Connecting 2 monitors to older macbook pro

MrsDJ wrote:

understood, The cords attached to the monitors are both DP however the male parts to those cords, 1 is DP and 1 is USB C. I previously had them plugged in to a Lenova Nano and assumed with the right adapter I could use them with the mac.

You need to replace the USB-C to DP cable with a Mini DP to DP one, to reflect your MBP's port selection.

I can't think of any adapter that is advertised to turn Mini DisplayPort output from a computer into USB-C (DP) input that you could feed to a USB-C (DP) to DP cable. Even if there was a way to do it, it would cost far more than simply buying a high-quality mDP to DP cable.

Yeah, okay-dokey, MrsDJ.. you might need a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 1 cable/adapter which Apple will happily sell you… the other thing is the max monitor capacity of your 2013 MacBook Pro ( see link) is this it?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) - Technical Specifications (CA)

if so you get 2 monitors for output plus built in display/screen @ 2560x 1600 that’s the max… what are the exact models of your Dell monitors you want to use ? Or is it this one? MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013) - Technical Specifications (CA) see this Apple discussion ( another link)

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250509556#:~:text=The%20Mac%20Pro%202013%20specs,of%20any%20additional%20display%20adapters.

John B

Dell E1920H is a 1280x1024@60 Hz monitor with DisplayPort and VGA inputs. Dell E2020H is a 1600x900@60 Hz monitor with DisplayPort and VGA inputs.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-19-monitor-e1920h/apd/210-aund/monitors-monitor-accessories

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-20-monitor-e2020h/apd/210-aunb/monitors-monitor-accessories

It sounds like you were trying to use Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters in the opposite direction from the direction in which they were designed to be used (mDP computer output to HDMI monitor input).

The Thunderbolt 1 ports on an Early 2013 rMBP, or Thunderbolt 2 ports on a Late 2013 rMBP, would double as Mini DisplayPorts. Did you try running Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cables from your MBP to the monitors?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013) - Technical Specifications

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) - Technical Specifications

MrsDJ wrote:

I also read that mini dp and thunderbolt 2 are not always the same?

Thunderbolt 2 and Mini DisplayPort are definitely not the same. Thunderbolt 2 uses Mini DisplayPort connectors, but Thunderbolt is an entirely different protocol. It's like the difference between French and Japanese. Both use sounds in the human hearing range, but that doesn't mean that someone who only speaks French will understand someone who only speaks Japanese, or vice versa.

Thunderbolt 1 & 2 host ports on Macs can pull a neat trick. They can sense when you plug in a device that doesn't speak Thunderbolt, and reconfigure themselves to present a Mini DisplayPort signal when they sense this. So,

• If you plug in a Thunderbolt device like a Thunderbolt 1/2 dock, or a 27" Apple Thunderbolt Display, the port acts as a Thunderbolt port.
• If you plug in a Mini DisplayPort monitor or adapter, the port acts as a Mini DisplayPort.

Most monitors do not use Thunderbolt. There are only a few that do – the 27" Apple Thunderbolt Display, and a few modern 5K/6K monitors that require more recent versions of Thunderbolt being among them.

There are a lot of monitors that accept DisplayPort input (whether they use Mini or full-size connectors). There are also a lot of adapters to go from Mini DisplayPort to { HDMI, single-link DVI, dual-link DVI, VGA, … }. Thus on your MacBook Pro, most external display connections would either involve

• Mini DisplayPort output from the Thunderbolt 2 / Mini DisplayPort ports, or
• HDMI output from the HDMI port

Johnb-one wrote:

Yeah, okay-dokey, MrsDJ.. you might need a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 1 cable/adapter which Apple will happily sell you…

I do not believe that the TB3-to-2 converter will let you attach a USB-C (DisplayPort) monitor to a Mac that is equipped with a Thunderbolt 1 port. That converter is bidirectional, but it is for Thunderbolt protocol only.

MrsDJ wrote:

Wanting to connect 2 newer Dell monitors (for extended use):(monitor DP female to DP male), (Monitor DP female to USB C male)

Dell's site indicates that neither the Dell E1920H or the Dell E2020H have USB-C inputs. The 2013 MBP doesn't have USB-C ports, either.

Apart from trying a reset SMC/PMU followed by 3-4 pram zaps on Startup/bootiup, per this link: https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html , I’m almost out of ideas… this link mentions Dell Display Manager ( available for Mac + Windows of course) give that a go… https://www.dell.com/en-ca/lp/dell-display-manager… servant of cats is correct I see no video connections other than vGA or DisplayPort ,.. could be a bad adapter? Start up in safe mode by restarting and down “Shift”!key on keyboard unti you see “safe mode “ on your screen then let go + try it

john B