M4 Mac mini displays black screen on one of two connected monitors

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M4 Mac mini displays black screen on one of two connected monitors

I have an M4 mac mini 16GB, recently updated to golden gate, and 2 ASUS ProArt monitors. One monitor is a PA247, which I connect to the mac mini with the USB C cable it came with, and the other is a PA27JCV I connect with a high speed HDMI cable it came with.

For a few months, I had no trouble with this setup, and both monitors connected just fine. But, about a week ago I completely shutdown my mac mini after work, and when I turned it back on the PA27JCV had a black screen. The monitor turns on, the light is on, and it appears to be connected to the mac (it says "HDMI" and not "no signal"), but the screen is black. I know the monitors still work because when I plug either alone into my mac, they work individually. I only get a black screen on the PA27JCV when both monitors are plugged in.

I have tried unplugging absolutely everything and letting it sit, no dice. I have swapped cables, swapped ports, tried the "detect display" option in the mac settings, updated my system, resetting both asus monitors, checking the power saving modes and auto detection, still nothing.

I feel like this is a mac or cable issue, not the monitors themselves, but I am at a loss. Any help would be great

Mac mini, macOS 27.0

Posted on Sep 17, 2026 8:49 AM

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Answer 1

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PreCognition

Level 6

11,012 points

Sep 17, 2026 12:21 PM in response to mintbitt34

Since both monitors work by themselves, I’d try one specific connection change: put the 5K PA27JCV on USB-C/Thunderbolt and connect the PA247CV by HDMI.

That matches one of Apple’s supported two-display configurations for the M4 Mac mini: up to 5K at 60 Hz over Thunderbolt plus another display over HDMI.

With the PA27JCV connected by itself first, set it to Default resolution and 60 Hz, then connect the second monitor. If that works, it would point more toward an HDMI/display-handshake issue with the 5K monitor than a bad monitor.

Since you’ve already tried the usual cable, power, and Detect Displays steps, I wouldn’t start resetting anything else yet. Apple’s troubleshooting page also notes that a black external display can be related to the connection, resolution, or refresh-rate negotiation: → If your external display is dark or low resolution - Apple Support

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Answer 2

mintbitt34 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 17, 2026 1:33 PM in response to PreCognition

It worked!!!! I could cry, thank you so much.

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