Macbook Air M3 recognizing two monitors as one

Question

Level 1

4 points

Macbook Air M3 recognizing two monitors as one

I have a dell thunderbolt dock which is connected to two dell monitors. No matter what I do, I can't get it to realize they are two monitors. It just keeps mirroring them. This is what my displays setting looks like:

I CAN connect to my TV (even with the laptop open) as an extended display. At all times, it tells me that there is only one dell monitor in the settings. When they're both on, they're mirrored. Even though it says there's only one display. Any ideas?? I'm going insane.

MacBook Air 15″, macOS 15.2

Posted on Jan 3, 2025 7:10 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

varjak paw

Level 10

182,656 points

Jan 3, 2025 7:31 AM in response to valreason

Are you trying to do this with your MBA's screen open? If so, that's the problem. Your MBA will only support one external display if you're also using the internal screen.

If you're trying this with the screen closed, it may be an issue with that dock. Docks built for Windows systems often don't behave well with Macs. Try connecting each display directly to the Mac and see if the problem persists.

Regards.

Reply

Answer 2

Jan 3, 2025 8:28 AM in response to valreason

Thunderbolt displays are easiest, otherwise you may need two docks. I have a pair of US$70 Satechi docks that work great on my M1 mini and M3 Air.

Reply

Answer 3

valreason Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 3, 2025 7:43 AM in response to varjak paw

I had the lid closed -- the theory being my 2 displays will be my two monitors rather than the laptop and the monitor. Unfortunately I can't connect them directly to the laptop as I don't have USB-C connectors for either but I'll try disconnecting and reconnecting them. Thank you!

In the event that I can't get them to work, can you recommend an apple-friendly dock?

Reply

Answer 4

Jan 3, 2025 9:54 AM in response to valreason

Re: “I CAN connect to my TV (even with the laptop open) as an extended display.”

That’s an AirPlay connection that isn’t as good as a cabled, hardware-supported connection. You can have one AirPlay or Sidecar display in addition to whatever number of displays your Mac can drive in a first-class, hardware-supported fashion.

Reply

Macbook Air M3 recognizing two monitors as one

Similar questions