Monterey external monitor lag

Question

Level 1

12 points

Monterey external monitor lag

I have a spanking new 16" M1 macbook pro and am using the HDMI port to connect to a 24" DELL U2412M Display. My usual set up is to use the external as my main screen and the laptop as the secondary screen. No hub at this time, so plugged directly into the laptop.

What I have is a signifigant lag (1-2 seconds) when I wake my computer up. The log-in bar comes up on the laptop screen, then the screen goes back to desktop and I have to wait for the Dell to wake up and display the log-in bar. I did not have this lag with previous laptops. Display and cable work fine with other computers.

I also have lag when trying to drag and drop between the two displays. Again, 1-2 seconds. This is mostly files, so it is annoying more than anything else. I would really like a fix, though.

After seeing what some others are going thru, I feel a bit bad about this, since I can use my monitor without lag once it connects, but I suspect this is part of the same issue others are having with staying connected.

And yes, apple, I have plugged and unplugged, I have restarted. Enough other people have connection problems that this is likely a software problem that needs a patch from apple.

Zephy

Posted on Dec 7, 2021 4:06 PM

Reply

Answer 1

karina184

Community Specialist

Dec 8, 2021 2:03 PM in response to Zephyranthes

Hello Zephyranthes,

It sounds like you are noticing a delay when using your external display. We understand how important this is to you and we are here to help.

Let's test this display in safe mode using this article: How to use safe mode on your Mac

Let's also test in a new user account: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac

This will help us further isolate the issue and determine if it is a software related issue or if its a user account specific issue.

Let us know the results.

Cheers!

Reply

Answer 2

Zephyranthes Author

Level 1

12 points

Dec 9, 2021 8:16 AM in response to karina184

In safe mode, the drag and drop of files became smooth. However, the lag to connect with the external monitor remained when waking the computer from sleep. Also, while in safe mode, for the first time the computer did not connect to the external monitor on waking, and I had to unplug and replace the monitor (HDMI to HDMI). Results where the same in the guest account(admin for this purpose)

I did notice that the lag to connect did not exist if I was booting the computer. It only happens when waking up.

Zephy

Reply

Answer 3

ryane77

Community Specialist

Dec 12, 2021 8:09 AM in response to Zephyranthes

Zephyranthes,

Thank you for clarifying.

For the lag issue that seemed to be resolved in safe mode. Review the If the "issue doesn't continue in safe mode"

section of the previous article.

As far as waking up from sleep, is it a 2 second delay only when waking up or throughout the use of the display after sleep.

Which macOS version are you currently using? Also, are you able to test with another display to see if you can replicate the issue?

Good Luck!

Reply

Monterey external monitor lag

Similar questions