It seems that Target Display Mode is disable in the new Mac OS Sonoma, this is really annoying because I still use my old 27" imac as an external monitor. Is there any workaround or chance to bring this back?

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It seems that Target Display Mode is disable in the new Mac OS Sonoma, this is really annoying because I still use my old 27" imac as an external monitor. Is there any workaround or chance to bring this back?

Been using Target Display Mode with my iMac (2010) and my Macbook Pro for many years now and today it stopped working. I believe this is because I updated to Mac OS Sonoma.

Use your iMac as a display with target display mode - Apple Support

This article says it is not possible after Catalina. Thanks for end of life-ing a great feature Apple, please bring it back to that I don't have to buy a new monitor and contribute to more ewaste in the world.

Posted on Oct 13, 2023 8:51 AM

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Answer 1

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chiarov Author

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Oct 13, 2023 2:17 PM in response to VikingOSX

UPDATE - Turns out it was a coincidence that one of my USB-C ports on the Macbook Pro (the one in which the monitor cable was plugged into) failed at the same time as the Mac OS Sonoma update.

Swapped to a different port and Target Display Mode is back to normal and working.

I'm an idiot for not trying that in the first place!

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Answer 2

dialabrain

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Oct 13, 2023 8:57 AM in response to chiarov

Apple is not here but It's not coming back. You could look into Duet or Luna Display.

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Answer 3

VikingOSX

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Oct 13, 2023 10:09 AM in response to chiarov

I have the following Macs displaying their screens on my M2 Mac mini Pro running Sonoma 14.0 over either Ethernet or Wi-Fi 6:

2011 Mac mini w/High Sierra
2013 iMac 27-in with Mojave
2020 iMac 27-in with Monterey and Parallels Desktop Pro 19 (Windows 11 Pro)
2021 16-in MacBook Pro with Ventura

My M2 mini has a 32-in 4K Ultrafine LG display and the above Macs are all configured for Sharing : Screen Sharing. I drag/dropped the /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/Screen Sharing application to my Dock on the M2 mini. I reference the remote Macs as hostname.local in the Screen Sharing app.

Here is the 2020 iMac Core i7 (40GB) screen sharing Windows 11 Pro running on it in Parallels Desktop Pro to the M2 mini:

Interactively, the response is quite acceptible. You could also screen share your new Mac running Sonoma 14.0 back to your old 27-in iMac if you chose. There is drag and drop file support between both Macs.

Share the screen of another Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 4

ku4hx

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23,688 points

Oct 13, 2023 9:01 AM in response to chiarov

Workaround? Buy an external monitor.

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Answer 5

Tesserax

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157,884 points

Oct 13, 2023 9:01 AM in response to chiarov

I doubt Apple will "bring it back;" however, you can let them know your wishes directly here:

Product Feedback - Apple

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Answer 6

ku4hx

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Oct 13, 2023 9:06 AM in response to chiarov

You asked for a workaround and I gave you one.

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Answer 7

chiarov Author

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Oct 13, 2023 9:03 AM in response to ku4hx

The iMac until now worked as an external monitor. Buying yet another external monitor is both bad for the environment and frankly I don't have space on my desk for both the iMac and another monitor (and yes, my family still occasionally uses this old iMac which works great still.)

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Answer 8

dialabrain

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Oct 13, 2023 9:08 AM in response to chiarov

Besides the two options I mentioned earlier, you can look at AirServer which allows older Macs to act as an AirPlay receiver.

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