M1 Pro MacBook Pro, CalDigit TS3+, and Dell Monitor blanking

Hi all,

Yesterday, I traded in my Intel Macbook for a new M1 MacBook, and I have nothing but peripheral issues. I'd love to hear if anyone has a similar working setup, or is also facing the same issues so we can try to make Apple aware of the severity of these issues so (I'm being naive) they can actually try and do something. I'm so fed up, I'm considering ditching the Apple ecosystem and getting a Windows laptop.

This was my setup:

• Dell S2721QS 4K monitor at 60Hz connected with DisplayPort to TS3+
• Dell S2721QS 4K monitor at 60Hz connected with DisplayPort to USB-C Active Adapter to TS3+
• CalDigit TS3 Plus dock connected with originally included TB3 cable to MacBook Pro
• 2020 13" Intel MacBook Pro running Monterey 12.2.1

Everything worked flawlessly, with both monitors and USB devices plugged into the TS3+, giving me a single cable solution.

The only thing I changed was the computer for a 2021 16" M1 Pro MacBook Pro. The monitors constantly blank out, displaying the screen for 5-10s, then blanking (as if they've been disconnected) for 2-3 seconds, and repeating that cycle continually.

Apple Support was not helpful, telling me that "Yes, the TS3 Plus is an ideal dock for any M1, M1 Pro, or M1 Max computer. M1 based Macs only support a single display through the Thunderbolt connection." I'm sorry... what? Seriously? Then he said "[Since not all] Macs are not built the same way, some can only accommodate single monitors." Uh, what? This was after I was told that this stock model supports "Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Pro)."

I got a better response from CalDigit (G-d bless them):

We’re aware of the issues currently happening with our docks on M1 chipsets especially, and had more customers report the same issue since receiving their products. Our engineers are looking into it as it’s a MacOS 12.2(and 12.2.1) issue. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of issues with Monterey since 12.1 and now also with 12.2 and 12.2.1. A lot of customers have come to us with an array of issues since updating to 12.2 and 12.2.1 and this appears to be an issue with the OS itself and not the dock as the reports are global with different dock manufacturers. Our engineers have confirmed they are looking into this and working with Apple directly to see if they can assist them in fixing the issue on the OS side. They messaged us recently and reckon it’ll be 12.4 or even 12.5 before Apple have sorted out a fix for the issues on Monterey. They’re still working with them to push an update out sooner but we have to wait now as it’s in Apples hands.

The issues being reported vary from power cycling issues, sleep issues, monitor connectivity problems, charging not working or slow, USB ports stop working randomly and ethernet either not working at all or dropping out sporadically. We spoke with our engineers and they're going to discuss with Apple directly about this as, the Ethernet issues, were due to a newly released ethernet driver and our engineer has found a lot of issues with it which has been a very long discussion and a uphill struggle to get them to look at it and address the issues. Our engineers in the US have some contacts with the Apple engineers over there and can report to them directly.

For the time being, we’re all having to wait for an update from Apple on all the issues current affecting the latest MacOS versions.

It sounds like there is nothing to do but wait and hope that Apple recognizes this as a serious issue and actually puts resources to resolving it. This is so disappointing after dropping $2500 on a new machine. I have seen some random reports from people who have a similar setup without any issues, but don't have any details on what makes this work and what doesn't.

Thanks,

David