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LG UltraFine 5K - Owners Thread
- Thread starter iBrooker
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So what is it about Apple Silicon that the LG 5K doesnt like? I've got the LG, and an Apple Studio Display, typically I have my work M3 Max connected to the LG, and my personal M3 Max connected to the ASB (and on occasion, I connect both, depending on if I need an extra screen). The LG disconnects from the system, and I need to unplug/replug to get the screen to wake back up, and then the cycle repeats. Even went so far as to get a Belkin Pro Thunderbolt 4 dock from work, and same thing will happen, but all other items connected through the dock worked (Ethernet, USB smart card reader). I had the LG connected to a 2019 i9 previously, for near on 2 years and never had that problem. I've made sure firmware on the monitor is updated, checked the port on the monitor and it doesnt feel loose. Next thing I'd probably change would be the cable itself - any good recommendation for a replacement?
Any cable from a reputable brand rated as thunderbolt 3 or 4 will work, measure for the length you actually need and go with the shortest possible cable.
It would not hurt to try a new cable first but unfortunately, if i had to bet on it, your port is the culprit of your problem.
It doesn't necessarily need to feel loose in order for the port to fail. The symptoms you are describing is highly suggestive of solder cracks on the thunderbolt port which is a common reported defect of these monitors.
Charging your device via the monitor causes the port and solder to overheat over and over which ends up cracking the solder joint overtime. I assume you charged your 2019 i9 via the monitor for 2 years.
People suggest using a thunderbolt dock when you first get the monitor as a preventive measure to decrease wear and tear on the port and since we know the cause of why the port fails people also suggest charging the connected device with its own power supply rather than the monitor to avoid overheating the port.
If the port is already damaged obviously the thunderbolt dock would not provide any solution.
You can open it up fairly simple (search on youtube for tutorials) so that you can inspect the solder joints yourself, if you discover there is in fact cracks your options are: DIY replacing the entire board which you can probably find on ebay, create a paid repair directly with LG, or search for a computer repair shop that performs board repairs and is willing to attempt to re-solder the port which might or might not fix the issue.
Sorry
EDIT: here is a video of what you will be looking for when inspecting the port
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Thanks for that bit of info; and yes, I'd been using just the monitor to charge the 2019 when it was connected. Good thing is, I'm only $100 invested in this monitor (I bought it from work when they were selling 'old' monitors - they didnt know what they had). I'll look into doing some DIY repairs on it to see if I can fix it.
You got a heck of a deal, worse case scenario you could sell it for parts for more than what you paid, I just searched on ebay for a board replacement and they are quite expensive, i think the cheapest route would be getting it repaired by a computer repair shop, preferably one that has previously repaired this type of monitors. If they dont know what they are doing they can easily damage/tear the very small pins in the board, if that happens there is no fixing them because they are too small.
Good Luck
No shop can reliably repair these in my experience—it's a 50/50 chance, and you will still have to pay for the work. You also can't get the correct replacement board because LG doesn't actually sell them. Oh, they will sell you a replacement board, but the board they give is a RANDOM board from a RANDOM region. You'll probably get a V1, which had all sorts of shielding and EMI problems.
Your best best is finding a donor board from a SKU matching donor, but those are also very hard to find because the board is much more likely to fail than the panel or PSU.
Also this has just been my experience. If anyone ever finds a Authorized LG Service Partner who is somehow able to purchase the correct board, PLEASE update this thread.
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Soooo...I think there's something else at play here. I connected my test system that I have for work, which is a 2019 16-inch Intel, and the LG runs just fine on it. I've kept it up for hours, with no disconnects, and it waking properly after putting the machine to sleep. I connect to my M3, and within a few minutes it disconnects. I have power running to the Mac's from the power brick, just to take that out. When it disconnects from the M3, I switch plug to the Intel, and it turns on. Back to the M3, and I get nothing, OR it comes on and then will disconnect after. I also checked and made sure that the firmware on the monitor is updated, with the LG monitor app. I havent had time to take it apart yet to check the board, but hoping to do that this weekend.
This actually sounds very typical of the port failing, and is exactly what I have experienced. In a way it makes no sense, and I do not fully understand exactly why it fails with what appears to be "patterns", but I think it has something to do with the handshake required between the device and the display and specific pads/traces that have weakend to the corresponding pins. It almost seems like the display gets temporarily "locked" to a specific device, and fails the handshake when a new/different device is connected. I would always test between and Intel MBP and an iPad that supported DP over USB-C. When the port was failing on the LG the MBP seemed to either not connect at all or connect very intermittently, but the iPad seemed to connect 9/10 times. It drives you crazy because it doesn't seem to make any logical sense. It feels like a software bug of some kind. But the more research I did into the issue the more I realized that there is a LOT that happens when you plug in an USB-C cable. I have also experienced this weird intermitteness with a USB-C port on a MBP that intermittemently lost some of it's reverisbility… so it is also possible it's the USB-C port on the M3. Apple can diagnose this pretty easily. Very easy replacement on the old Intel MPB as the USB-C ports are on a daugher board. Not sure about the new Ms.
I have a few USB-C testers and USB-C cable testers to help try and diagnose USB-C issues, but even still it's very difficult. I have a C2C CaberQU which I use for testing USB-C cables now, and just by virtue of using it you can sort of see how certain pins can fail and cause intermittent issues. Hard to explain, but using this little board has given me a better understanding into just how delicate USB-C actually is. I actually can not remember if I ever had a full size USB-A port fail. Maybe once on a motheboard? And maybe I've seen a few USB Micro ports fail from physical wear and abuse, but USB-C… I've probably seen six or seven ports fail now, and at least as many cables.
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I have owned this product for almost 4 years now. Actually 2 of them. I only purchased it as it was the only monitor other than an HDMI connection that would work with my MacPro Desktop 7.1 2019 computer. The first one failed one month out of the one-year warranty with a failed screen with a repair costing more than a new one. LG refused to do anything about it other than to offer a negligible discount if I purchased a new one from them. So, I bought another one from Apple as it was still the only one available for my computer at the time with my 10% military discount that was much more than LG offered me, also thinking it would be covered by AppleCare, only to find out later that AppleCare only covers items made by Apple, even though the Apple Store sold it.
The App for it on the MacStore is useless other than for monitor upgrades which have not been issued for many years and a factory reset. Everything else is done by System Settings. It also has no contrast adjustment which creates issues for color calibration and makes using Apple's calibration tools next to useless. I have yet to be able to get a true color match between the monitor and my Kyocera P5026 color laser printer as it does not support ColorSync. Here are some things I have learned about this monitor:
- The output ports do not provide much power. They are easily overloaded and if so, will disable the monitor resulting in expensive repair.
- You can get additional settings for Apple Display Calibration by holding down the Option key when clicking on the Plus (+) sign when adding a custom display calibration. This provides some additional settings which offer minimal improvement but any improvement can be useful.
- No need to auto start LG screen manager as the monitor works 'fine' without it. I only launch it occasionally to check for updates.
- Amazon sells a Thunderbolt extension cable, USB4 Extension Cable 2.62Ft, Thunderbolt 3 & 4 Extension Cable, that works. I have my Mac on the floor on the side of my desk and the included was barely long enough to reach. Cables over 6' are very expensive. This extension is only $20.
Another thing I did was toss the included monitor stand and used the VESA mount plate to mount it to aStarTech.com Single Monitor Stand - Adjustable - Supports Monitors 12'' to 34'' from Amazon costing $95. This offers much more flexibility for the monitor position including rotation to portrait mode, abet not offering gas spring height adjustment, but only manual height adjustment that once properly sent rarely needs adjustment. This stand, while less user friendly, offers all the adjustments as Apple's $1000 stand for it premium $5000 monitor. Given I rarely adjust the monitor position, a little inconvenience is worth it to me for allowing me to save $49900.
Finally, if you want to avoid LG, Samsung also sells a 5K 27" monitor a few hundred dollars less than LG. However, I know nothing about it. There are also now a number of 4K 27" monitors available, some under $500. I suspect that unless you are into hires graphics as a profession or hobby, 4K is enough resolution for most.
The App for it on the MacStore is useless other than for monitor upgrades which have not been issued for many years and a factory reset. Everything else is done by System Settings. It also has no contrast adjustment which creates issues for color calibration and makes using Apple's calibration tools next to useless. I have yet to be able to get a true color match between the monitor and my Kyocera P5026 color laser printer as it does not support ColorSync. Here are some things I have learned about this monitor:
- The output ports do not provide much power. They are easily overloaded and if so, will disable the monitor resulting in expensive repair.
- You can get additional settings for Apple Display Calibration by holding down the Option key when clicking on the Plus (+) sign when adding a custom display calibration. This provides some additional settings which offer minimal improvement but any improvement can be useful.
- No need to auto start LG screen manager as the monitor works 'fine' without it. I only launch it occasionally to check for updates.
- Amazon sells a Thunderbolt extension cable, USB4 Extension Cable 2.62Ft, Thunderbolt 3 & 4 Extension Cable, that works. I have my Mac on the floor on the side of my desk and the included was barely long enough to reach. Cables over 6' are very expensive. This extension is only $20.
Another thing I did was toss the included monitor stand and used the VESA mount plate to mount it to aStarTech.com Single Monitor Stand - Adjustable - Supports Monitors 12'' to 34'' from Amazon costing $95. This offers much more flexibility for the monitor position including rotation to portrait mode, abet not offering gas spring height adjustment, but only manual height adjustment that once properly sent rarely needs adjustment. This stand, while less user friendly, offers all the adjustments as Apple's $1000 stand for it premium $5000 monitor. Given I rarely adjust the monitor position, a little inconvenience is worth it to me for allowing me to save $49900.
Finally, if you want to avoid LG, Samsung also sells a 5K 27" monitor a few hundred dollars less than LG. However, I know nothing about it. There are also now a number of 4K 27" monitors available, some under $500. I suspect that unless you are into hires graphics as a profession or hobby, 4K is enough resolution for most.
So...another interesting tidbit. Over the weekend I connected the monitor to several of my machines that I have here at home, and got some interesting results. I ran each of these for about 3 hours at a time.
2016 MacBook - display worked flawlessly as an extended display, and when the machine was in clamshell. No disconnects. Resolution set to 2560x1440
Lenovo X1 Yoga Gen 4 running Windows 11 - display worked flawlessly as extended, and when the machine was in clamshell. No disconnects.
Dell Precision 3560 running Windows 10 (work laptop) - display worked flawlessly as an extended, and when the machine was in clamshell. No disconnects.
Connecting to my M3 Max MacBook Pro would result in the LG disconnecting/screen shutting off, when the resolution was set to Default (2560x1440) or 2880x1620, no issues. The monitor stayed connected, I could put the machine to sleep, and it would wake up, and worked both as an extended display, or when the laptop was in clamshell. If I set it to More Space 3200x1800, the resolution I normally run at, then shortly after the monitor would disconnect. I didnt try with any of the other scaled resolutions, since I never use them.
I cant say that its an issue with the monitor hardware at this point. I still didnt get a chance to take the back panel off to check out the board, but I will certainly do that soon, just to verify.
2016 MacBook - display worked flawlessly as an extended display, and when the machine was in clamshell. No disconnects. Resolution set to 2560x1440
Lenovo X1 Yoga Gen 4 running Windows 11 - display worked flawlessly as extended, and when the machine was in clamshell. No disconnects.
Dell Precision 3560 running Windows 10 (work laptop) - display worked flawlessly as an extended, and when the machine was in clamshell. No disconnects.
Connecting to my M3 Max MacBook Pro would result in the LG disconnecting/screen shutting off, when the resolution was set to Default (2560x1440) or 2880x1620, no issues. The monitor stayed connected, I could put the machine to sleep, and it would wake up, and worked both as an extended display, or when the laptop was in clamshell. If I set it to More Space 3200x1800, the resolution I normally run at, then shortly after the monitor would disconnect. I didnt try with any of the other scaled resolutions, since I never use them.
I cant say that its an issue with the monitor hardware at this point. I still didnt get a chance to take the back panel off to check out the board, but I will certainly do that soon, just to verify.
Hello everyone.
I'm new to the community, I just registered to participate and ask a question.
I found this thread in this forum, referring to the LG Ultrafine 5K monitor.
I want to purchase a monitor with 5K resolution for my desktop work environment under the Apple ecosystem.
Since the Apple Studio Display is out of reach for my budget, I am looking for alternatives.
I have a purchase option for a used LG Ultrafine monitor.
A colleague is selling it to me for $400. It seems like an option that I can undertake, but while researching the specifications, performance and durability of this monitor I have encountered many problems, such as color uniformity on the panel, desoldering problems, loss of contact between the Thunderbolt / USB C ports of this monitor, firmware update problems, dead pixels, that's why I ask if these problems persist in all versions of this monitor model? or only in the first versions?
I attached a screenshot of the specific model they are selling me.
I am attentive to your comments.
Thanks in advance.
I'm new to the community, I just registered to participate and ask a question.
I found this thread in this forum, referring to the LG Ultrafine 5K monitor.
I want to purchase a monitor with 5K resolution for my desktop work environment under the Apple ecosystem.
Since the Apple Studio Display is out of reach for my budget, I am looking for alternatives.
I have a purchase option for a used LG Ultrafine monitor.
A colleague is selling it to me for $400. It seems like an option that I can undertake, but while researching the specifications, performance and durability of this monitor I have encountered many problems, such as color uniformity on the panel, desoldering problems, loss of contact between the Thunderbolt / USB C ports of this monitor, firmware update problems, dead pixels, that's why I ask if these problems persist in all versions of this monitor model? or only in the first versions?
I attached a screenshot of the specific model they are selling me.
I am attentive to your comments.
Thanks in advance.
Attachments
You won't get picture quality problems with 2022 UltraFine, but desoldering problem still can happen.
The 5K panel is the same as what Apple uses. So I would not expect any issues with color uniformity or dead pixels. Since your co-worker owns it, can't you check out the display before purchase??
In terms of build quality, don't expect Apple standards. And firmware updates are no doubt less stress-free than with Apple.
But $400 is a lot less than $1600.
In terms of build quality, don't expect Apple standards. And firmware updates are no doubt less stress-free than with Apple.
But $400 is a lot less than $1600.
Just in case: are you sure that you truly need a 5K monitor?
The difference between 4K and 5K is usually undistinguishable by the human eye under normal viewing conditions. For $400 you can get a brand new 4K monitor.
I realize it's quite possible you do have special requirements for 5K.
If you’re using a laptop, then I’d say always power the laptop from its original power supply or buy a wall-powered Thunderbolt dock and plug the laptop into that. As long as you don’t power the laptop from the LG itself you should never have the desoldering issue. My wife and I each use the least expensive wall-powered Thunderbolt dock from OWC (macsales.com) at about $150 USD, but there are others. You can safely ignore this advice if you’re using a desktop Mac.
It's marked as discontinued at https://www.lg.com/uk/monitors/uhd-4k-5k/27md5kl-b/
Since I have a MacPro 7.1 Desktop, this was the only Thunderbolt monitor available at the time I bought it. The first one crapped out a month after the warranty ran out. LG was useless and would only provide a credit that was equal to my tax on it towards a new one. The cost of repair would have exceeded the cost of a new one. The 2nd one is fine after 2.5 years. Given the way LG treated me for a defective unit, I have no intention of ever buying another LG product again. What I did learn is that the USB ports are sensitive to overload and can easily be overloaded, resulting in the USB board in the monitor failing. As such I never use them.Got yours? Please tell us what you think of it!
Photos are always welcome!
(Mine is set to arrive tomorrow!)
Related threads of interest:
Now for the real reason I am posting: As it turns out the standard Thunderbolt cable is supposed to have a maximum length of 3 meters or 39 inches, abet ~6 feet. For some this is not long enough. Longer cables are available but quite expensive. However, I found a Thunderbolt extender cable that is a couple of feet long at a reasonable price. I bought it around 2 years ago and it has been working fine with my monitor and graphics board since. There are now several on Amazon and they run around $20. Just be sure to get one that specifies Thunderbolt not just USB-C. They look the same but do not work the same.
finally good riddance to those hideous giant forehead displays. I remember deploying these to a business, they were a stop gap display but hated the packaging. so much styrofoam everywhere and some of these were spring loaded if you try to lift them up they shoot right up, had one hit someone in the face. crooked ass display, ghosting, lol
LG UltraFine 5K is still, even today, the best option for a computer monitor. I have two of them (one for personal laptop and one for work laptop).
The only true 5K monitor now is Apple Studio Display. It's $350 more expensive and you are locked into having to use a stand or the VESA mount. You can't change once you buy. I do prefer Apple Studio Display, those issues aside, but I greatly prefer more competition. Having only one 5K monitor on the market is unfortunate.
The only true 5K monitor now is Apple Studio Display. It's $350 more expensive and you are locked into having to use a stand or the VESA mount. You can't change once you buy. I do prefer Apple Studio Display, those issues aside, but I greatly prefer more competition. Having only one 5K monitor on the market is unfortunate.
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What about this Samsung (which, btw, you can get at half price in Canada right now):
Samsung is one of the worst display panel manufacturers of all time. There are countless examples of them being awful from initially giving premium panels to reviewers and then switching the panels to cheap/crappy versions without saying anything or changing model numbers. They also frequently use low frequency PWM (pulse-width modulation aka flickering) in many of their panels, which is literal eye torture. They are a bad company, and I will never support Samsung again.
But yes, technically, this is another 2880p 5K monitor that is available. Thanks!
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Quote: "Or learn how to do it yourself"
MacRumors has an answer to everything...
You don't. want. to. go. there...
Here's a description of the dismantling process in the DIY 5K Monitor thread, also an earlier description - you would have to source a clear polarising layer by dismantling another broken screen - twice the work...
The Chinese dismantle broken-glass 5K screens to add new glass and sell them 'refurbished'.
Not all are done properly, some dud ones even get exported for resale in the West, so beware of 'bargains'...
I don't know if anyone else does it.
Edit: See this video for the complete guide to the interior of the screen panel.
MacRumors has an answer to everything...
You don't. want. to. go. there...
Here's a description of the dismantling process in the DIY 5K Monitor thread, also an earlier description - you would have to source a clear polarising layer by dismantling another broken screen - twice the work...
The Chinese dismantle broken-glass 5K screens to add new glass and sell them 'refurbished'.
Not all are done properly, some dud ones even get exported for resale in the West, so beware of 'bargains'...
I don't know if anyone else does it.
Edit: See this video for the complete guide to the interior of the screen panel.
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