Monterey 12.0.1. Second Monitor Issue

Sorry, another one:

The whole thing seems to be random. I contacted Apple support (do that too, everyone!) and shared my screen with them and they actually saw the second screen, while I didn't. When I then set the second monitor to mirror my main one, the image was there all of a sudden (tried that before, didn't work). After a restart the image on the second monitor was gone again and mirror mode didn't bring it back. The support guy had me try a couple of things (safe modus, create a second admin user, unplug the cable,...) but nothing worked. The Mac went to sleep and when I just woke it back up, the image was back again all of a sudden (even on the login screen) - I bet a restart'll bring back the "No Signal" message though (edit: yes, "No Signal" again)..

The solution to this isn't going to help most of you, but for some of you who are using some video production solutions, it might.

At my church, on this 2017 imac, we use it to control the stream, and to apply a few titles to that stream. We use ProPresenter. Our needs are minor compared to a lot of churches, but it works well. We have a camera control unit to move and zoom, and a datavideo video switcher to take the camera and titling and output to the stream.

Before Monterey, we had a thunderbolt adapter that exported HDMI, and that fed into a SDI converter, which output 1080i into the switcher.

We accidentally upgraded to Monterey. (From years, going back to the original mac, I have learned to give it some time. On Apple ][ we didn't really have that issue, but switching OS wasn't quite the trauma.)

After Monterey, this no longer worked. Per the support from Blackmagic, Apple removed 1080i as an output option.

I went through the gamut of possibilities in this thread before finally punting and buying a Blackmagic Thunderbird to SDI converter. I did have to buy an official Apple cable to make it work, too.

Here's where I learned something. The Blackmagic box doesn't provide a second monitor. It provides an output stream of some description. I don't do video production on a professional basis, so the (very kind) support at Blackmagic was great. Unfortunately, my preferred version of ProPresenter, 6, would take a $99 upgrade to allow it to use this kind of stream. ProPresenter 7 can do it natively, but is daunting to use after using 6.

Regardless, the only way is forward. Upgrade or be forced to do so later. We're switching to 7. I'm learning it bit by bit. And I continue to wonder about Apple's plans. It is definite that the hobbyist who makes a computer endure has been priced out, and the continued pressure to do only things through the cloud has irritated me. I gave up my mac at the start of the pandemic, when I realized I couldn't afford internal storage options that would hold our iphoto library, and after dealing with the itunes changes, and many other small annoyances. After reading about the possible phone leasing options, perhaps Mac leasing would be an option. If you're going to sell me an appliance, it either needs to last many years, or be exchangeable.

Arbitrary changes like this possible removal of 1080i support sting. I don't know about professional level video editing, but I can't see why anybody would pay a premium for an Apple solution when the flexibility and affordability of a windows or linux solution would outclass it.

I love my iphone. It's a great appliance. It lasts and is supported longer than any other phone. So it stings to see a company who made their name with Personal Computers and flexibility rather than time-shared computers do this to their computer line. A professional BSD computer is a wonderful thing and I hate to see it become a terminal losing scope and capability.

(Thanks for enduring the screed: 5 months of failing to make this work have embittered me more than a little. I wasn't going to revert to the backups to solve it, especially after I learned recently that the OSX that isn't current may not get all the security updates. This is shouting in the wind, alas.)

I'll end by reminding you to do your backups, then eject the drive until the next backup interval. Time Machine is the one thing OSX absolutely does fantastic...

Nope, 12.3.1 didn't fix anything for me and it's the same way for me: MacOS detects the display (was wonky in 12.0.1 but fixed in 12.3), I can change its settings and even move my mouse to it but "No Signal". I've had this problem since 12.0.1 with a Mac Mini 2020 (can't remember if I ever had Big Sur on it), so for more than a year!

Yes, 12.3.1 fixes the two displays on an Intel MacMini issue that they created in earlier versions of Monterey.

Two displays now work for me the same as they did up to Big Sur. If only I could get the day of my life that I spent last week upgrading to 12.3 and then downgrading back to Big Sur.

Question for me is how does an organisation the size of Apple inflict an OS release on customers without testing that it doesn't actually break fundamental things on very common configurations of their recent hardware.

I still have the issue with 12.3.1, what the **** Apple!!!!!

MacBook Pro 2016 connecting via USB C via adapter Minidisplay port to Apple Cinema Display.

It has always worked with no issues until I upgraded to MacOs 12.

Some times I can make it work by powering off the display and powering on but is a hit or miss. There are days that I can use this trick and then other days that it just won work.

Describing the problem:

1- The MacBook Pro detects the screen as it arranges the desktops as if normal

2- but the Cinema Display is just black.

3- Some times the screen flickers at the very beginning of connecting with the MacBook Pro like it wants to show the image but goes immediately back to black.

4- Some times the screen works by powering it off and on.

At this point, probably so. Apple was obviously not anticipating a labor shortage when they decided on a second processor architecture and the company is clearly hurting on being able to support two architectures at once with a reduced workforce. A sad day to see how far the quality has fallen for such a major oversight to continue so long in their OS ecosystem. Definitely a black eye for many long time users.

I gave up waiting for Apple to acknowledge the problem and put in some effort to fix it. This issue has deeply jilted my trust in Apple and resulted in my cancelling my intended device refresh. The problem seems to span all Macs supporting Monterey (devices old thru new). I hope Steve Jobs is 'turning in his grave' at Apple's moronic denial of this issue.

This past weekend I finally decided to blow away Monterey and fresh install Big Sur... what a pain, but at least I have my external monitor back in operation. I did notice that Apple released 12.4 today, but early indication is that there is still no fix for the external monitor issue. Let us know if you find different.

While searching regarding fixes in 12.4, I stumbled across this article on ways to work around the external monitor issue: https://machow2.com/external-display-issues/. Unfortunately it was too late for me to try the options I didn't previously try given I am back on Big Sur, but I thought I would share in case one of these 10 approaches helps others to find an acceptable workaround/resolution.

I have this problem too! Monterey 12.4 MacBook Pro 16-inch intel. The workaround is I have to plug in the second monitor then the screen freezes. unplug the second monitor and wait for it to unfreeze or go to single monitor mode. Then plug it back in and then it works. When I wake up the computer from sleep I have to repeat this process. PLEASE fix this Apple.

This is ridiculous. Apple should have a bug fix for this by now. I can’t imagine that many people who work exclusively on Mac’s DON’T have at least one external monitor.

If this is still an issue, I found a fix for mine here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253326025

Uh, restarting with Option+R+P is fully documented by Apple Support, it will not harm your computer. Plus, it made my three monitors work again. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201255

Had the same issue, MacBook pro Retina 2015, Monterey 12.3. Safe boot seem to clear the issue, will continue to monitor. How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Same issue here! Is there an update?

I have everything plugged into a CalDigit USB-C hub, and when the flickering finally stops, both monitors turn black, and I have to reboot...EVERY DAY.