Monterey 12.0.1. Second Monitor Issue

I got it to work!

I tried in Safe Mode and my external monitor worked fine. Restarted in normal mode - still same issue and I noticed my machine wouldn't SLEEP.

I found this article (https://michaelkummer.com/tech/mac-sleep-fix/) which suggested to reset the NVRAM and System Management Controller (SMC) by shutting down the Mac and turning it back on while holding the opt + command + R + P keys.

I did this with all external USB-C (except power) disconnected, logged in and plugged in my monitor.

Don't know how long it will last, but it's working now.

I have been having similar issues since the Montery upgrade. I have an intel iMac Retina 5k, 27-inch 2020 i7. . The second monitor was challenging to get working after the upgrade. I am using the apple usb-c to vga adapter to connect the second monitor. I have had several episodes since the upgrade where both screens flicker on and off repeatedly. I have found that if I disconnected the vga cable things settle down, then I can reconnect the second monitor. However the environment does not seem stable as I have sent several reports to Apple. This setup worked fine with BigSur for the past year. The only change has been Monterey. Ironically I just went thought an episode after starting to read this post :-)

Update: I found a reliable but annoying workaround.

1) I login with the laptop screen.

2) When the laptop is booted up and the laptop screen starts to flash every few seconds without lighting up the 38" Dell curved display, I close the laptop lid and go clamshell for a few moments.

3) After about 15 seconds, the Dell 38" display (attached with Apple HDMI to USBC multi-media adapter) lights up, in low resolution.

4) After a few seconds, I open the laptop lid. Most of the time, the 38" Dell display shows the correct primary screen, and the laptop screen has a normal display as well.

I "fixed" the issue this way:

1. Login with no attached monitor, only MB.
2. Use the PC for a few minutes, then connect the adapter first, with no monitor attached to it
3. Then after a few seconds, connect the monitor to the adapter.

It usually works, sometimes doesn't and sometime with low res, then I have to repeat the steps. But it's really annoying to do it everytime

I reply to m'y own post to say that i finally made it work.

Using the monitor configuration tools, i set manually the refresh rate to 60hz in the display menu for the usb-c / thunderbolt monitor.

Unfortunately, i did not have to do this with big sur, which seems to detect the rate on it's own.

Those rates are logical, due to usbc capabilities of 60hz max versus 120hz+ for the HDMI. So i can't clame for it. But i can't exp'ain there is no auto détection / configuration for this.

That may help sebody else.

No more problem on my side now.

As a continued update after my call with Apple Support and by now all of us on this thread are aware that Apple is working on a solution, nothing gets my 2nd monitor to be recognized. However, as a last ditch effort to have a useable second screen, I removed my 2nd monitor from my desk and put my iPad in its place. It works wirelessly. Settings > Displays > Add Monitor (toggle at bottom left of window). Click on iPad and voila! While not ideal due to its demure size, it gives me two screens, giving me some of my efficiencies back.

I wish I had the link to the fix I found that worked for me so they could get the credit, but this is all I have. Not sure it will work for everyone, but worked for me.

1. Turn off the second display
2. Unplug it from Mac (I have the new Mac M1 if that makes any difference)
3. Leave it a few seconds and replug it into the back of the Mac
4. Turn the monitor back on.

Hope this helps.

updated for clarity:

I was able to get this to work on my mac mini by doing the following:

• Power down CPU
• Unplug thunderbolt monitor from Mac Mini
• Make sure HDMI is plugged in to mac mini & monitor
• Power up CPU
• Once you have an image and are logged on - connect the Thunderbolt monitor

Good luck!

Contrary to your experience, the Apple brand VGA-USB-C adapter is actually what got mine to work successfully. So Im not sure what's happening, but it seems to be something with the usb port/driver settings that are getting messed up during the OS update. I had to switch from a Belkin adapter to the Apple adapter and now my extended display works fine.

First time poster and real neophyte when it comes to this stuff. I lost my second monitor when I upgraded to Monterey as happened to many others. Tried many of the simpler solutions others suggested over the last couple of months with no success. Upgraded to Monterey 12.2 this morning, shut down the laptop and restarted, and out of nowhere the second monitor showed up. I have found that when the computer "sleeps" (maybe the wrong term - I'm talking about when the screen goes dark after not being used for several minutes), the problem returns, but usually can be fixed by restarting again (with the second monitor powered on and already connected). It's a bit frustrating, but at least I have a second monitor once I restart.

hi @cazal1128 ,

I'm not saying you need to get those ones in particular but I am saying that's what worked for me. I'm actually using 3 monitors and all 3 are hooked up to some USB-C dongle that allows for a display output. The one I never had trouble with is the Apple one but I bought two of the other ones I mentioned previously, now all three monitors work. I don't have any thunderbolt adapters so I can't speak to those. The apple one I have is this :

Satechi Aluminum USB-C Multiport Pro Adapter - Apple

You may even be able to find some other sort of usbc dongle that isn't as expensive as the amazon ones I posted, I just went with that one since it had pretty good reviews but once again, this is just my experience. Also, I learned that if you get a dongle that has 2 outputs (1 usbc to 2 or more video output) do not get it, those only mirror the displays.

Best of luck!

It’s been happening again lately. I figured out that if I have my external monitor set to another input (other than the one connected to my CalDigit hub) while connecting the hub to my Mac, wait a few seconds, and then switch the monitor’s input to that of the hub, everything works fine. Still a nuisance, but it’s much better than before macOS 12.2.1.

I opened a case with them and they had me install "Capture_Data.dmg" which allows me to reproduce this issue and gather all the necessary logging.

Being the curious person that I am I started to review the logs that I captured from the Apple "Console" app built into the OS.

One of the things that I saw over and over again was this message:

[ERROR] - Attempting to get capabilities from capabilities with no devices

Here's a sample from my logs:

default	2022-03-14 16:57:02.478312 -0400	USBCAccessoryUpdaterService	com.apple.mau.plugin.usbcupdater.USBCBillboard-VGA with S/N REDACTED is up to date.  Installed firmware version is 2.35.0
default	2022-03-14 16:57:02.478390 -0400	USBCAccessoryUpdaterService	validateUSBCBillboard gave: Error Domain=USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater Domain Code=8704 "(null)" UserInfo={Previous Error Response=Error Domain=USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater Domain Code=9728 "(null)" UserInfo={Notes=Firmware not new enough}}
default	2022-03-14 16:57:02.478470 -0400	USBCAccessoryUpdaterService	validateDevice has an error: Error Domain=USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater Domain Code=8704 "(null)" UserInfo={Previous Error Response=Error Domain=USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater Domain Code=9728 "(null)" UserInfo={Notes=Firmware not new enough}}
default	2022-03-14 16:57:02.478674 -0400	USBCAccessoryUpdaterService	-[USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater initWithDeviceClass:delegate:info:options:] - returned error: Error Domain=USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater Domain Code=13568 "(null)" UserInfo={Previous Error Response=Error Domain=USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater Domain Code=13568 "(null)" UserInfo={Previous Error Response=Error Domain=USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater Domain Code=8448 "(null)" UserInfo={Previous Error Response=Error Domain=USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater Domain Code=8704 "(null)" UserInfo={Previous Error Response=Error Domain=USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater Domain Code=9728 "(null)" UserInfo={Notes=Firmware not new enough}}}, Notes=Failed to validate connected device: com.apple.mau.plugin.usbcupdater.USBCBillboard-VGA}}
default	2022-03-14 16:57:02.478792 -0400	USBCAccessoryUpdaterService	Entering: -[USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater attemptErrorRecovery:delegate:]:440
default	2022-03-14 16:57:02.478902 -0400	USBCAccessoryUpdaterService	Disabling lock (does nothing)
default	2022-03-14 16:57:02.479017 -0400	USBCAccessoryUpdaterService	-[USBCAccessoryFirmwareUpdater attemptErrorRecovery:delegate:] - VerifyEmptyPortAndReset gave: (null)
default	2022-03-14 16:57:02.479125 -0400	USBCAccessoryUpdaterService	Device of type com.apple.mau.plugin.usbcupdater.USBCBillboard-VGA did not meet requirements for update
default	2022-03-14 16:57:03.564440 -0400	WindowServer	[WARN] - IOFBSetDisplayModeAndDepth: Setting mode 0x80004000 with depth 0x2 on displayID: 0x0 fbRegID: 0x100000767
default	2022-03-14 16:57:03.564443 -0400	WindowServer	[WARN] - IOFBSetDisplayModeAndDepth: IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/PEG0@1/IOPP/EGP0@0/IOPP/EGP1@0/IOPP/GFX0@0-4c2d-a00-144a1f77d977c55
default	2022-03-14 16:57:03.831429 -0400	WindowServer	[WARN] - IOFBSetDisplayModeAndDepth: Mode has dimensions 1920x1080
default	2022-03-14 16:57:04.144445 -0400	WindowServer	[WARN] - IOFBSetDisplayModeAndDepth: Setting mode 0x80004000 with depth 0x1 on displayID: 0x0 fbRegID: 0x100000769
default	2022-03-14 16:57:04.144448 -0400	WindowServer	[WARN] - IOFBSetDisplayModeAndDepth: IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/PEG0@1/IOPP/EGP0@0/IOPP/EGP1@0/IOPP/GFX0@0-4c2d-9ce-86fa915750445fad
default	2022-03-14 16:57:04.147804 -0400	WindowServer	[WARN] - IOFBSetDisplayModeAndDepth: Mode has dimensions 1920x1200
info	2022-03-14 16:57:06.748636 -0400	WindowServer	Warning: Unable to acquire capabilities for 0x10000076b:0x1000008c0:0x100000764, return code: 0x2006
error	2022-03-14 16:57:06.748641 -0400	WindowServer	[ERROR] - Attempting to get capabilities from capabilities with no devices
info	2022-03-14 16:57:06.748711 -0400	WindowServer	Warning: Unable to acquire capabilities for 0x100000774:0x1000008c0:0x100000764, return code: 0x2006
error	2022-03-14 16:57:06.748714 -0400	WindowServer	[ERROR] - Attempting to get capabilities from capabilities with no devices
info	2022-03-14 16:57:06.748819 -0400	WindowServer	Warning: Unable to acquire capabilities for 0x100000705:0x100000740:0x100000700, return code: 0x2006
error	2022-03-14 16:57:06.748822 -0400	WindowServer	[ERROR] - Attempting to get capabilities from capabilities with no devices
info	2022-03-14 16:57:06.757074 -0400	WindowServer	[INFO] - Found 430 modes for display 0x04281106 [430, 0]
info	2022-03-14 16:57:06.758641 -0400	WindowServer	[INFO] - Found 430 modes for display 0x04281106 [430, 0]

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.

I had the same issue and did a ton of research, none that actually helped. I was about to reinstall Big Sur in recovery mode, but that didn't work, so I just restarted my computer to try to do more research. Surprisingly, just rebooting and reinserting the USB fixed the problem!

Currently running Monterey 12.3 and everything seems to be working as it did with Big Sur regarding the extended display.