MacBook Pro - Clam Mode & 2 External Monitors

I have a MacBook Pro, 13-Inch, M1, 2020 laptop and am running macOS Ventura.

I want to close my Mac (clam mode) and have 2 external monitors. I want 1 of the external monitors to mirror my laptop and the 2nd external monitor to extend the desktop.

I have a Baseus docking station. The following items are currently connected to the docking station: laptop power, HDMI connections from external monitors 1 and 2, a USB dongle for a mouse and a USB connection for a webcam. The Baseus then plugs into MacBook Pro. With this connection, it will only both external monitors to mirror the laptop. It will not allow one to mirror and one to extend.

I tried a different docking station (Kensington Thunderbolt 4), same connections and that didn't work.

I reconnected the Baseus docking station with the same connections, HOWEVER, I switched one of the external monitors cords from HDMI/HDMI to HDMI to USB-C and instead of connecting that one to the docking station, I connected it directly to the laptop. That didn't work either and will only allow both external monitors to mirror.

How can I have my laptop shut (clam mode) and have 2 external monitors where one is mirrored and the other is extended?

MacBook Pro (M1, 2020)

Posted on Aug 30, 2023 8:18 AM

Top-ranking reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

141,967 points

Posted on Aug 30, 2023 8:58 AM

A: you can't.

you paid dearly for that nice 13-in display. Don't close your Mac and cut off the built-in display, USE IT.

Apple-Silicon 2020 M1 13-in MacBook Pro and Air and 2022 Apple-Silicon M2 13-in MacBook Pro and Air and the 2023 MacBook Air 15-in model are extremely-capable entry-level computers. They can support the internal display AND an External display up to the previously unheard of size of the Apple 6K display at billions of colors. But only ONE in addition to the internal display.

This may not match the way older computers forced you to work, since older computers were not able to support a really large external display. But it is NOT a defect. The spec was available long before you could purchase the computer.

The Apple standard for its built-in hardware-accelerated displays, makes them suitable for full-motion video for production/display of cinema-quality video with NO dropped frames, and NO dropouts or partial-blank scan lines due to memory under-runs or other issues. This requires a hardware rasterizer/display-generator for each fully-accelerated display.

If you need more hardware-accelerated displays than the built-in and ONE external display, and an un-accelerated iPad if desired, you probably need a more capable computer.

If you are only doing program listings, spreadsheets, stock quotes and other slow to change data, there are some other solutions, but they require you to make some strong compromises.

Executive summary: More than ONE additional Hardware-accelerated display can NOT be added to the entry-level 13-in or 15-in M1 or M2 systems.

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MacBook Pro - Clam Mode & 2 External Monitors

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