Hello everyone. My question is very simple: can I use an older iMac 2017 Retina as a second monitor for a more recent MacBook Air with Apple M2? If yes, what do I need? I tried to connect them via an USB-C to USB-C cable (I think not Thunderbolt certified), but the two computer still works as two separate devices and I can only share mouse and keyboard.
Thank you very much
All the best
Lorenzo
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15
An iMac 2017 is too new for Target Display Mode (as a target), and a MacBook Air M2 is too new for Target Display Mode (as a source), so, no TDM.
macOS AirPlay receiver is not an option here either, as the iMac is too old.
Screen sharing sorta-kinda can do this, but not all that well for what you want.
I’d probably hang some HDDs off the iMac, and use it as a Time Machine server, and as a file server for the MacBook Air, and get a 4K or maybe higher-res display, or a Studio Display if you have the budget for that.
Base M2 supports one external 6K display.
An iMac 2017 is too new for Target Display Mode (as a target), and a MacBook Air M2 is too new for Target Display Mode (as a source), so, no TDM.
macOS AirPlay receiver is not an option here either, as the iMac is too old.
Screen sharing sorta-kinda can do this, but not all that well for what you want.
I’d probably hang some HDDs off the iMac, and use it as a Time Machine server, and as a file server for the MacBook Air, and get a 4K or maybe higher-res display, or a Studio Display if you have the budget for that.
Base M2 supports one external 6K display.
Ryukashy wrote:
Hello everyone. My question is very simple: can I use an older iMac 2017 Retina as a second monitor for a more recent MacBook Air with Apple M2?
Your 2017 Retina iMac doesn't support Target Display Mode. No Retina iMac does. That feature went away in Late 2014 when the first 27" 5K Retina iMac came out.
In addition, no Apple Silicon Mac can use ANY iMac as a Target Display. Apple added restrictions so that the video source has to be a Mac introduced in 2019 or earlier, running Catalina or earlier.
Read the bad news here:
Use your iMac as a display with target display mode - Apple Support
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Your 2017 iMac is also too old to act as an AirPlay Receiver for AirPlay to Mac. AirPlay to Mac is much lower quality than a hardware connection to a real monitor – but if your iMac had been just a couple of years younger, you could have played around with it. (There may be third-party applications that will let you iMac act as an AirPlay Receiver of sorts, though they may be limited to "resolutions" of 1920x1080 pixels or less.)
Read the bad news here:
Continuity features and requirements on Apple devices - Apple Support
Set up your Mac to be an AirPlay Receiver - Apple Support
That will not work because those Mac's do not support Target Display Mode.
carefully read > Use your iMac as a display with target display mode - Apple Support
The other option might be a workaround product called Luna Display (by Astropad).
I'm not sure how practical it would be – even the iMac that you were trying to salvage had a 27" 5K Retina display. Your M2 MacBook Air has only two USB-C (Thunderbolt) ports. You need to plug the Luna Display "dongle" into one of them. They don't support plugging it into a hub or dock. Then it's a good idea to run a cable between the two Macs to help carry video data, which means you lose your other USB-C port unless you have a hub or a dock.
The Luna Display people themselves say that their product is not recommended for applications involving rapidly changing video content. I believe they gave video editing and gaming as examples.
Your MacBook Air M2 can only drive a single external monitor, but it can be a very high-resolution one. If you don't have the budget for a 27" Apple 5K Studio Display, you might want to consider a 27" 4K third-party monitor which has an IPS screen and near-100% coverage of sRGB. Some of those cost as little as $300 – $350, though one that has USB-C (DisplayPort, Power Delivery) and can act as a mini-dock for your MBP might cost a bit more.
Using an iMac 2017 as second monitor for a MacBook Air with Apple M2
