MacBook Pro (14,3) + 2 external monitors

Hello!

I have two shiny new Macbooks Pro that each only have 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports. The short summary is that I have a 4K monitor and a 1080p monitor plugged in via various adapters (exact configuration below), but only one computer works consistently.

On the MacBook Pro 15,1, everything works perfectly. When you plug in the Thunderbolt 3 cable to the MBP, the screens flicker several times, but then it's all working.

On the MacBook Pro 14,3, the built-in Retina display and the 4K monitor flicker over and over again while the 1080p sits idle. The 4K gives about a second of display, followed by 2-3 seconds of black, followed by another cycle (usually at a different resolution than the last display). A few times I tried, it kept cycling over and over and I'd let it hit around 40 times before giving up. One time, after about 10 cycles, everything worked. The other MBP cycles about 2-3 times before working perfectly.

When the 14,3 doesn't start working, I have connect the dock with the 4K monitor unplugged, let the 1080p monitor flicker a few times, then plug in the 4K again. The way I designed my desk, this is rather difficult as the dock is not in a very accessible place and the dedicated Mini DisplayPort is on the back of the OWC dock. I also really don't want to have to needlessly unplug the monitor over and over. I just want it to work. 😏

Both MBP's are on 10.13.6 and have all of the latest updates. 3rd-party software makes upgrading to 10.14 impossible at this time.

My goal is to be able to plug in one Thunderbolt 3 cable to a MBP and have all of accessories magically working.

Here is how it's all connected.

MBP of the moment <-> Thunderbolt 3 40Gb/s Cable <-> OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock (12-port non-Fireware flavor)

OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock

<-> Power Adapter for Dock

<-> Mini DisplayPort to 4K Monitor (Samsung U28E510)

<-> Thunderbolt 3 cable to MBP

<-> Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter <-> Presonus Quantum 2 Audio Interface <-> PNY Thunderbolt 2 to HDMI adapter <-> HDMI Cable <-> 1080p Monitor (ASUS VN289)

<-> Ethernet RJ45 1gig copper to switch

<-> Unused Lightpipe Audio Interface

<-> USB Apple Keyboard <-> Logitech G5 Mouse

<-> USB Apple Magic Trackpad 2

<-> USB PACE iLok (hardware dongle)

<-> USB Alesis Wireless dongle (Alesis Vortex Wifi Dongle)

This is how things look in the System Information app from the perspective of the 14,3 when everything is working.

Thunderbolt 3 Dock:

Vendor Name: Other World Computing

Device Name: Thunderbolt 3 Dock

Vendor ID: 0x5A

Device ID: 0xDE20

Device Revision: 0x1

UID: REDACTED

Route String: 3

Firmware Version: 33.1

Port (Upstream):

Status: Device connected

Link Status: 0x2

Speed: Up to 40 Gb/s x1

Current Link Width: 0x2

Cable Firmware Version: 0.9.0

Link Controller Firmware Version: 0.35.0

Port:

Status: Device connected

Link Status: 0x2

Speed: Up to 20 Gb/s x1

Current Link Width: 0x2

Cable Firmware Version: 1.0.16

Cable Serial Number: REDACTED

Link Controller Firmware Version: 0.35.0

Quantum 2:

Vendor Name: PreSonus Audio Electronics

Device Name: Quantum 2

Vendor ID: 0x3C

Device ID: 0x102

Device Revision: 0x1

UID: REDACTED

Route String: 103

Firmware Version: 25.2

Port (Upstream):

Status: Device connected

Link Status: 0x2

Speed: Up to 20 Gb/s x1

Current Link Width: 0x2

Cable Firmware Version: 1.0.16

Cable Serial Number: REDACTED

Link Controller Firmware Version: 0.14.0

Port:

Status: No device connected

Link Status: 0x7

Speed: Up to 20 Gb/s x1

Current Link Width: 0x1

Link Controller Firmware Version: 0.14.0

Quantum 2:

Default Input Device: Yes

Default Output Device: Yes

Input Channels: 22

Manufacturer: PreSonus

Output Channels: 24

Current SampleRate: 48000

Transport: Thunderbolt

Input Source: Default

Output Source: Default

OWC Thunderbolt 3 Audio Device:

Default System Output Device: Yes

Manufacturer: Other World Computing

Output Channels: 2

Current SampleRate: 48000

Transport: USB

Output Source: Default

OWC Thunderbolt 3 Audio Device:

Input Channels: 1

Manufacturer: Other World Computing

Current SampleRate: 48000

Transport: USB

Input Source: Default

Apple Keyboard:

Product ID: 0x024f

Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

Version: 0.74

Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Apple Inc.

Location ID: 0x00220000 / 26

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 20

Extra Operating Current (mA): 0

Built-In: Yes

Magic Trackpad 2:

Product ID: 0x0265

Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

Version: 8.04

Serial Number: REDACTED

Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Apple Inc.

Location ID: 0x02200000 / 2

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 500

Extra Operating Current (mA): 0

Built-In: Yes

USB Gaming Mouse:

Product ID: 0xc049

Vendor ID: 0x046d (Logitech Inc.)

Version: 52.00

Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Logitech

Location ID: 0x00210000 / 25

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 98

Extra Operating Current (mA): 0

iLok:

Product ID: 0x5036

Vendor ID: 0x088e

Version: 0.20

Serial Number: REDACTED

Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: iLok

Location ID: 0x02100000 / 1

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 60

Extra Operating Current (mA): 0

Vortex Wireless:

Product ID: 0x007f

Vendor ID: 0x13b2

Version: 0.01

Serial Number: REDACTED

Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: ALESIS

Location ID: 0x02400000 / 3

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 100

Extra Operating Current (mA): 0