Macs can not recognize ANY display that is off or sleeping.
The Mac does not rely on windows-like side-loaded "Drivers" which are actually packages of resolutions and settings for a specific display. Instead, it goes straight to the immutable source -- it asks the display itself.
To get a Mac display to become active, you need the Mac to query the display, and the display to answer with its name and capabilities. Otherwise, the display will not be shown as present, and no data will be sent to the display. "No signal detected" is generated by the DISPLAY, not by the Mac.
This query is only sent at certain times:
• at startup
• at wake from sleep — so momentarily sleeping and waking your Mac may work
• at insertion of the Mac-end of the display-cable, provided everything on that cable is ready-to-go
• hold the Option key while you click on the (Detect Display) button that will appear in Displays preferences (from another display)
Your display must be responsive enough to answer that query, or it stays dark.
My recommendation would be to disable that feature in the display (using "on-screen display" settings) and use the Mac's ability to blank the screen when not needed.
