10.13.4 Displaylink no longer working

I think it was a deliberate business decision NOT to release a version of OS that gave improvements without taking away functionality, and that while people might be upset, they already bought the apple computers and would find it difficult to just brick them and pick something else. Also, they figured that killing off display link didnt affect the income stream of APPLE, although I am sure future sales of display link stuff is seriously affected. macOS10.13.4 was faster in operation (in my experience) than the dot 3 version, and I would like a version of the dot 4 without the reduction in functionality.

johnfromtega cay wrote:

Almost everyone seems to feel certain that this was deliberate and not a bug.

No, they don't.

Have there been previous incidents?

Previous incidents of an OS update that breaks 3rd party software or hardware? Certainly. It is one of the few constants that all 3rd party developers can look forward to.

If so, did they issue some kind of statement or explaination?

Who is they? Apple makes beta builds available months in advance. Apple has extensive documentation. Apple engineers are quite willing to identify techniques that are likely to fail in the future. Apple gives all developers free tech support incidents to use in case something unexpectedly breaks.

I would think that would go a long way to save their reputation, if it was in fact an error.

Whose reputation? Apple is not concerned with this issue.

Why does everyone want to blame Apple for this? If some 3rd party products come out that depend on some specific behaviour of Apple software, does that means that Apple is forbidden from ever updating that software? Does it become Apple's responsibility to test those 3rd party products? What is the threshold? How many apps do I have to sell to lock Apple into an API that can never be updated? That would be really valuable information to have.

Why don't 3rd party hardware and software developers have a responsibility to test their products? Why is no one upset that these 3rd party developers would sell products that they knew could be crippled if Apple updated some critical component like video drivers? Were they not aware that Apple updates those critical components at least twice a year? Shouldn't developers releasing products like this have better knowledge of their platform and their host vendor?

No one is arguing that Apple doesnt have the right to change the software it offers, particularly when it is free.

But, given a large number of people rely on the existence of display link in order to make the apple products work for them, Apple should have more consideration for their customers.

Perhaps when functionality is removed by an "update" to MacOS, they could put in a pop up dialog box that tells you if you try to install it that there are known incompatibilities with certain hardware devices, like they do if you try to install a new macOS that is incompatible with older versions of mac computers. I am sure apple KNEW display link devices wouldnt work, but didnt say a thing. Perhaps high level "developers" figured it out, but us lowly "users" should have a chance to know this.

Lesson learned. Never take an Apple update without doing a time machine backup first. If you do that, restoring from the backup is easy. I had a new MacBook Pro, so I hadn't yet backed it up. I spent many hours on the phone with support this week and we determined my only path was rebuilding the system. So I...

-took a new time machine backup

-wiped my disk clean in the repair utility

-re-installed OS (this took the most time. Tons of errors but finally got it to work going back to Sierra instead of high Sierra. I'm good with that.

-manually bringing over the files I had from the backup (still doing that along with all my setting and apps)

Things that work again:

-Portable ASUS monitor I recently bought that is sold as Apple supported. Not anymore...

-80" HDMI TV at work that I plugged into vis USB-C to HDMI cable. Some TVs in our office worked after 10.13.4, but not this one. I am fairly certain this issue extends beyond DisplayLink. Basically anything expecting video out of USB?

-Expensive docking stations throughout our office at work for dual monitors.

I tried everything I could think of, and I have concluded that Apple knew what they were doing, but didnt care about all the users who relied on the ability to add a third monitor (or more) to their macs. In addition, there will be NO fix to it by apple. Its been known for months now by display link, and nothing is forthcoming. In addition, Apple didnt warn people that thei would happen, as they SHOULD have. Steps to take: 1) Roll back to 10.13.3, and 2) NEVER trust an update from apple again until many moons have passed and all these little tricks have been exposed. I must have spend 10 hours on this problem, and needless to say, I am quite upset that I wasnt warned by apple. It was my fault in that I never should have upgraded and I trusted Apple would never do something like this.

I would agree. There are so many recent driver related issues that it does put Mac usage in real danger. I am a developer and I am thinking of switching. Recently I had major issues with USB keyboards, my external devices never go to USB3 and now this. It's not good; in fact it's aweful. I have been using Mac's since 1984 and I am pretty sure I am switching; at almost $4k this is ridiculous.

cjpsych80 wrote:

Has anyone tried a dual-boot to install two different macOS on their computer? One for 10.14.3 and one for a pre-10.14.3 to run a displaylink monitor?

You can always install multiple versions of macOS on your Mac, it's been possible for decades. The only thing is that the other system must be on its own separate volume. There is no way to install two versions of macOS on the same volume. If you only have one drive inside your Mac, then the drive must be partitioned, with each OS on its own partition volume.

When a Mac is connected to more than one bootable volume (on partitions, internal drives, or external drives), you can hold down the Option key at startup to choose which system to start from.

The point is that it was a simple utility that worked flawlessly and was withdrawn without warning. I was using my iPad Pro as a second display and a graphics tablet via DuetDisplay. It worked really well and the pressure sensitivity was as good as anything from Wacom.

ThisIsPreposterous wrote:

The point is that it was a simple utility that worked flawlessly and was withdrawn without warning.

There was two months of warning. Unfortunately, it appears that the 3rd party developers had used some "creative" techniques to implement their solutions and they were unable or unwilling to make the necessary changes before 10.13.4 was released.

? Do you have some kind of citation for this? I received no warning that this functionality would be removed in 10.13.4

The creative ways developers implement their solutions does not mean that they were doing anything wrong. Exploiting options and coming up with creative workarounds is a developer's job. Additionally, using an iPad or other device as an external monitor should be functionality Apple encourages. Many businesses depend on being able to do this.

Thanks, I may try to go with the partition route. If I can figure it out.

I downgraded using my Time Machine to 10.12.6 but my laptop ran so slow on that system. I don't have any High Sierra backups prior to 10.14.3 thanks to yet another issue with High Sierra.

The idea of a solution between Apple and Displaylink seems to grow less likely by the minute. I fear my only option is to buy a new laptop that comes with a USB Type C built in. Chances are I won't go with a Mac computer this time.

again, not ideal, but if your laptop has a thunderbolt port of any kind that you have open, you could use it as a display port and go from your monitor directly to your laptop's display port (thunderbolt port) and it should work. it worked for me. adapters are like... $8. best of luck.

i used an HDMI to display port (mac) adapter. you can find several options on Amazon. that said, it should also work for VGA to display port (mac) or DVI to display port (mac). for me, i searched under HDMI to thunderbolt 2 realized that thunderbolt ports double as display ports and found the cheapest one (actually went to Fry's for it). i think the cheapest on amazon was like... $12.

ThisIsPreposterous wrote:

? Do you have some kind of citation for this? I received no warning that this functionality would be removed in 10.13.4

macOS 10.13.4 was first released to developers on Jan. 24th: https://9to5mac.com/2018/01/24/macos-10-13-4-beta-1/

There was a post on the DisplayLink forums about problems with 10.13.4 2 days later: https://www.displaylink.org/forum/showthread.php?t=65890

NDA restrictions would have prevented the developers from warning customers until the build was publicly released.

The creative ways developers implement their solutions does not mean that they were doing anything wrong. Exploiting options and coming up with creative workarounds is a developer's job. Additionally, using an iPad or other device as an external monitor should be functionality Apple encourages. Many businesses depend on being able to do this.

That is correct.

I don't know the specific details of how this external display was implemented. Nor do I know any details of what 3rd party developers are doing to remedy the situation.

I do know that Apple make major changes to the operating system at least twice a year. Those changes always break something. Any 3rd party developer should know that too and should have a realistic assessment of how susceptible their product might be to these changes. I don't think that Apple should be making these kinds of changes, especially on minor point releases.

But who is at fault? The 3rd party developer, for ignoring Apple's history and marketing/releasing a product that any reasonable developer would assume to be at risk of failure due to update? Apple, for making these kinds of major updates with only 2 months of warning? Or users, for ignoring both Apple's history and that of 3rd party developers and blindly clicking through on any notification that appears in the upper right corner? All users should have Time Machine backups too. They might also have APFS snapshots that would allow a restore in 2 minutes instead of 2 hours.

As long as users keep applying updates the day they are released, they keep giving Apple more power over 3rd party developers. Every year, users lose a little bit of power and functionality due to this dynamic. Yet every year, they keep clicking that update button. This year, you lost your DisplayLink drivers. In a few months, you will likely lose a ton of legacy 32-bit apps. Keep clicking that update button!

Community,

I run a 2012 Mac Mini which has the following ports:

1 Firewire 800

1 HDMI ( screen 1, direct)

1 Thunderbolt 1 (screen 2, via adapter cable)

3 USB3 type A (screen 3, via failing Plugable DisplayLink adapter)

So I have bought the following hub from Amazon for $10.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MFFBJ1Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UT F8&psc=1

I'm hoping this will connect to my Mini's Thunderbolt 1 and provide me connectivity for 2 screens for 3 screen connections total:

HDMI to HDMI (direct, Mini to screen)
HDMI to HDMI (via TB1 hub)
DVI to DVI (via TB1 hub)

We'll see. I'll get back to you all, it arrives tomorrow. I'm in desperate need to get back my third screen.