Mac Studio defaults to showing log in on startup only through the HDMI port, even when the main monitor is selected as Thunderbolt.

Question

Level 1

13 points

Mac Studio defaults to showing log in on startup only through the HDMI port, even when the main monitor is selected as Thunderbolt.

I have a Mac Studio with a three monitor setup. Two main monitors through the Thunderbolt ports, and an additional one through the HDMI.

My main monitors are those connected through Thunderbolt, while the HDMI screen is an older monitor that I only use when editing video. Unfortunately, every time I reboot my computer, the user login screen only appears through the HDMI display, even when that monitor is turned off. This is rather annoying, because the HDMI screen is most often not in use.

I have already gone into Settings/Displays/Arrange Displays and set up one of my Thunderbolt monitors as the main one. Still, the behavior persists.

Any suggestions?

Mac Studio (2023)

Posted on Feb 14, 2024 9:02 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

den.thed

Level 10

82,570 points

Feb 15, 2024 8:36 AM in response to _Vinc_

At Startup the Mac Studio is seeing the display on HDMI port before the displays on Thunderbolt ports.

Turning off the HDMI display will not help because the HDMI cable and display are still plugged into the HDMI port.

As a test, I would move that display to one of the Mac Studios USB-C/Thunderbolt ports using a USB-C to HDMI adapter and not plug anything into the HDMI port.

Reply

Answer 2

Mar 16, 2024 7:31 AM in response to _Vinc_

let me try to summarize:

Setting a display to Primary using a Regular (non-Admin) account did not 'stick' across a Restart.

only setting a display to Primary using an Admin account stays the same across a Restart.

¿Does that seem right?

Reply

Answer 3

Feb 15, 2024 6:01 AM in response to _Vinc_

syartup screens and login screen are supposed to be presented on the Primary display.

the Primary display in extended desktop is the one with the menubar, and is designated by drawing the tiny icon of the menubar to the dimply to be designated as primary.

This is the older graphics, the newer one is much harder to recognize for what it is:

...

Reply

Answer 4

_Vinc_ Author

Level 1

13 points

Feb 15, 2024 4:23 PM in response to den.thed

Tested and yes, it seems that it is a hardware behavior. No matter what screen is selected as primary, the startup login always goes to the HDMI port first. Hopefully future versions of MacOS will address this. Thanks!

Reply

Answer 5

_Vinc_ Author

Level 1

13 points

Mar 15, 2024 9:00 PM in response to _Vinc_

Quick update and perhaps the answer to my own question.

My computer has a two user setup, an administrator plus another user without privileges.

I never use the administrator account; it is there just for safety. So all the changes to the display arrangement were being made only to my usual account.

A few days ago, I tried applying the display arrangement to the administrator account, and it seems that the problem is solved! Now the login screen shows up on the preferred display.

So it seems to be a MacOS quirk after all. All accounts (or at least the administrator account) have to set the same display as the main one for the login window to appear there.

Reply

Answer 6

_Vinc_ Author

Level 1

13 points

Mar 16, 2024 11:15 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Correct!

It seems that, at least for my particular setup, after rebooting, the user login screen only appears on the display that the administrator account has set up as the main one. The arrangement chosen by the non-admin account makes no difference.

Reply