MacBook Air 2022 menu bar won't move to main display after OS 27.0.1 update

To designate the main display on macOS with multiple displays connected, follow these steps:

Change Main Display Assignment

• Go to System Settings ➔ Displays
• Select your Built-in display icon, then click the drop-down menu next to Use as and select Main
• Alternatively, click the Arrange button, then drag the white menu bar in the Arrangement from your external monitor to your laptop screen icon to designate it as primary

More info from Apple: Displays settings on Mac - Apple Support

Note that with an extended display, you should be seeing the menu bar on both displays. On the active display (the one in which you are currently working), it should be 'normal' and on the other display (without an active app), it should be 'dimmed' but still visible.

If you are not seeing that behavior, then you may need to take additional troubleshooting steps. Have you rebooted your Mac? If not, that's the first step. If that does not help, then see if the problem is present when you boot in safe mode. That process performs some system cleanup and clears caches, and also disables 3rd party extensions that may cause problems.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

If that does not correct the issue, test in a new user account. A newly-created user account will have all settings at default, and if the issue does not occur in that new account then it provides guidance on what may need to be changed to correct the issue.

Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support

Once the testing is complete, the new account can easily be deleted.

Delete a user or group on Mac – Apple Support

Those steps will help to isolate the problem.

Go to  >> System Settings >> Displays >> Arrange. 

You should see your MacBook's built-in display and the external display. 

Look for the white menu-bar area at the top of the external display and drag it to the top of your MacBook's display. 

Apple identifies Arrange as the place to reposition displays and move the menu bar. Apple — Displays settings on Mac

You can also select your MacBook's display under Displays and look at Use as. 

If Main Display is available, select it. This tells macOS to use the MacBook display as the main display.

If you've already tried both of these and the menu bar still stays on the external display, let us know what happens when you try to drag the white menu-bar area: doesn't move at all, or does it move and then return to the external display?

That will help narrow down what to try next.

On your MacBook Air, go to Apple menu  >> System Settings >> Displays and select the external display. 

Apple provides a Use as setting that lets you choose which display is the main display. 

You can also select Arrange and relocate the menu bar to the MacBook's built-in display. 

Apple describes both options here: Displays settings on Mac – Apple Support and Extend or mirror your Mac desktop across multiple displays – Apple Support. (Apple Support)

If changing the main display has no effect, disconnect the external display, restart the Mac, and reconnect it. Apple notes that display arrangements are retained in macOS, so reconnecting the display can also help determine whether the saved display configuration is involved. (Apple Support)

If the problem remains, your 2022 MacBook Air has Apple silicon. Apple recommends Safe Mode as a diagnostic method for determining whether software that loads during startup is contributing to a problem. Shut down the Mac, hold the power button until Loading startup options appears, select your startup volume, hold Shift, and choose Continue in Safe Mode. Then check whether you can make the MacBook display the main display. Start up your Mac in safe mode – Apple Support (Apple Support)

If the problem also occurs in Safe Mode, I would next check the external display's cable, adapter, or dock and, if possible, test the Mac with another display connection. 

Apple provides additional guidance for connecting and configuring external displays here: Connect displays to your Mac – Apple Support.

I would not assume from the timing alone that macOS 27.0.1 caused the problem. 

The steps above first establish whether the issue is with the display assignment, the connection, or software loaded during normal startup.

On an Apple-silicon Mac running macOS 27, Safe Mode is not an option on the screen you get by clicking “Options.”

Apple describes it as a hidden action associated with the Macintosh HD startup volume. 

From the exact screen you described:

1. Shut the Mac down completely.
2. Press and hold the power button until you see Macintosh HD and Options.
3. Click Macintosh HD once so that it is selected.
4. Keep holding the Shift key.
5. While continuing to hold Shift, look for the button that normally says Continue. Apple says it should change to “Continue in Safe Mode.”
6. Click Continue in Safe Mode while still holding Shift. The Mac should restart.
7. At the login window, Apple says you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar. 

The important distinction is that you should not click Options. Options takes you into macOS Recovery, which is why you are seeing:

• Restore from Time Machine
• Reinstall macOS 27 Golden Gate
• Web Browser
• Disk Utility

That is Recovery, not Safe Mode. 

As noted, the menu bar ought to appear in all displays, unless either:

a) you have "Displays have separate Spaces" turned OFF in System Settings->Desktop & Dock

or

b) you have an application in Full Screen;

or

c) you have set the menu bar to autohide "always" or some other option other than "never" (in System Settings->Menu Bar)

Note that if you are in case a), the instructions to designate the main display, as given by Owl-53 and neuroanatomist, ought to work. But I'd recommend keeping "Displays have separate Spaces" always ON.

The only reason one might want that off is if you'd want the same window to spread over more than one display.

NotAnExile wrote:

Thank you, but these instructions (Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support) do not correspond to what I see when I try to start my Macbook Air with Apple Silicon in Safe Mode. Could you tell me which steps I need to take in order to enter Safe Mode?

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > Shut Down.
2. Wait for your Mac to shut down completely. A Mac is completely shut down when the screen is black and any lights are off.
3. Press and hold the power button on your Mac until “Loading startup options” appears.
4. Select a volume (your internal drive)
5. Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.
6. The computer restarts automatically. When the login window appears, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.

Those are the steps, and they should work. What happens when you follow those steps?

NotAnExile wrote:

Not on my MacBook. As I described, I hold down Shift and click on Continue and it takes me to the regular opening, not Safe Mode.

Are you using the internal keyboard? If not, disconnect the MacBook Air from all peripherals and try again with a built-in Shift key.

NotAnExile wrote:

I'm still not able to enter Safe Mode.

I find that concerning. If you are following the instructions carefully and still cannot boot in safe mode, that suggests the possibility of corrupted system files. To check, boot in Recovery Mode, use Disk Utility to run First Aid on your internal drive.

How to start up from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

Oh, and I bought a Display to HDMI cable to replace my Display to USB-C cable but when I connect it to the HDMI port on a hub, it doesn't work. The display thinks there's no cable installed.

Have you been using the hub all along? If so, what happens when you connect the Mac directly to the external display?

NotAnExile wrote:

On my Mac it shows the white bar in the main display, but in the actual monitors, the menu bar is on the extended display.

It should be showing up on both displays. Drag an app to the Mac's internal display, does the menu bar follow?

NotAnExile wrote:

I wish these comments and replies were place in this site where they should be! Replies should be shown directly after the comments they're a reply to!!

Absolutely!

It is insane that comments are shown out of chronological order.

You can change that by clicking on "Sort By" and choosing "Oldest" - but even that "Sort By" can be difficult to spot, as it shows after the highlighted answer.

What I have done is to go into my profile and set my preferred order to "Oldest"; this way, provided that I am logged in, messages do appear in order.

NotAnExile wrote:

This is not what I see.

I hold down the power button and then I see my "Macintosh HD" and a gear that says "Options". If I click on the HD, even with the Shift button held down, then my Macbook starts normally. If I click on Options, with the shift button held down, I'm taken to a screen with these options:

Restore from Time Machine

Reinstall macOS 27 Golden Gate

Web Browser

Disk Utility

Nothing is said anywhere about Safe Mode.

If you click on your drive while keeping the Shift key down, at some point the words "Safe Boot" ought to appear near the top right of your screen. I am not sure how long you need to hold down Shift, maybe you need to keep holding a little bit until after you have clicked.

NotAnExile wrote:

You can change that by clicking on "Sort By"

Where?

Here, but what I think you're really asking for is a 'threaded' view, and these forums do not offer that as an option. I use Newest.