roblm1

Q: I want to use MBP pro and 2 thunderbolt displays as 3 screens.

I have a MBP Mid 2012, and 2 Thunderbolt displays.  I have them "daisy-chained" and want to use the MBP screen open as a 3rd screen, is this possible?  When I open MBP, 1 of the Thunderbolt displays goes black, but when closed i Clamshell mode both displays work.   

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), 2 Thunderbolt displays

Posted on Mar 1, 2016 5:16 AM

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Q: I want to use MBP pro and 2 thunderbolt displays as 3 screens.

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  • by braden85,

    braden85 braden85 Mar 2, 2016 2:39 PM in response to roblm1
    Community Specialists
    Mar 2, 2016 2:39 PM in response to roblm1

    Hi roblm1,

     

    I understand that you have a question about using your mid-2012 MacBook Pro and your Thunderbolt Displays. I have a link for you that contains the information you are seeking, and it can be found here:

    3. How many Apple Thunderbolt Displays can I use with my Mac in OS X?

    The table below indicates how many Thunderbolt displays can be connected to Thunderbolt-capable Mac computers in OS X.

                                                                
    ComputerMaximum connected displays
    Thunderbolt-capable Macs with Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated graphics can support one connected Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch).   
         
    • MacBook Air (Mid 2011)
    •    
    • MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)
    •    
    • MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2011)1
    •    
    • Mac mini (Mid 2011), 2.3 GHz
    •    
    • Mac mini with Lion Server (Mid 2011)
    •   
      
    One Thunderbolt display
    Thunderbolt-capable Macs that can support up to two connected Apple Thunderbolt Displays.   
         
    • MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012) and later4
    •    
    • MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012) and later 4
    •    
    • MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
    •    
    • MacBook Pro (15-inch and 17-inch, Early 2011) and later
    •    
    • MacBook Air (Mid 2012) and later
    •    
    • iMac (Late 2012) 2
    •    
    • iMac (Mid 2011) 2
    •    
    • iMac (Late 2013) 2
    •    
    • iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014) 2
    •    
    • Mac Mini (Late 2012) 4 
    •    
    • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) 2, 5
    •    
    • Mac mini (Late 2014) 4
    •    
    • Mac Mini (Mid 2011), 2.5 GHz 3
    •   
      
    Two Thunderbolt displays
    Thunderbolt-capable Macs that can support up to six connected Apple Thunderbolt Displays.   
         
    • Mac Pro (Late 2013)
    •   
      
    Six Thunderbolt displays
        

    The F8 key does not work when using Windows with a USB keyboard connected to an Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch).

    1 You can connect a second Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch) to a MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) and (13-inch, Late 2011), but the built-in display on the MacBook Pro will go dark. This is expected behavior.

    2 iMacs listed above with two Thunderbolt ports supports a total of two Thunderbolt displays regardless of which Thunderbolt port each display is connected to.

    3 Mac mini with AMD graphics can support an HDMI compatible device on its HDMI port when using two Thunderbolt displays.

    4 MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012), MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012), and Mac Mini (Late 2012 and later) computers can use an HDMI-compatible device on it's HDMI port while using one Thunderbolt display, or they can use two Thunderbolt displays.

    5 If you connect a 60Hz multi-stream transport (MST) 4K display to an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) computer, only one additional Thunderbolt display is supported.

    Thunderbolt ports and displays: Frequently asked questions (FAQ) - Apple Support

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204154

     

    Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Have a good one!