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I just installed the LG screen manager. The monitor update button is grayed out and won't let me update. Any advice?

The update process is a bit weird, as the new firmware is bundled into an entirely new version of the LG Screen Manager app. Have you definitely got the latest version of LG Screen Manager? When I launched my existing copy it stated there was an updated version which I then downloaded, installed, after which I was able to see a new update under "Monitor Update".

One thing to note, if you have more than one monitor, you can't see the current software version or access update functions. Are you only running one LG screen?
 
Yep, just ran the update and it fixed a couple of issues for me as well, including one that I didn't see mentioned before.
  1. Output of volume has been solved, now works like it should in stead of letting your ears bleed after just two notches.
  2. Wake up time is a bit quicker. Used to be 3 sec, now 1 or 2 sec.
  3. Backside USB-C hub seems to have been tweaked, now auto discovers my usb-c to ethernet dongle.
About that last one: I used to manually disconnect the dongle every time I connected the display to my Mac and plug it in again to make it work. But now it works right away :). Maybe someone experienced the same with a dongle or other device?

New FW version is:3.04,1.13,5237,3.04,0.1e

A few notes about updating:
  • Make sure you're on wifi or ethernet through your Mac instead of though your display. My update failed because of the restart of the display and not being able to connect to the internet immediately.
  • Also make sure it is the only display connected to your Mac and unplug all accessories on the back of the display.

Thanks LG!
 
About that last one: I used to manually disconnect the dongle every time I connected the display to my Mac and plug it in again to make it work. But now it works right away :). Maybe someone experienced the same with a dongle or other device?

Same here. I have the ethernet adaptor and a USB-C drive always attached, and I used to unplug, then plug back in the monitor power before reattaching the MacBook to get it to work. Now it works as it should without unplugging anything.
 
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Yep, FINALLY an update to the firmware!

For reference...
- "LG Screen Manager" new version is now: 2.06

- "Monitor Software Version" new one is now: 3.04,1.13,5237,3.04,0.1e
(OLD version was: 3.01,1.11,5234,3.00,0.1d)


Fixes seemingly noticed:
- volume control now calibrated properly.
- quicker start-up when plugged into 2016 MBP 15".
- USB hubs work better.

Unfixed:
- using two 5K's, LG Screen Manager has to have only one 5K connected at a time to control/update anything.
- using two 5K's, still cannot control brightness on righthand side one on MBP ("#1" display).

Has anyone noticed anything else that I might have not noticed that has been improved/fixed or remains unfixed... ?
___________

PS. Is it still recommended to download that Realtek ethernet driver: "RTL8153", I believe?
(I never got around to doing it as use Wifi generally, and just remembered), I have the AppleStore exclusive 'white' Belkin C-to-Ethernet adaptor (model "F2CU040"), if relevant?
 
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Pulled the trigger on the 5K UltraFine today. Should be here tomorrow. Really curious to see whether all issues have been resolved since my main reason to buy this display is the lack of competition.
 
Pulled the trigger on the 5K UltraFine today. Should be here tomorrow. Really curious to see whether all issues have been resolved since my main reason to buy this display is the lack of competition.

The worst issue was fixed in MacOS, the sleep of death. Firmware update this month has also improved peripheral wake and screen speed. Good time to jump in.
 
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Yeah. Basically why I ordered now. I have actually never seen this display in real life..

Edit: Wow!

XGn3hi1.jpg
 
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Hi! I'm looking to buy this 5k monitor, but first, i have a question:

Will i be able to use the 4K (3840x2160) resolution without any font issues in MacOS ? I'm used to working on a 27inch Dell at full 4K on Windows, but i find that to be the maximum at that size.

If it doesn't present any font/scaling issues, then i will be back with a photo of my new monitor :)
 
After a couple of days use I can honestly say that (old) reviews on this display don't do it justice.

+1 - it is a fantastic display (have had mine for months now)

Hi! I'm looking to buy this 5k monitor, but first, i have a question:

Will i be able to use the 4K (3840x2160) resolution without any font issues in MacOS ? I'm used to working on a 27inch Dell at full 4K on Windows, but i find that to be the maximum at that size.

If it doesn't present any font/scaling issues, then i will be back with a photo of my new monitor :)

Used my display initially, with my mid 2014 13" MBP. The '14 was only capable of 4K - worked perfectly. Now I use the display with a '17 15" MBP and it's superb but will not allow for portrait mode as compared to the way it would using my '14 MBP at 4K.

I use my display at a scale of 3200 x 1800.

It's a fantastic display and I would recommend it wholeheartedly.
 
Anybody out there have the shielding put in to their UltraFine 5K monitor? I got mine back from an LG repair facility and they said that two gaskets were replaced. Is that for shielding?
 
Has anybody else noticed insanely bad ghosting issues?

https://twitter.com/bukovinski/status/892016973827235840

We bought 10 of these LG screens and I really really regret purchasing them. Common problems include:

  • Screen has not stable footing. Bump the table a bit and it jiggles around.
  • CPU throttles as soon as I use the screen. Everything is noticeably slower. Try with the power gadget and see for yourself: https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-power-gadget-20
  • Screens freeze MacBook if you're too close to WiFi. This was reported widely, it was just impossible logistic-wise to replace all 10 of our screens: https://www.macrumors.com/2017/03/15/lg-ultrafine-5k-shielding-fixed/
  • 3 of our screens developed strong ghosting issues. Try with https://marco.org/rmbp-irtest.html. See above linked tweet. It's so bad you can read text from the lock screen as it shines through for a few minutes.
  • Sometimes the screen of the MacBook just turns off when I plug in the LG 5k. Only a restart helps.
  • Sometimes my MacBook does not recognize the LG 5k. Only a restart helps.
  • Sometimes having the LG plugged in makes kernel_task spin up to 600% and even my mouse cursor is sluggish.
  • USB issues. I don't even want to start. And yes, I updated the firmware.
I could go on, but for a >1000 Euro device, this is really really frustrating. I recommend to avoid these things. Yes, the screen quality is beautiful when it works, but it's so much trouble that I rarely use it. I see people at our company unplugging the monitor when they have CPU intensive tasks like compiling because it makes the MacBook run faster. This is just insane.
 
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The worst issue was fixed in MacOS, the sleep of death. Firmware update this month has also improved peripheral wake and screen speed. Good time to jump in.

What do you mean by "sleep of death"? Mine has been refusing to wake, the screen that is, my MacBook 13" is fine, hoping this update fixes it as its been getting worse.
 
What do you mean by "sleep of death"? Mine has been refusing to wake, the screen that is, my MacBook 13" is fine, hoping this update fixes it as its been getting worse.

Was just checking and seems 10.12.4 had the fix in March.

The sleep of death as I call it was when the Mac went to sleep in clamshell mode on the monitor. If you disconnected it, it would not wake, only the Touch Bar would show something and not respond, forcing you to reset it each time.

The peripheral issue was when everything went to sleep, on wake peripherals would not work until you plugged them back in. This seems to have mostly been resolved with new firmware.
 
I've ordered this monitor twice and both times I've decided to send it back.

The screen quality is amazing, but the firmware still (!) is absolute crap.

Here is a list of bugs I've run into with the latest firmware update:
  • kernel panics
  • sound dropping out
  • camera not being recognised
  • intense cpu throttling under macOS/Sierra
  • usb devices not being recognised
  • screen ghosting

Also, the high resolution of the 5K display causes all macbook fans to spin up even when the system is idle.

I've been using Apple displays for over ten years and I have no idea why they are recommending this display. The manufacturing quality sucks and the firmware is unstable.

Stay away!
 
Not a single issue with this display since I bought a month ago. Make sure you update the display to the latest firmware version since that resolves a lot of issues people have been reporting.

MacBooks being slow is not LG's fault. It's should be improved with macOS High Sierra. Or you can buy an external GPU next year.

Image retention is expected in this kind of display. Even the user manual mentions it and says you should use a screensaver.

Still the best "retina" display on the market. Don't hold you breath for a Apple made display sold at this price.
 
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Screens freeze MacBook if you're too close to WiFi. This was reported widely, it was just impossible logistic-wise to replace all 10 of our screens: https://www.macrumors.com/2017/03/15/lg-ultrafine-5k-shielding-fixed/
Very strange response when you consider the following:
I could go on, but for a >1000 Euro device, this is really really frustrating.
Some people seem to like being intro lots of trouble, stress and frustration.

I recommend to avoid these things.
8<
This is just insane.
You may want to go talk to someone about that since you are the one sustaining the faulty products which is indeed rather insane. Anyone with a sane mind would have returned these, either to the manufacturer or to the seller, and have them repaired or refunded. What you are doing here is not something that can be recommended since this is only going to increase costs and frustration. Neither is this the right way of handling any kind of problem at all.

Get these things fixed (do it in smaller batches, not all 10 in one go) or refunded. There seem to be almost no issues with the current revision (the bug/issue thread dried up a lot after LG introduced the newer revision).

@cavtastic: try using a different Thunderbolt 3 cable. I've had similar issues as you had but with my Thunderbolt 3 dock, some others have seen them with USB-C displays too. In all cases the problem was fixed by using a new cable. Installing the latest macOS version also helps (10.12.5 added a lot of TB3 improvements as does 10.12.6); a lot of the TB3 dock manufacturers actually require you to install these.

Btw, the CPU throttling in most cases is people not reading the data correctly, throttling is extremely difficult to recognise. Also note that the 13" MBP doesn't have a very powerful GPU so it will have some trouble with running the 27" 5k display smoothly. With the 15" MBP this isn't an issue as it will use the far more powerful AMD GPU.
 
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Still the best "retina" display on the market. Don't hold you breath for a Apple made display sold at this price.

Since the exact same (if not extremely similar) LG panel is reportedly being used in the 2017 iMac I see no reason to believe Apple won't be using it or something even better in their upcoming pro display and no, while it likely won't be as cheap I can guarantee it will be more attractively designed and sturdier.
 
Hi,

I continue to have problems with the display's camera, speakers, and mike, and all peripherals connected to the display dropping out every time I initiate a video call (Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, Zoom, etc.). Am I the only one having this issue?

Note that this is the second display that I've had this problem with and it is the one with the updated shielding. I am running this with a late 2016 15" MBP w/ Touchbar.
 
Hi,

I continue to have problems with the display's camera, speakers, and mike, and all peripherals connected to the display dropping out every time I initiate a video call (Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, Zoom, etc.). Am I the only one having this issue?

Note that this is the second display that I've had this problem with and it is the one with the updated shielding. I am running this with a late 2016 15" MBP w/ Touchbar.

I use Zoom almost daily with no problems. Also the model with the updated shielding. Late 2016 MBP 13" with touch bar.
 
I once again have an LG 5K ... I've had quite a few but this last one I did the firmware update and it's been working perfect! I also have a 4K running along side it and both work exceptional. 2016 Late MBP 15" Touch bar.... I am so glad I tried one more before going to an iMac .. I love the ability to grab my main computer and go but having a 5K/4K dual setup when I'm working at home which is about 90% of the time.
 
Connecting speakers through the display's USB-C connections.

Do you have any success with this? I had really nice KEF active powered AW300s connected to the display and it kept cutting out. They only worked if plugged into my MacBook Pro.

What is your audio setup with the LG 5k?
 
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