M1 MacBook Air: External display not recognized after waking from sleep

[Archerious]

Having the same issue, I found that the problem doesn't occur on HDMI via my Mac Studio. However, any USB-C to HDMI/DisplayPort adapter that I've tried has issues. The Mac not sending power to the USB-C port when it wakes up quickly seems to be an issue. However, if I unplug it, then plug it back in, that kicks the monitor on. It does this with both my LG 27UK600-W and ASUS VG289Q1A.

 

[teknodude]

I bought a macbook air m1 6 months ago and have similar issues with monitor not being connected after waking from sleep. I'm using an LG 24MK600M-B 24" connected to a Ugreen usb-c hub via HDMI. Also, I tried it with an old Cable Matters hub that has the same issue. Usually the onboard monitor will wake first followed by the external. If I wait before entering my password, the external monitor will wake. A few times, I have waited the total elapsed time for the onboard monitor to go back to sleep and external still didn't wake. While in this state, my wireless keyboard and mouse connected to the hub still function. Unplugging/plugging the hub or restarting resolves the issue. This issue happens at least once every few days. Detect displays or adjusting scaling doesn't work either to get the external to display.

I've tried researching a terminal command option that I can write into a script to reset the usb hub to simulate unplugging and replugging, but it doesn't seem easy to do on macOS.

 

[SingleRegistrant]

FIXED: tl,dr; I had to turn off Deep Sleep for my HDMI port. After that, my Mac Studio wakes up the external monitor by clicking on the mouse or pressing any key on the keyboard (as expected).

Original problem - My Mac Studio (2022) is connected to an external monitor, the Acer X34 Predator, via HDMI. When my Mac would recover from sleep, it would not turn on my monitor - the screen would remain dark as if it is still on standby. Clicking on the mouse or pressing any key on the keyboard would not have any effect.

Solution - I dug around in my monitor settings - these settings can usually be accessed by the on-screen menus on the monitor itself. There I found the option to disable Deep Sleep on the monitor. Specifically, on my monitor, the Acer X34 predator, I can enable/disable the Deep Sleep option for either DisplayPort or HDMI. I disabled Deep Sleep for HDMI and now when my Mac goes to sleep, clicking on the mouse or pressing any key on the keyboard wakes up the Mac and turns on the display.

It is very likely that something similar exists in your monitor. Look for the ability to disable Deep Sleep (or equivalent) and it might fix the problem.

 

[DR_Dropkicks]

I have a MacBook Air M1 (16GB/1TB) connected to a Samsung 4K TV as a primary display using a USB-C to HDMI adapter.

When the MacBook Air goes to sleep and I wake it, the TV reports receiving no signal, and the MacBook doesn't seem to "see" the display any longer.

Power cycling the TV doesn't help. Unplugging the USB-C to HDMI cable doesn't help. Holding down Option and clicking "Detect Displays" in Display Preferences doesn't help. The only way to get the display recognized again seems to be restarting.

I used this same cable, adapter, and display with my 2020 MacBook Air (also running Big Sur) and it didn't have any issues waking from sleep.

Anyone run into a similar issue or have a suggestion on how to resolve it?

Have just solved this issue - when opening your Macbook DO NOT LOGIN, just leave it at the login screen, give it 10-15 seconds and VOILA! the second screen SHOULD come on, then you login as normal (Touch ID or password)
I was constantly needing to unplug/reboot the external monitor etc until I worked out it was as simple as waiting 10-15 seconds and not touching anything ;-)

 

[teknodude]

Yes, I have noticed a higher success rate when waiting before logging in. In clam shell mode, wake the external monitor first and then press a key on the keyboard. Even with these methods, the external monitor will occasionally not display.

 

[maninthefedora]

This problem is now fixed for me after it got sent in for repair. The LAS (Lid Angle Sensor) was defective.
Apple diagnostics run from home did not detect this. Apple diagnostics run at the shop did detect this. Don't be afraid to sent it in for repair.

 

[5425642]

This problem is now fixed for me after it got sent in for repair. The LAS (Lid Angle Sensor) was defective.
Apple diagnostics run from home did not detect this. Apple diagnostics run at the shop did detect this. Don't be afraid to sent it in for repair.

It’s fixed in 12.4 I think. But it’s back in the 13 beta 2 😅

 

[maninthefedora]

Mine was there in 12.4. It was definite a mechanical issue for me.
The SOP of reboot into safe mode (which hid the problem for a few days), redownload the OS did not work and were annoying to do.

 

[teknodude]

Anyone had more success with using a display port connection vs hdmi? This is using a monitor with display port connection.

I've been dealing with the external monitor sleep/wake issues for past year using usb-hub with hdmi connections. Today I come across this old stack exchange thread Link that talks about Mac using native display port on the thunderbolt ports. If you have hdmi connection on the monitor, then you are converting the signal dp to hdmi. This conversion results in errors, which the Mac drivers are less tolerant to compared to windows.

I'm in the market for a new monitor, which will likely be display port. I will need a new usb-c hub that supports display port, but I don't how those hubs handle the video signals. If it's performing any kind of conversion, then i'm going to experience the same wake sleep issues.

 

[Jasonondesign]

Anyone had more success with using a display port connection vs hdmi? This is using a monitor with display port connection.

I've been dealing with the external monitor sleep/wake issues for past year using usb-hub with hdmi connections. Today I come across this old stack exchange thread Link that talks about Mac using native display port on the thunderbolt ports. If you have hdmi connection on the monitor, then you are converting the signal dp to hdmi. This conversion results in errors, which the Mac drivers are less tolerant to compared to windows.

I'm in the market for a new monitor, which will likely be display port. I will need a new usb-c hub that supports display port, but I don't how those hubs handle the video signals. If it's performing any kind of conversion, then i'm going to experience the same wake sleep issues.

I haven't had a problem in years. I'm pretty sure my problem was not enough power. I changed to the big apple charger (115w or something) and plugged it into the hub, so the hub and that same USB port had enough power.

 

[PHMT]

I fixed this issue with my MBP M1 Max by unplugging and replugging the monitor power cord. Out of the 2x 4k monitors plugged into the Caldigit TS3+ hub, one would not wake up after I had disconnected the MBP and then reconnected it. No online solution I checked would work other than a reboot of the MBP, which is not ideal when you have loads of Excel etc documents open.

 

[natsjo]

Just bought the Asus VG279Q1A TUF Gaming monitor and set it all up with my Macbook Air M1. At first it connected easily, no problems whatsoever. I use the Satechi USB C hub, the slim one, and I've connected the monitor through this hub using a normal HDMI cable. Later though I noticed that while my laptop started up from sleeping, the monitor didn't get a signal. Tried unplugging it from the usb c hub, pulling the power plug from it, tried switching inputs and nothing worked. Resolved to rebooting my mb and after that the monitor found signal. Again when my laptop fell asleep later, the monitor had the same problem again.

I've now updated my software to the latest Ventura 13.0.1 and since it rebooted my mb the monitor found signal again.
I've changed the settings too so that the mb won't fall asleep connected to a powersource but it doesn't feel ideal leaving it on like that. Will I be forced to turn the mb off everytime I'm done just so the monitor will get signal again? How will either of these options affect the life of the mb?

I'm gonna try one of the solutions I've read here to power on the monitor first and then the mb to see if this helps. Anyone else updated to Ventura? Does it keep happening?

 

[EugW]

Just bought the Asus VG279Q1A TUF Gaming monitor and set it all up with my Macbook Air M1. At first it connected easily, no problems whatsoever. I use the Satechi USB C hub, the slim one, and I've connected the monitor through this hub using a normal HDMI cable. Later though I noticed that while my laptop started up from sleeping, the monitor didn't get a signal. Tried unplugging it from the usb c hub, pulling the power plug from it, tried switching inputs and nothing worked. Resolved to rebooting my mb and after that the monitor found signal. Again when my laptop fell asleep later, the monitor had the same problem again.

I've now updated my software to the latest Ventura 13.0.1 and since it rebooted my mb the monitor found signal again.
I've changed the settings too so that the mb won't fall asleep connected to a powersource but it doesn't feel ideal leaving it on like that. Will I be forced to turn the mb off everytime I'm done just so the monitor will get signal again? How will either of these options affect the life of the mb?

I'm gonna try one of the solutions I've read here to power on the monitor first and then the mb to see if this helps. Anyone else updated to Ventura? Does it keep happening?

I’m on Ventura with my M1 Mac mini. With my older 30” Apple Cinema Display, a lot of dongles that worked fine for wake-from-sleep with my Intel Macs did not work with my M1. One dongle worked but I ended up just getting a new modern monitor with USB-C that had been confirmed to work with Apple Silicon in reviews.

 

[natsjo]

Just as an update. Powered on the monitor first and then opened my laptop and it connected without any issues. Don't know if it's bc of the update or in which steps i did it but it worked. Too early to tell if it's consistent though

 

[PHMT]

I fixed this issue with my MBP M1 Max by unplugging and replugging the monitor power cord. Out of the 2x 4k monitors plugged into the Caldigit TS3+ hub, one would not wake up after I had disconnected the MBP and then reconnected it. No online solution I checked would work other than a reboot of the MBP, which is not ideal when you have loads of Excel etc documents open.

Well I thought I'd fixed this issue but unplugging the monitor power cord no longer works. Only a reboot of my MBP resolves the problem, which is not ideal given the number of files I have to save and close every time....

This problem doesn't happen with a Windows desktop running Windows 10 plugged into the same 4k display. Definitely a driver issue.

 

[PHMT]

Well I thought I'd fixed this issue but unplugging the monitor power cord no longer works. Only a reboot of my MBP resolves the problem, which is not ideal given the number of files I have to save and close every time....

This problem doesn't happen with a Windows desktop running Windows 10 plugged into the same 4k display. Definitely a driver issue.

A repeatable fix for this problem, for me at least, has been to unplug the monitor/TV power cable AND the HDMI cable, then plug the power cable back in, then the HDMI cable. It's fiddly, but way quicker than closing down all the spreadsheets etc on my laptop and rebooting

 

[milan.smart]

Hi, I was having similar issue. Samsung 4K monitor did not wake from sleep when my M1 Air woke from sleep. I usually had to solve it by unplugging and replugging the Display Port several times from my iTec USB-C Dock. I first thought it was the Docks problem.
But finally it seems I resolved it by changing the Display Port cable. I tried 3 different cables and only the third works correctly. It's one with those barrels by the ends.

 

[Bmju]

This seems to have significantly improved in Monterey 12.6.6 (I haven't checked whether there's a similar improvement in Ventura).

 

[drecc]

I'm having this problem with my Macbook Air M2. It's become especially bad in the last few days, which I think might be related to the Ventura 13.4 update.

My M2 Air is normally open as a secondary display, with my monitor (LG 34WK95U) connected via thunderbolt 3 cable as the primary display that also powers the laptop.

Recently, I have to spend at least 30 seconds making it work on every resumption from sleep. I have to unplug my monitor from the power, then repeatedly open and close the laptop screen, to try and get it to recognize the monitor.

Prior to the Ventura 13.4 update, the most I had to do was unplug the monitor from the mains and plug it back in, and that would have been enough.

I've also noticed, for the first time, that my M2 gives me a slight electric shock/vibration feeling when I touch the case, if it is plugged in to my monitor. The same thing happens if I have the laptop disconnected from the monitor and instead plugged in to the official Apple charger. I'm in the UK, if that makes any difference. I've seen people say that this is a very common problem with Mac laptops, and has been happening for a decade it a variety of models. I'm not sure why it only happens sometimes.

This is becoming a huge pain....

 

[teknodude]

I'm having this problem with my Macbook Air M2. It's become especially bad in the last few days, which I think might be related to the Ventura 13.4 update.

My M2 Air is normally open as a secondary display, with my monitor (LG 34WK95U) connected via thunderbolt 3 cable as the primary display that also powers the laptop.

Recently, I have to spend at least 30 seconds making it work on every resumption from sleep. I have to unplug my monitor from the power, then repeatedly open and close the laptop screen, to try and get it to recognize the monitor.

Prior to the Ventura 13.4 update, the most I had to do was unplug the monitor from the mains and plug it back in, and that would have been enough.

I've also noticed, for the first time, that my M2 gives me a slight electric shock/vibration feeling when I touch the case, if it is plugged in to my monitor. The same thing happens if I have the laptop disconnected from the monitor and instead plugged in to the official Apple charger. I'm in the UK, if that makes any difference. I've seen people say that this is a very common problem with Mac laptops, and has been happening for a decade it a variety of models. I'm not sure why it only happens sometimes.

This is becoming a huge pain....

I've given up. I just unplug and replug the dock to fix it. Sometimes I'll go a few days without the issue, then it will not work.Once and awhile, I'll get frustrated and google the issue to see if someone found a solution. I no longer use clam shell mode or else I'll just be mashing on the keyboard like a maniac expecting something on the monitor to show.

 

[drecc]

I've given up. I just unplug and replug the dock to fix it. Sometimes I'll go a few days without the issue, then it will not work.Once and awhile, I'll get frustrated and google the issue to see if someone found a solution. I no longer use clam shell mode or else I'll just be mashing on the keyboard like a maniac expecting something on the monitor to show.

In the last few days things have become a little better - what I now do is type "caffeinate" into the terminal to prevent the M2 from sleeping. Then, I've found through trial and error that when my LG monitor wakes up, if I wait for about 10 seconds, and then quickly close and open the M2 screen, it picks it up.

This is a much nicer situation than having to unplug the LG from the mains. Since the latest Ventura has made this worse, hopefully Apple have had a ton of technical support requests over this, and are looking into it...

 

[teknodude]

In the last few days things have become a little better - what I now do is type "caffeinate" into the terminal to prevent the M2 from sleeping. Then, I've found through trial and error that when my LG monitor wakes up, if I wait for about 10 seconds, and then quickly close and open the M2 screen, it picks it up.

This is a much nicer situation than having to unplug the LG from the mains. Since the latest Ventura has made this worse, hopefully Apple have had a ton of technical support requests over this, and are looking into it...

Here's my workaround. I have a hotkey set for sleep. If the monitor doesn't pick up, hit sleep, wait a few seconds, and try waking again. The fingerprint login makes this pretty quick. From my research, this issue has been around for a long time.

 

[drecc]

Here's my workaround. I have a hotkey set for sleep. If the monitor doesn't pick up, hit sleep, wait a few seconds, and try waking again. The fingerprint login makes this pretty quick. From my research, this issue has been around for a long time.

Interesting - thanks. I wonder if closing and opening the lid is not the same as sleeping and resuming?

What kind of monitor do you have? I wonder if the issue is related to the M2 using the monitor for power and as a USB hub via thunderbolt 3

 

[teknodude]

Interesting - thanks. I wonder if closing and opening the lid is not the same as sleeping and resuming?

What kind of monitor do you have? I wonder if the issue is related to the M2 using the monitor for power and as a USB hub via thunderbolt 3

Yeah open close the lid should be the same. I'm using an LG monitor with hdmi connection.

 

[drecc]

Update: All issues are fixed! All it took was a monitor firmware update, which can be done using the LG OnScreen control download from LG.

The only catch is that the firmware update failed for me when attempting to use the Mac version. Some people seem to think this issue only affects the new M1/M2 etc chips.

I used an old Windows laptop to do the firmware update, and now everything works perfectly. I was so close to going out to buy a new monitor, so I'm overjoyed that it all works now.