Monterey seems to not remember which display should show which windows after sleep wakeup

I am also experiencing this on Mac Monterey. This is wildly frustrating as I have lots of windows open and organized on different desktops across 2 displays. And every time it sleeps this happens. I have wasted so much time just reorganizing my desktops daily. Incredible that apple has taken so long to fix this but I guess shouldn't be surprised! Might be finally moving away from apple soon given the quality issues I've experienced.

I have this problem too. iMac M1 24", Monterey 12.3.1.

Every time the computer goes to sleep, upon wakeup, all windows revert to the screen with the menu bar.

Very frustrating.

This never happened on my old Mac mini Intel i7 running OS 11.x.x and earlier.

Clearly, a bug by Apple. Probably, upon re-start from sleep, the OS looks at what motors are available, does not (yet) see the second external monitor), and then places all the windows onto the main screen. Perhaps 0.5 seconds, later, the OS "wakes up" the external monitors, but by that time, the window locations have been reset.

It would seem that NOBODY at APPLE gives a **** about software QA on Macs with multiple monitors, beyond ensuring that they turn on (which is not always the case with the Mac mini... another long time bug over the past 3+ years for 100s / 1000s of mini owners, covering both i7 and M1 chips)

I have the same thing. 2 ASUS (PA248, PA278QV) displays, 5 spaces. Mac Studio 12.3.1.

All the Windows for all applications are gathered onto the monitor with the Dock, in all spaces.

My systems is NOT sleeping. It happens when the screensaver is activated for a while. That is, if I do Command-Control-Q and login again, it's OK. If I go away for a while, it's not.

I, too, have lots and lots of windows. The thought of having to deal with this for any length of time is extremely frustrating.

I know it's not while sleeping because:

@max[git:master]$ pmset -g log | grep sleep | grep powerd | tail -100
2022-04-07 08:40:14 -0700 Assertions          	PID 69(powerd) Released PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:25:14  id:0x0x10000801c [System: PrevIdle NetAcc kCPU]          
2022-04-07 08:55:14 -0700 Assertions          	PID 69(powerd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:10:13  id:0x0x100008554 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser NetAcc kCPU kDisp]          
2022-04-07 09:17:40 -0700 Assertions          	PID 372(powerd) Released PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:12:58  id:0x0x100008063 [System: DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-07 09:19:10 -0700 Assertions          	PID 372(powerd) Released PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:00:30  id:0x0x100008203 [System: DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-07 09:34:10 -0700 Assertions          	PID 372(powerd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:14:52  id:0x0x100008207 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-07 19:00:49 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Released PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 02:02:59  id:0x0x10000804c [System: PrevIdle DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-07 20:15:49 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:08:21  id:0x0x1000088c3 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-07 20:30:49 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:23:21  id:0x0x1000088c3 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-07 20:45:49 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:38:21  id:0x0x1000088c3 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-07 21:00:49 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:53:21  id:0x0x1000088c3 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-07 21:15:49 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 01:08:21  id:0x0x1000088c3 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-07 21:26:33 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Released PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 01:19:06  id:0x0x1000088c3 [System: DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-07 21:29:07 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Released PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:02:24  id:0x0x100008b92 [System: DeclUser kDisp]          
2022-04-08 04:59:07 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:00:12  id:0x0x100009130 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser NetAcc kCPU kDisp]          
2022-04-08 04:59:24 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Released PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:00:30  id:0x0x100009130 [System: DeclUser SRPrevSleep kCPU kDisp]          
2022-04-08 06:44:24 -0700 Assertions          	PID 93(powerd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on" 00:06:10  id:0x0x10000935b [System: PrevIdle DeclUser kDisp]          
   pid 93(powerd): [0x0000c0540001935b] 00:15:45 PreventUserIdleSystemSleep named: "Powerd - Prevent sleep while display is on"  
@max[git:master]$ 

I previously said that it happens after a while. I can now define it: it happens when the displays go to sleep. If I lock the screen and login again immediately, no problem. If I lock the screen and the displays are allowed to sleep (20-30 seconds), then it happens.

Also, if the windows are minimized, during the activation of this bug, they restore to the correct place.

This seems like a pretty trivial bug to reproduce. It's hard to believe it hasn't been fixed before now.

I had a session with tech support (phone, screenshare). They had me try it in safe mode. At first, it didn't happen. Then they had me delete 3 .plist files and then it happened in safe mode, too. I didn't write down the names of the files deleted, sadly.

But, weirdly, the problem only now happens if I lock the screen, let the monitors sleep and wake them and login immediately. If I'm gone a while, the problem no longer happens.

The tech support asked for a 2nd call. I was at my phone at 2pm. Then at 2:09 I got an email they called and "missed" me. No, I don't silence unknown callers.

The other thing found on the call: I have the Preferences > Mission Control option "Displays have separate Spaces" unchecked. This means I have a menu bar on one monitor not both. When I move the menu bar to the other monitor and do the test, the windows are gather to that monitor (the one with the menu bar). That seems important.

I have a friend that has the same bug, but he has "Displays have separate Spaces" checked, so there goes that hypothesis.

I can confirm that before I upgraded to Monterey, my screen position settings remained in tact. Now I have to redo them every single day since the upgrade. Seriously annoying! Nice job Apple. Apple, under Steve Jobs, would have never allowed anything like this to slip through the cracks.

Im having this same issue on my new Mac Studio. I have LG 4K monitors connected through thunderbolt-4 ports in the back and a 4K TV connected via the HDMI cable. If the computer screensaver goes on or it sleeps for a short time everything is fine. I only see the issue happen once the monitors also sleep.

This did't happen on my old 2020 intel MacBook Pro running Monterey hooked up to a docking station. Perhaps it's something happening only on silicon devices?

Another way to get visibility is to tweet at @AppleSupport and @Apple. I recommend doing this and calling support, for people that recently purchased computers or their computer is still under warranty.

Yeah I'll definitely do both of those. It's really annoying when I have everything exactly where I need it and then it's all just on a single monitor again. If I get anything useful out of them I'll post an update.

Big Sur initially did this exact same thing. I was connecting with Apple Support multiple times on it. Finally after one of the later updates the issue resolved and ever since was solid. Then Monterrey came along and here we go again. Exactly the same issue the Big Sur had initially. One would think and hope that Apple would have carried that solution over between operating systems.

New Mac Studio (currently 12.3.1), with 2 Dell P2715Q screens, both attached with USB-C -> mDP cables. Had a session with Apple Support, they ran through every debugging thing they could think of, no fix. Apple Support said it is a bug and they are working on it. So... one day we will see it fixed I guess. Until then, there is Moom to the rescue. If you want to try, I got Apples attention by tweeting to their Twitter AppleSupport channel.

A couple of things to note. Moom does work for me! But, I needed to do an extra to get it to work. After installing Moom, and setting up my application windows they way I want, I created a snapshot in Moom. Then, I updated the snapshot while holding the option key down. After doing this, I can now quickly reset the position of my apps to the secondary screen with my shortcut. Hope this helps someone else.

Yes that is a work around, but I see no point in purchasing an app for $15 to keep my windows remembered for free by the O/S due to a bug. Clearly it has no priority for Apple. Always the really annoying things take forever to fix.

Same issue here. Brand new Mac Studio, Studio Display, and two additional LG 5K monitors. Every time it wakes from sleep certain apps have randomly moved from their original placement, sometimes to other screens. So frustrating. It's amazing this issue has existed since Monterey came out and it still isn't fixed.

I just found this and it works atm, at least after a few forced sleep cycles. iMac with latest Monterey and 2nd TB Monitor

cheers Mark

https://canartuc.medium.com/windows-are-not-shown-after-sleep-in-macos-big-sur-solution-is-here-3664985fbec9

I have tried the link's method (by creating calibrated color profile) but still not works. The app's windows still goes everywhere after sleep wakeup.

https://canartuc.medium.com/windows-are-not-shown-after-sleep-in-macos-big-sur-solution-is-here-3664985fbec9

Setup:

Macbook Pro 16" M1 Max + 2 x Acer VG280K (connected by USBc + HDMI).

Can Apple please do fix this little bug. This is killing macbook productivity everytime when we wake up from sleep, need to reorganise the windows in every desktop.