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M1 Max MacBook Pro and External Display: When Productivity Becomes Frustration

February 20, 2023

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Over the past years, I’ve been on a constant quest to “improve my workflow”, a rather crude way for a non-native English speaker to talk about productivity tweaks. In other words, improving my work environment.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, I was travelling frequently and thus my workhorse / travel companion was a MacBook Pro (I’m at my third model, a maxed out 14-inch MacBook Pro M1 Max). I’ve had my share of issues with the previous model, a 16-inch Intel based system, and was hoping this one would sort out my issues.

At the moment, I am primarily struggling with two issues: random loss of connectivity with my external display (or resolution change), and a “musical chairs” issue with my windows and desktop setup on MacOS. This blog post is not really a troubleshooting guide but more of a venting post, perhaps it will also get me to investigate deeper.

Display issues

I am operating my MBP in closed lid mode (for a variety of reasons) and don’t intend to get the laptop open on my desk (space being one of the reasons). It was previously connected to a 27-inch AOC monitor (Q2790PQU, QHD) via a Thunderbolt to DisplayPort cable, and had no issues whatsoever.

My new setup is based on a LG 34WK95-U, a 34-inch 5K2K display which is connected to my MBP over a LG-supplied Thunderbolt cable. The display also provides power delivery to the MBP. The issue I’m running into has two aspects to it:

  • Resolution change on wake up: a frequent occurrence where the display resolution will randomly change. My normal resolution is 5120 x 2160, with the 4th option in terms of resolution scale in monitor settings (see pic below). In one case, the resolution will downscale to 3440 x 1440, not allowing a higher resolution and providing a blurry image. Instead of the standard “Monitor” setup offering a choice between “larger font” and “more space”, it will provide a fixed list of screen resolutions. In the other case, the display will turn on with a correct 5K resolution, but it will revert back to the “Default size” settings.
  • Display connectivity loss: in this less frequent case, a wake up will bring back the external display on, but there will be no data transmitted from the MBP. The display will indicate there is no plugged device, and when opening the MBP lid, it will operate as if no display is connected to it. The only way to restore power is a hard power off (unplug power outlet / reconnect).

In both of the cases, checking in Hardware Monitor settings shows that the display is recognized as an external peripheral (at least on the Thunderbolt bus). Also, the power is delivered to the MBP even when the display connectivity is lost.

Pundits at r/macbookpro have recommended getting a quality Thunderbolt cable, I’ve been reluctant so far to spend 100+ EUR into this, but might have to give it a go.

LG OnScreen Control – Musical Chairs Issue

The other annoyance is the so-called LG OnScreen control application, a program that recognizes your LG 5K display and proposes to create virtual screen zones to which windows will pin to. The only issue I have with this is that the app will automatically bind windows to the defined area, which makes windows move randomly anytime you open a new window / app, or based on totally random events.

This is one of the areas where I may have more control over, but have not had the will to spend more time upon. In the past, I’ve used BetterSnapTool, which has proved perfect with corner snap areas, but I haven’t explored the ability to have, for example, three windows side by side.

Another challenge with LG OnScreen seems to be the inability to maintain separate settings across MacOS virtual desktops. I will need a 3 windows side-by-side on one virtual desktop, but a 2 windows setup on the other virtual desktop. Unfortunately, even when adjusting it, the simple action of switching over to the other desktop will ruin the windows positioning.

If you work with just one window, then it’s fine, but if like me you need several windows side by side (because of my so-called “workflow”), then it becomes mayhem, especially when you are focusing on writing in one of the windows, and referring to collateral materials across the other windows).

Conclusion

There’s no real take-away here other than continuing with trial-and-error. Regarding LG OnScreen, the only viable option might be to remove the app and rely on another 3rd party app (perhaps BetterSnapTool) with the necessary and unpleasant learning curve associated with that.

For the resolution issues, I’ve had reports from at least one industry friend (Chris Evans) seeing a similar behavior on an M1 Mac Mini. There are more reports in forums (reddit, etc.) where people didn’t really come to a conclusive resolution of the problem (or a repeatable one). I may have to get a new Thunderbolt cable and take it from there, or entirely disable power management on the MBP.

Update: immediately after writing this blog post, I uninstalled LG OnScreen Control and explored BetterSnapTool options. It has options to arrange windows according to 3 vertical windows. I created shortcuts and it now works like a charm. Sure, it misses the ease provided by LG OnScreen Control (automated change in zones) but the downsides are far worse than the ease of use.

A screenshot of the BetterSnapTool menu, showing left / middle / right thirds with the controls I’ve bound it to use.

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