iM 4,1-14,4 27" 2010 iMac as "target display" works!

[ZillaG]

I just wanna share a positive experience, since it saved me from buying another display for the used 2019 Macbook Pro I just got.

I have an aging 2010 iMac and it just won't run the 2 applications I use all the time efficiently anymore, namely, Logic Pro and Photoshop. So I scored a used 2019 Macbook Pro with 16GB memory and 512 GB SSD for less than $1000. I was about to get another display but I Googled "iMac as external display" and found https://www.macobserver.com/tips/how-to/imac-secondary-display/. I purchased a Thunderbolt 3 to Display Port cable, and voila, it works. I only have to power-up the iMac, I don't even have to log in, and I get an extended display. For what I do, it's good enough.

Thought I'd share.

 

[Juicy Box]

Target Display Mode is a great feature that I wished Apple would have continued with. There was technical limitations with the 4K and 5K iMacs with TB2, but when TB3 happened, that limitation was no longer a factor, so Apple just chose not to bring TDM back with the 2017 and up iMacs.

Fun fact: Do not get rid of your iMac, as it is one of the few iMacs that can use Target Display Mode with the M1 and up Macs.

The Late 2009 to Mid 2010 27" iMacs are capable to Target Display Mode on just about any device, Apple or not, that outputs in Display Port or Mini Display Port.

The Mid 2011 iMacs were the first with Thunderbolt, both the 21" and 27" Mid 2011 - Late 2013 iMacs, and the Mid 2014 21" iMac can be used as a display via TDM with any TB Intel Macs. (although, I vaguely remember seeing something about the 2020 iMac not being able to output to the TDM iMacs, but I cannot say for sure)

There are SW solutions to use Macs as displays to other Macs, such as using the built-in screen sharing feature, and Luna Display, but nothing compares to TDM, imo.

I purchased a Thunderbolt 3 to Firewire 800 cable

I am confused, do you mean the TB3/TB2 bidirectional adapter?

Or, are you saying that you are connecting TDM via FW? This is the first I have heard of this.

 

[ZillaG]

I am confused, do you mean the TB3/TB2 bidirectional adapter?

Or, are you saying that you are connecting TDM via FW? This is the first I have heard of this.

My bad, I was thinking of another cable that I purchased to work with my Focusrite Saffire 26, which I connected to my 2010 iMac with a Firewire 800 to 400 cable. Now I have a TB3->TB2->FW 800->FW 400 chain of cables so I can use it with my 2019 MBP.

I corrected my original post to say "Thunderbolt 3 to Display Port cable." Thanks!

 

[CY Yong]

Hi All,

I have an 2010 iMac 11.6.8. iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011), and M1 Macbook 13-inch, 2020.
Can i use iMac as a monitor by using the cable picture i attach below?

Sorry i'm confusing between those thunder bolt/mini display port .
Hope can get answer from you guys.

Thank you in advance for your help.

If the cable below not work, can help to give me a link about what cable should i buy?
So easier for me to look for similar cable locally.

 

[Juicy Box]

have an 2010 iMac 11.6.8. iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011),

Is it a Mid 2010 or a Mid 2011?

 

[Juicy Box]

If the cable below not work, can help to give me a link about what cable should i buy?
So easier for me to look for similar cable locally.

That cable will not work with either.

If it is a Mid 2011, then no cable will help you. The Mid 2011 iMacs are capable of Target Display Mode, but only with other Intel Macs with Thunderbolt. Not the M1 and up Macs.

Target Display mode will work on the 27" Mid 2010 iMac connected to an M1 Mac (or any other device, Apple or non Apple), as long as the source device (M1 Mac) has an DisplayPort output. The M1 Macs do not, but it can with a USB-C/DisplayPort adapter. You would then connect that to a DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort adapter, and connect that to the Mid 2010 iMac.

For devices that are not capable of outputting DisplayPort (such as game consoles), an active HDMI to DisplayPort cable *MAY* work, but I never have tried and never knew anyone that has tried it.

 

[CY Yong]

That cable will not work with either.

If it is a Mid 2011, then no cable will help you. The Mid 2011 iMacs are capable of Target Display Mode, but only with other Intel Macs with Thunderbolt. Not the M1 and up Macs.

Target Display mode will work on the 27" Mid 2010 iMac connected to an M1 Mac (or any other device, Apple or non Apple), as long as the source device (M1 Mac) has an DisplayPort output. The M1 Macs do not, but it can with a USB-C/DisplayPort adapter. You would then connect that to a DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort adapter, and connect that to the Mid 2010 iMac.

For devices that are not capable of outputting DisplayPort (such as game consoles), an active HDMI to DisplayPort cable *MAY* work, but I never have tried and never knew anyone that has tried it.

Hi Juicy,

Thanks for reply, but I don’t understand about this sentences.

You would then connect that to a DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort adapter, and connect that to the Mid 2010 iMac.

Can juicy explain it again ?

What I understand is buy a cable mini display port with usb C/thunderbolt only….

 

[Juicy Box]

Hi Juicy,

Thanks for reply, but I don’t understand about this sentences.

You would then connect that to a DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort adapter, and connect that to the Mid 2010 iMac.

Can juicy explain it again ?

What I understand is buy a cable mini display port with usb C/thunderbolt only….

Can you answer this first, as the you are looking for depends on this question:


Is your iMac a Mid 2010 or a Mid 2011?

You mentioned both 2010 and 2011, and whether or not it will work totally depends on the year.

 

[CY Yong]

Hi Juicy,

Thanks for reply, but I don’t understand about this sentences.

You would then connect that to a DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort adapter, and connect that to the Mid 2010 iMac.

Can juicy explain it again ?

What I understand is buy a cable mini display port with usb C/thunderbolt only….

Or Juicy mean i need 2 things?
1. Thunderbolt 3 USB C /DisplayPort Cable
2. Display port/mini display port cable?

 

[Juicy Box]

Or Juicy mean i need 2 things?
1. Thunderbolt 3 USB C /DisplayPort Cable
2. Display port/mini display port cable?

It depends on what you have already, and what you have access to.

The ideal solution is if you can get a USB-C to Mini DisplayPort cable, then you just need that. This is an example:


If you have a USB-C to DisplayPort cable, you will then need a Display Port to Mini DisplayPort adapter.

and



But again, this will not work a Mid 2011 iMac.

 

[CY Yong]

It depends on what you have already, and what you have access to.

The ideal solution is if you can get a USB-C to Mini DisplayPort cable, then you just need that. This is an example:
View attachment 2047634

If you have a USB-C to DisplayPort cable, you will then need a Display Port to Mini DisplayPort adapter.
View attachment 2047635
and
View attachment 2047636


But again, this will not work a Mid 2011 iMac.

Sorry for make you confuse, let me double check again.

 

[Juicy Box]

Sorry for make you confuse, let me double check again.

Post what iMac you have.

You mention both a 2010 and 2011 in your posts, and you can only use the Late 2009 and Mid 2010 iMacs as a display using Target Display Mode with the M1 Macs.

If you have a Mid 2011 iMac, then you will not be able to do any solution for Target Display Mode. I just don't want you to start buying cables and adapters unless you know your iMac is capable of what you are trying to do.

 

[CY Yong]

Look like mine is 2011 iMac.....so it's got no way to use as M1 MacBook monitor, right?

 

[CY Yong]

Post what iMac you have.

You mention both a 2010 and 2011 in your posts, and you can only use the Late 2009 and Mid 2010 iMacs as a display using Target Display Mode with the M1 Macs.

If you have a Mid 2011 iMac, then you will not be able to do any solution for Target Display Mode. I just don't want you to start buying cables and adapters unless you know your iMac is capable of what you are trying to do.

Look like mine is 2011 iMac.....so it's got no way to use as M1 MacBook monitor, right?

 

[Juicy Box]

Look like mine is 2011 iMac.....so it's got no way to use as M1 MacBook monitor, right?

Yeah, at least not with Target Display Mode. Even if you had a Mid 2010, I am unsure if it would have worked since you have a non-OEM GPU.

Not as good as Target Display mode, but you can use Screen Sharing, it is built into the OS. I use Screen Sharing daily, with many different Macs, but mostly my headless ones.

There are 3rd party solutions as well, such as Luna Display:

Luna Display — by Astropad

The only hardware solution that turns any Mac or iPad into a wireless second display.

astropad.com

 

[CY Yong]

Yeah, at least not with Target Display Mode. Even if you had a Mid 2010, I am unsure if it would have worked since you have a non-OEM GPU.

Not as good as Target Display mode, but you can use Screen Sharing, it is built into the OS. I use Screen Sharing daily, with many different Macs, but mostly my headless ones.

There are 3rd party solutions as well, such as Luna Display:

Luna Display — by Astropad

The only hardware solution that turns any Mac or iPad into a wireless second display.

astropad.com

Hi Juicy,
Thanks for help me save those cable money.

I know screen sharing, but do Juicy know how to do full screen? I try many way but it cannot open as full screen…

 

[Juicy Box]

I know screen sharing, but do Juicy know how to do full screen?

It is under "View" on the menu bar, and select "Enter Full Screen":

To exit full screen, you hover your mouse at the top of the screen to get the menu bar back.

Screen Sharing is definitely not a perfect solution, and is horrible for stuff like gaming, but for a lot of productivity tasks, it works great.

To increase the quality you can go to View on the menu bar and select "Full Quality", but this comes at the cost of increased latency. You can use a wired internet connection between the devices to reduce the latency.

 

[CY Yong]

It is under "View" on the menu bar, and select "Enter Full Screen":
View attachment 2047669

To exit full screen, you hover your mouse at the top of the screen to get the menu bar back.

Screen Sharing is definitely not a perfect solution, and is horrible for stuff like gaming, but for a lot of productivity tasks, it works great.

To increase the quality you can go to View on the menu bar and select "Full Quality", but this comes at the cost of increased latency. You can use a wired internet connection between the devices to reduce the latency.

I tried.
But it cannot full screen as 27 inch, it’s maximum like 21 inch, then the rest area is black color

 

[pshufd]

View attachment 2047654
Look like mine is 2011 iMac.....so it's got no way to use as M1 MacBook monitor, right?

You can do it over your network if you're going to mainly be using it for office stuff. I have used it for watching 2k full-screen videos and it's decent for that.

 

[pshufd]

One disadvantage to using Target Display Mode on 2009 and 2010 iMacs is that the iMacs use up a fair amount of power and the iMacs get hot on the back case. This is actually how they were designed to operate though. I tend not to use an iMac as a display in the summer as I don't have air conditioning in my home office but do tend to use it when it is cooler as my office is also unheated and temperatures can get down to -20 in the winter.

 

[CY Yong]

One disadvantage to using Target Display Mode on 2009 and 2010 iMacs is that the iMacs use up a fair amount of power and the iMacs get hot on the back case. This is actually how they were designed to operate though. I tend not to use an iMac as a display in the summer as I don't have air conditioning in my home office but do tend to use it when it is cooler as my office is also unheated and temperatures can get down to -20 in the winter.

Hey man, thanks for the update.
In your video did say have 4 method, which method you think which have the least letancy?

 

[Sccjrd]

Am I the only one who has a 2010 27" imac and a 2015 macbook air and can't make TDM work?
I also tried with every type of cable and also a windows desktop and a laptop but it doesn't seem to work

 

[Juicy Box]

Am I the only one who has a 2010 27" imac and a 2015 macbook air and can't make TDM work?
I also tried with every type of cable and also a windows desktop and a laptop but it doesn't seem to work

What OS is on the iMac?

 

[Sccjrd]

What OS is on the iMac?

High Sierra. I've previously tried on the macbook both with catalina and Monterey. Now is working only on Monterey if the imac isn't logged in and i don't even have to press command f2, it just displays on its own. Fine for me as long as it works. I will try later on to install Monterey on the iMac with opencore legacy patcher and I'll let you all know if it still works.

just out of curiosity i've tried with my pc but still doesn't work. I'm using a mini display to HDMI cable

 

[Juicy Box]

i don't even have to press command f2

I am not sure if this is your issue, and I don't think I have ever seen it mentioned in the forum, but the keyboard being used might be a factor on whether TDM works or not.

All my Macs use older keyboards. I like wired, full sized keyboards, and ones that are the pre-aluminum because I do not like the way the key press feels on the newer aluminum Apple keyboards, and I am not sure why, but my fingers "lose their place" on the aluminum keyboards.

I have many iMacs that are capable of doing Target Display Mode, but I couldn't get any of them to work.

It ended up being the keyboard. I used the keyboards that came with my iMacs and it worked instantly after pressing the Command+f2 combo.

Are you using a different keyboard than the OEM that came with iMac?