try modifying all or just delete the preferences file and reboot.

Hope this helps!

Btw. the issue seems to be fixed or less prevalent in the latest Monterey betas.

I’ve had these issues since I bought my Mac mini back in Dec 2020 and have now SOLVED the issue. If you enable HDR this eliminates all flickering, shimmering, horizontal lines etc on my displays. I’ve tested this by switching HDR off when watching a video and the shimmering etc returns.. See screenshot for my settings. Hope this helps anyone. Ffor info, I have an M1 Mac mini 8gb and 512gb ssd running macOS Monterey 😁

On my 4K LG monitor, I went into the monitor settings > picture > game adjust > decrease the Black Stabilizer slider to 0. I now have deep blacks.

Unchecking the HDR worked for me!! Thank you!!

Details:

Mac book pro

LG Monitor 27QN880

Monterey OS

Type - c to Type C cable.

I have the same issue. LG 27UD88 Ultra HD USB-C display looks washed with an M1 Mac. I think it sends a "limited range RGB" (16-235 brightness levels) signal instead of full range RGB (0-255 brightness levels) which makes blacks gray and whites dull.

Same display with the same USB-C cable works perfectly with an Intel Macbook and Intel Mac mini.

Since this is an USB-C display (charges through the same connection), using HDMI is not an option. It is really unheard that limited RGB would be sent over DisplayPort (this is usually an option in case of HDMI) so the display has no option to compensate for this.

It is very sad that even after almost half a year Apple can't iron out these GPU driver issues. An other annoying bug is that M1 macbooks don't support DDC/CI protocol which renders apps designed to change the native brightness of the display (like MonitorControl or Lunar) inoperable on M1 macs. This is a huge setback for many of us.

Apple please FIX THIS already!!!

I have submitted feedback on this - reference number FB9097254.

Several times since I got my new m1 MacBook Pro and dell U3219Q in mid January I have connected the MacBook to the display (usb-c) and found that the colours are very red (I usually notice this first because of the contrasting colours across Finder windows between the dell and MacBook display). Opening up system preferences > displays and toggling the U3219Q colour profile away from and back to the default will correct this anomaly and the colours are great again.

I do have a third monitor attached via displaylink (the colours are always fine on this) but the dell U3219Q is being driven by the Mac with USB-C / thunderbolt.

More recently I have also noticed these incorrect colours being shown on my iPad when I connect it via Sidecar to extend my display. If I toggle the colour profile for the ipad display in display settings then I can get it to show a "correct" colour.

I haved tried the methods mentioned in this thread and my MBA still put out washed out image on the monitor. It was connected with original LG monitor's(34WK95C) USB-C cable.

Today I try to use my rest around 2.6 feet thunderbolt 3 cable and and wha-la, it works! Image color is deep and no more washed out image.

The solution I found was to mirror my display via AirPlay Display (in System Preferences -> Display) to my Samsung TV, then turn off the AirPlay Display, and my monitor reset back to the nice dark/vivid colors and no longer washed out.

^ that worked for me also, thank you! I have different monitor and other things, but simply using AirPlay then getting out of it, fixes the colors -- weird. I had to do it again later when computer rebooted so may not be permanent fix.

Yes.

High Dynamic Range will make blacks look grey and bring brights down. It takes all brightness levels and brings them closer to the mid-range so that we can see them "better", but not necessarily with color accuracy.

I had the same problem as the OP and unchecking HDR solved my problem. When using my monitor with an HDMI cable (instead of Display Port cable or HDMI to USB-C cable) the HDR option wasn't present and the monitor went to the default non-HDR mode, which looked great with dark blacks. When using a display port cable or HDMI to USB-C cable, the HDR option was available and on by default. The blacks looked grey, the colors washed out (almost pastel), and I was very unhappy.