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Macbook Air 13, M1 2020 and External Monitor

I want to connect an external monitor to my Macbook 13, M1 2020. I have an adapter, but it is not connecting. Is a special adapter needed?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.2

Posted on May 3, 2021 7:08 AM

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Posted on May 22, 2021 5:32 AM

I've had a similar, inconsistent, problem. It seems like the M1 needs more power for the USB-C connections to work than my prior machine. After trying multiple M1 Macs (I sent mine back and tried a new one, and my wife's machine has the same problem, so 3 machines), and multiple USB-C Hubs (Apple, Belkin, & QGeeMe) and multiple chargers (Apple and many others) I've come up with what seems to be a fairly stable solution which is:


Use a genuine Apple Power Adaptor


Other adaptors work *sometimes* or *never*.


The problem seems to be if your Mac doesn't get enough power it shuts down the external display... and a lot of 3rd party chargers are pretty flakey. I've also upgraded from the 61W to the 96W to ensure I always have enough power and it seems to be OK.


2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

May 22, 2021 5:32 AM in response to ajenks223

I've had a similar, inconsistent, problem. It seems like the M1 needs more power for the USB-C connections to work than my prior machine. After trying multiple M1 Macs (I sent mine back and tried a new one, and my wife's machine has the same problem, so 3 machines), and multiple USB-C Hubs (Apple, Belkin, & QGeeMe) and multiple chargers (Apple and many others) I've come up with what seems to be a fairly stable solution which is:


Use a genuine Apple Power Adaptor


Other adaptors work *sometimes* or *never*.


The problem seems to be if your Mac doesn't get enough power it shuts down the external display... and a lot of 3rd party chargers are pretty flakey. I've also upgraded from the 61W to the 96W to ensure I always have enough power and it seems to be OK.


Macbook Air 13, M1 2020 and External Monitor

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