What external monitors & dock do you have? And does it wake them successfully after going to sleep? Or do you have to reconnect/disconnect any TB3/TB4 cables?
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Annoying behavior with the M1 Max 16" in clamshell mode and connected monitors
- Thread starter harshw
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It's funny because my 2018 Mac mini exhibits this behavior, without fail, across multiple OS versions (from Mojave when I got it, to Monterey). It randomly wakes up the display it's connected to via Thunderbolt 3, and the monitor backlight then turns on. I have never been able to stop it doing that, what I used to do is turn off the monitor so the backlight doesn't randomly come on. I never had a dock connected to it.
My M1 16" does not do this, at all. I have it connected to a Caldigit dock (Element Hub) and the same monitor is connected to this dock. Computer sleeps like normal, and wakes up when I tell it to. Sometimes it wakes up but the display doesn't come on; I blame the dock more than the computer as disconnecting and plugging it back into the Mac makes it work again.
My M1 16" does not do this, at all. I have it connected to a Caldigit dock (Element Hub) and the same monitor is connected to this dock. Computer sleeps like normal, and wakes up when I tell it to. Sometimes it wakes up but the display doesn't come on; I blame the dock more than the computer as disconnecting and plugging it back into the Mac makes it work again.
When I used an Intel MBP in clamshell mode I would just turn the monitor off when I was done using it and then turn it back on when I wanted to use it again. That wouldn't work with the new Apple Display of course. Given that the M1 Max MBP is a true desktop replacement, clamshell mode issues might make me lean towards an M1 Max Studio instead.
I had a couple of issues with my M1 Pro 16 last fall with external monitors. The worst were memory leak issues but there was some monitor glitching. It's possible that it was cables. My solution was to just use the M1 Pro 16 as a laptop and have a separate desktop and this works really well. The desktop is composed of an M1 mini driving 2 4k displays, a 5k iMac, a QHD iMac and a 2015 MacBook Pro 15 driving a QHD 25 inch display. Everything just works as it should. The monitors don't black screen, things wake up quickly (the 2010 iMac 27 is the slowest for waking up at about 5 seconds).
I have not tried the M1 Pro 16 with external displays for a while but they were fine the last time I tested but it was only a ten minute test. I did have problems with the M1 mini and black screens and sleep/wake problems but they seem to have been resolved with better cables and software updates.
I have not tried the M1 Pro 16 with external displays for a while but they were fine the last time I tested but it was only a ten minute test. I did have problems with the M1 mini and black screens and sleep/wake problems but they seem to have been resolved with better cables and software updates.
One thing sort of popped at me; the CalDigit dock. I've come across these in many places and never had great experiences with them. Thunderbolt 3 docks in general are sort of lacking compared to USB-C docks that are not Thunderbolt 3. Not saying this is a part of your problem here, but you might want to try a different dock and see if you get different results.
Can try with a Kensington TB3 dock. But keep in mind my 2019 MBP is attached to the same Caldigit dock and I’ve never had any problems with the monitors waking up or conversely the MBP not being able to wake the monitors up
I've never used Kensington docks, so I can't vouch one way or another. I've used Dell, Lenovo, and CalDigit and the Lenovo dock fared the best of those three, but the experience still sucked. Contrastingly, there's a Dell USB-C dock that I've used and had great mileage from. If you're mainly looking for ports (Ethernet, USB-A, USB-C, DisplayPort/HDMI) and power, I'd say a USB-C dock might be a more hassle-free way to go. Though, I have heard good things about OWC's Thunderbolt docks.
I’ve swapped out cables from Caldigit, Anker, Choetech and even used passive cables - it’s the same behavior.
As for using a laptop and desktop - yes if I’d known that buying a $5,000 laptop still gives you all these issues (that the previous gen didn’t have) I would have definitely waited and put the money into a Mac Studio instead. But at the time of buying neither the Mac Studio nor the Studio Display existed
I have a Caldigit TS3+. I may have spoke too soon though. This morning, the monitor connected to the docks DisplayPort turned on, but the one connected with USB-C did not. A reconnect/disconnect of the monitor cable to the hub got it back on. I'll continue to watch for it.
My intel Mac regularly had a problem where I had to take the computer OUT of clamshell mode to turn it on.
many users had been reported the same blanking video issues for years, and most cases had been happened to with Apple silicon MB or MBP . It's proofed that had been caused by the firmware of CalDigit docking station.
Blank screen issues: CalDigit TS3+ and CalDigit TS4 docking station with MBP M1/M2/M3 ...etc.
Solution: Monitor setting DP 1.4 changed to DP1.2 .
for monitors without the DP version setting, then you need to turn off -on the monitor or unplug/replug the monitor.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254605412?sortBy=best
Blank screen issues: CalDigit TS3+ and CalDigit TS4 docking station with MBP M1/M2/M3 ...etc.
Solution: Monitor setting DP 1.4 changed to DP1.2 .
for monitors without the DP version setting, then you need to turn off -on the monitor or unplug/replug the monitor.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254605412?sortBy=best