External monitor randomly goes black for a few seconds

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Level 1

79 points

External monitor randomly goes black for a few seconds

I have read this question in other posts but wanted to add mine. I upgraded my 2021 iMac to Monterey (12.1) and have just noticed that very randomly, the 2nd monitor (BenQ EW327OU) just goes black for a couple of seconds. Nothing is lost, and it returns to the exact screen that was on before. I rebooted, and the same thing, although completely random, happens. I have been using Premiere a lot so I've noticed it with that program running, but I can't say that's the reason...its just that's what I've been using mostly.

This did not happen when this computer was running Catalina just last month. I'll update if any info changes.

Posted on Jan 25, 2022 5:43 PM

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Answer 1

Rick Lavon1 Author

Level 1

79 points

Feb 18, 2022 1:30 PM in response to Rick Lavon1

{SOLVED} I HOPE- I reached out to Ben-Q and they suggested resetting the iMac SMC and power cycling the monitor. Its been a week, but so far, so good...the issue has not repeated itself. Amazing they are the only ones who were able to help.

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Answer 2

Jack-19

Level 8

45,706 points

Jan 27, 2022 10:41 PM in response to Rick Lavon1

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.

Please refer to: If your external display isn't detected or appears blurry on your Mac - Apple Support.

Jack

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Answer 3

Rick Lavon1 Author

Level 1

79 points

Jan 29, 2022 6:36 AM in response to Jack-19

- Unfortunately, this isn't helpful. As I mentioned, the 2nd monitor goes black for just a couple of seconds, It returns without affecting any programs I may be running. I looked up the specs for my iMac and it says it supports two 3840-by-2160 (4K UHD) external displays at 60Hz with support for 1 billion colors. I am running my 3rd monitor ( old Acer CB280HK) but it only runs at 30Hz. Since this worked fine under Catalina I can only surmise that upgrading to Monterey is the issue. So what display settings were changed that need to be looked at?

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Answer 4

Mal-S

Level 5

4,700 points

Feb 14, 2022 12:00 PM in response to Rick Lavon1

I had my external display exhibit the occasional blackout recently and I found it was a loose cable connection. I reseated both ends and the problem hasn’t reoccurred. I suggest trying reseating the current cable or even trying a replacement. If you are using a hub, try a different one as Monterey has had problems with some hubs.

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Answer 5

Rick Lavon1 Author

Level 1

79 points

Feb 14, 2022 12:58 PM in response to Mal-S

I had not read of the hub issue, and my Ben-Q is indeed plugged into a OWC Hub. Rather than spend money on a new hub that may or may not fix the problem, why doesn't Apple fix its own mistake?...This arrogance is really grating. I see there is a new update to Monterey but I havre not read about this fixing this issue.

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