2021 16-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) No HDR on external monitors when lid closed

Question

Level 1

10 points

2021 16-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) No HDR on external monitors when lid closed

Hi all, I have some odd behavior with my brand new M1 Pro Macbook Pro 16-inch. Curious if anyone else has noticed this or can reproduce.

I use a Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock with two 4K HDR monitors connected via DisplayPort. When I first plugged the monitors in, I was surprised they indicated they were not in HDR mode. Looking at Display settings, there was no "High Dynamic Range" checkbox either.

Later on a whim, I tried revisiting the preferences pane when the laptop lid was open, and voila the HDR checkbox was there. Enabling it for both displays worked fine, but the moment I closed the lid, the displays went blank then returned to SDR mode. Re-open the lid again and HDR comes back.

Is there a known limitation with the M1 Pro system driving HDR displays in closed clamshell mode?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Dec 14, 2021 12:19 AM

Reply

Answer 1

KMB_12

Community Specialist

Dec 15, 2021 2:26 PM in response to lucasec

Thanks for keeping us up to speed lucasec,

Are you able to isolate the behavior, by connecting the monitors directly, without using the dock? Does the behavior persist when the dock isn't used? Is there any change if only a single display is connected to the dock?

Do you have access to any other Mac you can test the dock and displays with?

Let us know, along with your results. Members of the community can use what's learned from the information you provide, to plan and offer the most relevant next steps.

Take care!

Reply

Answer 2

KMB_12

Community Specialist

Dec 16, 2021 4:55 PM in response to lucasec

We appreciate you providing those details lucasec,

If you haven't yet, we recommend checking to see whether there are any firmware updates for the displays you're using from the manufacturer. If no updates or are available, or the behavior persists after installing firmware updates, the best path forward would be to contact Apple Support.

Take care!

Reply

Answer 3

lucasec Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 15, 2021 11:41 PM in response to KMB_12

It seems that 12.1 has brought a few behavior changes to this.

First, when the lid is closed I can now enable HDR on both displays. However, the moment I open the lid, my display setting reset. I can go into preferences and re-enable HDR on both monitors, and then I will have HDR until I close the lid again. The refresh rate also resets. This occurs regardless of whether I have a single display or both connected to the dock. It occurs whether I have displays connected through the dock, or directly through a DisplayPort to USB-C cable. It even occurs when I use the laptop's built-in HDMI port.

All-in-all at least the checkbox shows up now, but the current behavior still effectively renders my HDR displays unusable.

Reply

Answer 4

Chris_D13

Community Specialist

Dec 14, 2021 6:34 PM in response to lucasec

Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Communities lucasec,

We understand you're external monitors display in HDR when the lid of your Mac is open, but not when it's closed.

If you haven't already, connect an external Mouse or Trackpad, and Keyboard to your Mac, and ensure it's connected to power, and test to see if there's any change.

Should the behavior persist, see whether any of the steps from the following page help: If your external display isn't detected or appears blurry on your Mac

Cheers!

Reply

Answer 5

lucasec Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 14, 2021 8:06 PM in response to Chris_D13

I took a look at those steps, but none of them seem relevant or did anything to resolve this issue. I also tried changing the refresh rate to no avail—none of this got the HDR option to show up when the lid was closed.

I have a USB keyboard plugged in to my docking station, and use a Bluetooth logitech mouse to control the laptop when the lid is shut.

Reply

Answer 6

ZHRhodes

Level 1

8 points

Jan 13, 2022 10:51 AM in response to lucasec

Same issue. LG C1 HDR display. 2019 MacBook Pro 16"

HDR setting present (most of the time) when lid is open, but never present when lid is closed. Can't find any way to enable HDR with lid closed – the checkbox is hidden in the display preferences.

Any updates or ideas?

Edit: just realized my new work computer is locked to macOS 11. I wonder if macOS 12 would improve the issue for me as well, at least allowing the HDR checkbox to appear in settings..

Reply

Answer 7

lucasec Author

Level 1

10 points

Jan 17, 2022 10:50 AM in response to ZHRhodes

No updates on my problem, but I think we are probably describing different problems. The 2021 MacBook Pro is an entirely different hardware architecture than the 2019.

I have a 2019 16" machine and it remembers the HDR setting fine on macOS 12.1. I think I recall hearing about some similar issues with that laptop that I believe were fixed in 12.x.

Reply

Answer 8

lucasec Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 16, 2021 11:04 PM in response to KMB_12

Looks like there are no firmwares available for this monitor, but I have seen some reports of that helping for others. Thanks for your responses—I'll reach out to Apple Support.

(If anyone else stumbles across this thread with similar issues, please do drop a post. If I get anywhere with Apple Support I'll try to update this thread)

Reply

2021 16-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) No HDR on external monitors when lid closed

Similar questions