How do I lock the HDR setting for an external display on Mac OS?

Question

Level 1

11 points

How do I lock the HDR setting for an external display on Mac OS?

I have a third-party display and it's HDR compatible. I can go into the external display settings in System Preferences and check "High Dynamic Range" to enable this, and the display looks great. However, whenever my M1 MBP sleeps, or turns off, the High Dynamic Range setting becomes unchecked, and I have to manually re-check it every time. It's annoying, and there should be a setting option to lock HDR so it's always on.

Is there a way to do this?

The display in question is the BenQ PD2725U.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.2

Posted on May 9, 2021 1:16 AM

Reply

Answer 1

a brody

Level 10

85,308 points

May 12, 2021 6:09 AM in response to parkninja

Not sure what to say, except the M1 computers are all USB-C. Which says to me you probably don't have a properly powered adapter to manage all the display modes of your display or cable. All USB-C adapters managing video should have a USB-C passthrough port with 100W to connect your Mac's power cord.

If the display is hooked up directly via USB-C to the computer, make sure you use the thickest available USB-C cable. The thin ones won't work.

Reply

Answer 2

parkninja Author

Level 1

11 points

May 12, 2021 6:25 AM in response to a brody

Hey — sounds like you don’t quite understand the problem. Yes, I own the M1 MBP which is what I’m having the issue with. Therefore, any external display I connect to my M1 MBP is going to be connected via USB-C…

My external display has Thunderbolt, Display Port, and HDMI. Only the Display Port connection is capable of displaying 4K and 60HZ at the same time. When I connect it via Thunderbolt or HDMI, the image is capped at 4k 30HZ or 2K 60HZ. All of my cables are high quality cables / adaptors from Apple or Belkin.

Again, the issue is primarily with Mac OS. What I originally described and some new problems that have emerged over the week that I’ve used this display. Mac doesn’t remember my HDR or resolution settings for the external display and changes them. It also messes up the resolution and cuts off some of screen. It also treats my external display as a secondary display to my MBP while my MBP is closed with the display off. I have to disconnect and reconnect or open and close my MBP for it to reset. Etc., Tons of issues that don’t happen with a 2017 Macbook Air running an older OS, or a Windows PC.

Reply

Answer 3

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,290 points

May 12, 2021 6:26 AM in response to parkninja

I have an M1 mini connected via an HDMI v2.1 cable to an LG 32UN880-B UltraFine HDR 4K display. When I select HDR in the System Preferences > Display panel for this display, the screen blanks for a second, and the display then shows an HDR dialog in its upper-right corner that gradually disappears.

When I power down the Mac, the screen goes into a deep sleep state but is not switched off. On repowering the Mac mini, the screen comes out of its hibernation state, the macOS login screen appears, and that HDR notification appears briefly on the display again. There is no specific HDR setting on the display and this all comes about by just selecting the HDR as described in the first paragraph and the HDMI handshake with the display.

Reply

Answer 4

parkninja Author

Level 1

11 points

May 12, 2021 6:31 AM in response to VikingOSX

Hey, this is exactly what happens for me 80% of the time. About 20% of the time, the HDR setting turns off, like my Mac forgot I set it. And I have to set it again in Mac System Preferences. I can’t set HDR on from the External Display’s own settings menu, but the external display does tell me when it’s on with a dialog pop up just like yours.

Reply

Answer 5

parkninja Author

Level 1

11 points

May 12, 2021 5:56 PM in response to VikingOSX

Hey, I'm also using macOS 11.3.1 as of a couple days now and the problem still happens about 20% of the time. Every couple of hours to multiple times an hour I would have to disconnect and reconnect the display from my MBP.

Reply