macOS Ventura: external display resolution issue

Answering my own question... in my case one of the pieces of advice in this thread worked. When I deleted and then rebooted I could now select 5k on both monitors

In Finder, press Command-Shift-G and paste 

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.display.plist

Drag the file to the trash, and restart.

Glad I found this thread ... I've always used an HDMI to USB-C adapter with my 27" LG 4K HDR monitor, and everything was great until Ventura 13.1

Knowing it was a software issue, I opted to install BetterDisplay.

I made the following changes under Settings > Displays:

Configuration Override: Edit the system configuration of this display

Resolution Scaling: Setup native smooth resolution scaling

Add custom scaled resolutions (enter 2560x1440)

Note: the custom resolution I entered was necessary to get 1440p working again; please don't skip this.

Finally, I rebooted my machine and could select 2560x1440 in HiDPI!

I can see the various scale options under the native Display settings again too.

I hope this helps someone out there.

Okay, so Apple support asked me to reinstall Ventura, but that didn't resolve the issue. I then saw on another forum that someone had resolved the issue by switching to the Soho Dock by CalDigit. I've just done the same and thankfully it has worked! Plenty of high resolution options available. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08FDJR8VK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had this same problem which wasted my time for a couple hours trying to figure out. Similar (less than ideal) solution as someone else posted, I ended up buying a new usb-c hub to connect my Philips monitor to my M1 Air, using HDMI, which worked perfectly on Big Sur before I updated to Ventura last weekend. My Anker 6-in-1 A8365 wouldn't give me high resolution display, my cheap alternative https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07YWWZJ65/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 does work - I use this one in my office with no problems so was confident it would work with my home monitor and thankfully it does. Really not a great solution, but I couldn't sit around and wait for a fix from Apple....

This is the only thing that has worked for me. THANK YOU! Ultimately, we noticed that through the dock with the HDMI the monitor wasn't reading it as 5k and causing the blur. Going USB-C from monitor to dock and then USB-C from dock to laptop has worked PERFECTLY. Reads it accurately. Not sure why the disconnect with HDMI/Adaptor to dock, but this "fixes" it. All I need for now! Thank you!

I had the same issue and found a workaround, but I'm not too thrilled with the outcome.

My original setup (that didn't work):

16" 2019 MacBook Pro running Ventura macOS 13.2 (22D49)

Connected to CalDigit TS3+ using Thunderbolt 4 Pro 1.8m cable

Display is a Samsung u32r591cw connected to TS3+ using DisplayPort output

Following a number of the leads from this thread and trying all the suggestions, none worked for my setup. For clarity, here are the steps I tried:

• Reboot in safe mode, attach monitor (via dock), reboot in normal mode
• I did not have a /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.display.plist file to delete
• Switching between Display modes (extended vs. mirror vs. main)

The solution was changing out how I connected my monitor to my dock. Instead of using DisplayPort, I used the dock's Thunderbolt 3 downstream port to connect my monitor using a USB-C to HDMI cable and changing the monitor's input setting to HDMI. I'm now able to see the correct resolution and refresh rate options for the display.

The reason I say I'm not completely satisfied is because when I look at my Graphics/Displays information in System Information, the Resolution listed is incorrect:

My monitor's maximum supported resolution is 4K (and for my aging eyes, that's still too high, hence the 3008x1692 UI Looks like setting 🤓). Furthermore, when I look at System Preferences -> General -> About information for my Mac, the size of the monitor is incorrectly reported:

I might wish I had a 61-inch monitor, but I assure you it's 32 inches.

It's clear that the OS is reporting incorrect resolution information for the external monitor, which then may limit options for resolution and refresh rate in the System Preferences. My dock supports DisplayPort 1.2 which doesn't support resolutions as high as 6016 x 3384. Perhaps the OS is not offering the correct output options because the device is connected by DisplayPort and the maximum supported resolution for DisplayPort 1.2 is 5K @ 30Hz, much less than what the OS believes my monitor is capable of. It's possible that my DisplayPort cable is HBR instead of HBR2, which would explain why I'm only able to select 30Hz as the refresh rate at 4K resolution, but I'm fairly certain that my original DisplayPort setup with Monterey supported a 60Hz refresh rate. Regardless of the refresh rate, Ventura is also incorrectly reporting that the default resolution for my monitor is 1920 x 1080, regardless of whether the monitor is connected by DisplayPort or USB-C. The manufacturer reports the default resolution as 4K.

I may try to find an HBR2 cable to test the cable hypothesis and will report back if/when I do. In the meantime, I hope the steps I took prove helpful for others working to solve this problem.

Here's my current setup:

16" 2019 MacBook Pro running Ventura macOS 13.2 (22D49)

Connected to CalDigit TS3+ using Apple Thunderbolt 4 Pro, 1.8m cable

Display is a Samsung u32r591cw connected to TS3+ using Thunderbolt 3 downstream output

This is strange, but I toggled around the display settings by setting the external display as the main display, then as a mirrored display and then back to extended display and suddenly a lot more resolution options appeared, some with better sharpness.

I had the exact same problem. I was able to resolve it by changing the USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter I was using and pressing and holding the the HDMI cable in as I connected the monitor. I let go of the cable once the monitor was detected and was once again showed the scaling text options like on previous OS versions.

My final solution:

i switched off the display-port MST-feature (multistream transport) in the monitor-menu, now everything works fine (Mini M1 with Dell P2415Q, mDP<>USB-C, 4K 60Hz).

It seems ventura distributes the available bandwidth over several monitors, although only one monitor is used.

There have been several threads with this issue. While we wait for a comprehensive solution, a third party utility like BetterDisplay or SwitchResX can make more resolutions available.

Another suggestion offered in a different that seemed to help (FWIW, I haven't tried it because I don't have a 4K display and all my 1080 displays, at home or work, have been working):

In Finder, press Command-Shift-G and paste

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.display.plist

Drag the file to the trash, and restart.

Try restarting in Safe Mode followed by a normal startup.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support (TM)

Did you try BetterDisplay? It is a free utility that is worth a try.

Same issue with MacMini M1 and Dell P2415Q.

Solution: Connecting the Display via HDMI (this works only with 30Hz) then reconnect the display via USB-C.

Now everything works fine with 60Hz.