How to fix M1 Mac external display problems. Some M1 MacBook Pro, M1 MacBook Air and M1 Mac Mini owners are having problems with external displays. Display blinks frequently or does not wake up from sleep at all. Sometimes the screen goes black or white noise appears on it.
If you also have any problems with the external display of the M1 Mac, we will try to help you solve them.
Problems arise with different adapters and adapters, displays and cables. Most likely, macOS is to blame for this. Below we will discuss ways to solve them.
Reconnect the cable
If the screen flickers or shows white noise, you can try reconnecting the cable while your Mac is on. Mac will update its display and external. This might fix the problem.
You can also try unplugging the HDMI cable from the USB-C adapter and plugging it back in.
Reboot Mac
Restarting your Mac often solves the problem. But this solution is only worth trying if the first two didn’t work. You can also try a forced reboot, although this solves the problem only temporarily until the display goes back to sleep.
You can turn off hibernation completely.
- Open System Preferences.
- Select Battery (M1 MacBook Pro, M1 MacBook Air) or Energy Saver (M1 Mac Mini, iMac).
- Select “Network adapter” on the left, and under “Turn off display” select “Never”.
You can also set up an active corner, which will prevent the screen from falling asleep, and leave the cursor in this corner.
Update macOS version
You may be able to fix the problem by installing a system update. To do this, go to System Preferences> Software Update. Perhaps, in the new version of the system, Apple has already solved the problem.
Change cable
Sometimes displays do not support some cables. There might also be a problem with the specific connection method.
If you have a cheap USB-C to HDMI adapter, it may not work. In this case, replace it with a more expensive and high quality one. You can also try a DisplayPort cable.
Refresh rate too low?
On some M1 Macs, external displays work, but their refresh rates are too low. This may be due to insufficient power cable, adapter or adapter.
You can also manually change the refresh rate through the settings.