Connecting multiple Macs to Pro Display XDR

murdoc2k · Apr 20, 2020

I have 2 Macs: 2016 Macbook Pro (Personal computer), 2015 Macbook Pro (Work computer). I want to use a Pro Display XDR with both machines.

I am not expecting them to be in use at once, only hoping to not have to reach behind the monitor to plug and unplug cables every time I switch Macs which happens multiple times on daily basis. Is this possible? What can I use to achieve this?

xraydoc · Apr 21, 2020

murdoc2k said:
I have 2 Macs: 2016 Macbook Pro (Personal computer), 2015 Macbook Pro (Work computer). I want to use a Pro Display XDR with both machines.

I am not expecting them to be in use at once, only hoping to not have to reach behind the monitor to plug and unplug cables every time I switch Macs which happens multiple times on daily basis. Is this possible? What can I use to achieve this?

Pretty certain that the 2015 MBP is not compatible. There might be a way to force it to work at 4K, but it would require a string of adapters.
The 2016 MBP is not officially compatible either, but might run it at 5K.

Neither machine you have will run the Pro XDR at its native 6K resolution.

And as far as I know, there are no KVM or other switchboxes that would work with the XDR display. You'd have to manual move the cable from one machine to the other.

murdoc2k · Apr 21, 2020

xraydoc said:
Pretty certain that the 2015 MBP is not compatible. There might be a way to force it to work at 4K, but it would require a string of adapters.
The 2016 MBP is not officially compatible either, but might run it at 5K.

Neither machine you have will run the Pro XDR at its native 6K resolution.

And as far as I know, there are no KVM or other switchboxes that would work with the XDR display. You'd have to manual move the cable from one machine to the other.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm afraid this confirms my worst fears yet. I'm aware that none of the laptops will work at 6K native resolution, which is fine for me until I upgrade to a new 16" Macbook Pro.

My main issue is that there isn't a dongle of some sort that provides Thunderbolt 3 passthrough and HDMI/Thunderbolt2/Mini-Display port that allows me to switch the cables easily.

The only viable solution I see right now is to use a Thunderbolt 3 cable for my 2016 Macbook Pro and a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter for 2015 Macbook Pro.

But that would mean I will need to unplug the cable from behind the Pro Display every time I switch between the computers.

chabig · Apr 21, 2020

murdoc2k said:
But that would mean I will need to unplug the cable from behind the Pro Display every time I switch between the computers.

Not necessarily. Keep one cable connected to the display and switch the other end from one computer to the other.

Pbwj · Apr 21, 2020

Simple solution: Buy another XDR 🙂

You can buy a longer Thunderbolt 3 cable so you can unplug/plug between the two computers instead of having to go back of the monitor to unplug. If you want the extra ports you could get something like the TS3 Plus https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/

murdoc2k · Apr 21, 2020

@chabig Except the 2015 Macbook Pro only has Thunderbolt 2 and HDMI connections, which is incompatible with Thunderbolt 3 without a dongle. If I use the dongle, then I would still need to unplug it from the back to plug in a pure Thunderbolt 3 cable for my 2016 Macbook Pro.

So I looked into the docking stations. What I've noticed is that it supports 1 host computer via Thunderbolt 3 connected to multiple displays. So there's still no way for me to plug in 2 computers into the docking station and switch between them for the Pro Display XDR.

@Pbwj Yeah, you're right. The only solution is to buy another one that has a dedicated cable that changes from Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2. Only problem is I can only afford 1 of those monitors 😢

murdoc2k · Apr 21, 2020

I think I've found a new solution. I'm going to test it out now with my current monitor and report back how things go.

The testing gear I have
* Dell Ultrasharp U2711 monitor
* Macbook Pro 2016 w/ 4x Thunderbolt 3 ports
* Macbook Pro 2015 w/ HDMI and Thunderbolt2/Mini-display port
* Logitech M720 Marathon via Bluetooth
* Apple Magic Keyboard 2

The idea is this:
1. I leave my 2016 Macbook Pro plugged in and connected to my monitor with Reflector 3 installed.

2. I Airplay my screen from my work 2015 Macbook Pro laptop to my personal Macbook Pro

3. I switch bluetooth pairing on my Magic Keyboard 2 from my personal laptop to my work laptop.

4. I press the device switcher button my the Logitech M720 to auto switch to my work laptop.

5. I leave my work laptop turned on and plugged into AC Power.

When I'm off work, I stop Air Play and put my monitor to rest.

wago · May 23, 2020

Hey, just wanted to let you know that I have the Pro Display XDR working via KVM switch, although I'm not sure if you'd want to invest in this monitor without a mac that can drive it at 6k. Here's my setup, hope it helps. Note that this setup is running HBR2, which will let you do 4k60 but not 5k or 6k without DSC. DSC is only supported on a very limited set of clients right now.

Belkin USB-C to Displayport + USB cable from display to KVM switch output
StarTech Displayport KVM switch which works, but is slooooow to change inputs and finicky on USB peripherals
Moshi USB-C to Displayport Cable from Mac Pro 2019 + W5700X GPU to KVM switch
MacBook Pro 13" 2019 connected to StarTech TB/USB-C Dock to KVM switch

I'm getting 6k on the Mac Pro 2019, but only because I have the W5700X GPU which supports DSC. Other Mac Pro 2019 GPUs do not support DSC and won't work in this configuration @ 6k. The MacBook Pro 13" runs at 4k, which still looks good, but nowhere near the 6k native resolution.

If you wanted to run an eGPU on one of your machines (but these have limitations...) the Sapphire AMD Radeon 5700XT works (in an eGPU thunderbolt enclosure) in this setup and supports DSC as well, so you'd get 6k on it.

murdoc2k · Jun 1, 2020

Thanks for your suggestion. It seems like the Pro Display is very picky about the hardware and it pretty much only works on the latest and greatest.

The monitor itself is already very expensive and to get this setup working, there's plenty more to spend. I'm afraid is starting to look cost prohibitive 🙁 I think I'll tap out for now and save my money until mini-LED rolls around. I looked at cheaper alternatives, but the cost is also high while not offering benefits that are close to Pro Display, which is the only one I consider to be substantially better than the Dell U2711 I have to warrant an upgrade aside from resolutions.

I tried the reflector method, but it has issues. The truth is Air Play is riddled with latency issues and there's no software magic that can do away this limitation. I've tested it for close to a month and even Air Server, the best app I've found so far is not able to maintain the connection for long durations of time without lag. Reflector drops the connection multiple times per day while being able to keep the lag at a minimal.

For the sake of compatibility, saving the wallet, and sanity, I'm going to keep my monitor. It's sad that Pro Display does not support HDMI or any other type of input.

George D37 · Jul 31, 2020

I may be late to this post but I have been grappling with this for months. it's ridiculous that you cant connect the new beast Mac Pro to an XDR and also use the monitor with a MacBook Pro too... which is my config. I am using an excellent BENQ monitor whith two inputs and a very simple front button to switch between the computers... I wish apple would give people this functionality... but you know they never will. they dont seem to care!

sco · Jul 31, 2020

Can you enable screen sharing on your work Macbook then connect to it over the network from your own?

murdoc2k · Nov 4, 2020

Hey sco, thanks for the suggestion. The issue with screen share is that you can’t get native keyboard controls since it’s an app that you’re using to view and control from the main computer.

I also noticed it starts to slow down over time when connecting over the network, especially with wifi. Even with wired, I still see a delay from time to time.

This is the major show stopper since I have meetings with my team and I need to be able to screen share or mute and I mute on the fly with no tolerance for delays.

As I’ve noted above, I’ve tried apps like reflector that do similar things; but after hours of use, it will start to slow down and have latency issues. This is something I don’t think software can overcome. I’ve tried 3 different softwares (one of them being Apple’s Remote Desktop app) and all of them had this issue.

BDWhite · Jul 12, 2021

wago said:
Hey, just wanted to let you know that I have the Pro Display XDR working via KVM switch, although I'm not sure if you'd want to invest in this monitor without a mac that can drive it at 6k. Here's my setup, hope it helps. Note that this setup is running HBR2, which will let you do 4k60 but not 5k or 6k without DSC. DSC is only supported on a very limited set of clients right now.

Belkin USB-C to Displayport + USB cable from display to KVM switch output

StarTech Displayport KVM switch which works, but is slooooow to change inputs and finicky on USB peripherals

Moshi USB-C to Displayport Cable from Mac Pro 2019 + W5700X GPU to KVM switch

MacBook Pro 13" 2019 connected to StarTech TB/USB-C Dock to KVM switch

I'm getting 6k on the Mac Pro 2019, but only because I have the W5700X GPU which supports DSC. Other Mac Pro 2019 GPUs do not support DSC and won't work in this configuration @ 6k. The MacBook Pro 13" runs at 4k, which still looks good, but nowhere near the 6k native resolution.

If you wanted to run an eGPU on one of your machines (but these have limitations...) the Sapphire AMD Radeon 5700XT works (in an eGPU thunderbolt enclosure) in this setup and supports DSC as well, so you'd get 6k on it.

Hey I'm trying to create a fairly similar setup, but looking into the KVM switch you suggested though, shows that it only supports up to 4K resolution. Just to clarify, you're saying that even with that restriction, with DSC you can bypass that resolution ceiling and still get the full 6K on the Pro Display XDR? And are you using dual Pro Display XDRs and still able to get 6K from each one? Thanks for your help!

wago · Jul 12, 2021

BDWhite said:
Hey I'm trying to create a fairly similar setup, but looking into the KVM switch you suggested though, shows that it only supports up to 4K resolution. Just to clarify, you're saying that even with that restriction, with DSC you can bypass that resolution ceiling and still get the full 6K on the Pro Display XDR? And are you using dual Pro Display XDRs and still able to get 6K from each one? Thanks for your help!

Yep, that's correct. I'm running a full 6k using a 2019 Mac Pro + W5700X GPU and this KVM. I'm just running a single display, but I don't see why two would not work. The key is that DSC can run 6K over a Displayport link rate which would (without compression) only support 4k -- so the data rate is no higher here. Since the KVM is not trying to emulate anything or mangle the Displayport signal (it's transparent) the DSC connection works between the computer and the monitor. The computer sees a cable disconnect whenever you change inputs on the KVM. Hope that helps!

petardosh · Oct 23, 2021

I've been looking into solutions to use the XDR with a KVM and this thread has been very helpful!

There seem to be three options to connect the XDR to a KVM and the KVM to my two Macbooks:
1) 3x The "Belkin" VR cable
2) 3x Wacom link to split USB and DP ports
3) 3x USB-C to DP 1.4 cable with separate cable for USB connection to control brightness / profiles. USB cables would go into a separate port on the Macbook and the USB-C on the XDR, not sure if the latter works since it is not a upstream port.

Both Belkin cable and Wacom link are relatively expensive, and I was wondering if there are cheaper options. Also the Belkin cable is 4.5m long which apart from cable clutter might impact signal quality.

CableMatter lists a USB-C multiport adapter, which splits one USB-C cable into a DP 1.4, Ethernet and 2x USB ports. AliExpress has a simpler version with just a USB-C to USB and DP 1.4 port. The Aliexpress adapter is just $20, even with all the DP 8K cables it would be a bit more than one Belkin cable or Wacom.

Would using a USB-C to DP&USB multiport adapter work to connect the XDR to the KVM and two Macbooks?

wago · Oct 23, 2021

petardosh said:
I've been looking into solutions to use the XDR with a KVM and this thread has been very helpful!

There seem to be three options to connect the XDR to a KVM and the KVM to my two Macbooks:
1) 3x The "Belkin" VR cable
2) 3x Wacom link to split USB and DP ports
3) 3x USB-C to DP 1.4 cable with separate cable for USB connection to control brightness / profiles. USB cables would go into a separate port on the Macbook and the USB-C on the XDR, not sure if the latter works since it is not a upstream port.

Both Belkin cable and Wacom link are relatively expensive, and I was wondering if there are cheaper options. Also the Belkin cable is 4.5m long which apart from cable clutter might impact signal quality.

CableMatter lists a USB-C multiport adapter, which splits one USB-C cable into a DP 1.4, Ethernet and 2x USB ports. AliExpress has a simpler version with just a USB-C to USB and DP 1.4 port. The Aliexpress adapter is just $20, even with all the DP 8K cables it would be a bit more than one Belkin cable or Wacom.

Would using a USB-C to DP&USB multiport adapter work to connect the XDR to the KVM and two Macbooks?

You only need 1x the Belkin VR cable or similar; this is to split the USB3 signal from the DisplayPort signal, which are combined in the USB-C/Thunderbolt connection on the back of the XDR. Once the USB3 signal is cabled into the USB ports on the KVM switch, a normal USB cable + displayport cable can go to each mac.

If you wanted to use a single cable to each mac (effectively recombining displayport + USB3) you could use the adapter you linked for each mac, then the Belkin VR cable to the XDR. The adapter you linked is designed to connect to a computer (aka "host") but will not work in reverse when attached to the XDR.

Here's my setup in bad ASCII art 🙂

Code:

                                                      +-----------------------------+
                                                      |                             |
                                                      |                             |
                                                      |                             |
                                                      |       Pro Display XDR       |
                                                      |                             |
                                                      |                             |
                                                      |                             |
                                                      +----------------+------------+
                                                                       |
                                                                       |Belkin
                                                                       |VR Cable
                      +---------------------+                          |
                      |                     |                          |
                      |                     |  USB3    +---------------+----------------------+
                      |   Keyboard & Mouse  +----------+                                      |
                      |                     |          |  StarTech Displayport KVM Switch     |
                      +---------------------+          +-+-+-----------------------+--+-------+
                                                         | |                       |  |
                                                         | |                       |  |
                                                         | |                   USB3|  |DP1.4
                                                     USB3| |DP1.4                  |  |
                                                         | |                       |  |
                                                         | |                       |  |
                                                         | |                    +--+--+------+
+---------------------+                +-----------------+-+--+                 |            |
|                     |                |                      |                 |            |
|                     |                |                      |                 |            |
|                     |     Thunderbolt|   StarTech TB3       |                 |            |
|                     +----------------+   Dock               |                 |            |
|    Macbook Pro      |                |                      |                 |            |
|                     |                +----------------------+                 | Mac Pro    |
|                     |                                                         | R5700XT GPU|
|                     |                                                         |            |
+---------------------+                                                         |            |
                                                                                |            |
                                                                                |            |
                                                                                |            |
                                                                                |            |
                                                                                +------------+

petardosh · Oct 23, 2021

wago said:
The adapter you linked is designed to connect to a computer (aka "host") but will not work in reverse when attached to the XDR.

Thanks, hadn't considered the adapter not being uni-directional. Sounds like the Belkin cable is the best way to connect the XDR to the KVM and potentially using the DP-USB to USB-C adapter from KVM to Macbook to only have one cable there.

petardosh · Nov 18, 2021

My Belkin cable finally arrived and it works nicely. My configuration now looks like:

- XDR with camera, keyboard and trackpad attached to the XDR's USB2 hub.
-> Belkin cable
-> 8K DP KVM. Not sure why but this KVM is really cheap at $60 compared to other 8K KVMs which go for $300-400. The only difference I could find is the lack of hot key support, but it comes with a physical desktop switch.
-> From the KVM a DP to USB-C and USB2 cable connect to a Anker TB4 hub. Hub also provides power and Ethernet.
-> Anker hub to MBP via single TB4 cable

My new MBP won't be here for another 3 weeks, so I wasn't able to test switching yet. I'll likely use a similar setup but in combination with the adapter (it's not bidirectional) mentioned above to have one more port on the TB4 hub for a NVM drive. So it will be KVM->DP 1.4 and USB2 cable->Adapter->TB4 Hub with Ethernet, power and NVM->single TB4 cable to MBP.

I'm curious how the Mac connects to the XDR (DSC, HBR2 / HBR3) but Apple's display diagnostic tool does not seem to work on ARM.

lrb3000 · Jan 4, 2022

petardosh said:
My Belkin cable finally arrived and it works nicely. My configuration now looks like:

- XDR with camera, keyboard and trackpad attached to the XDR's USB2 hub.
-> Belkin cable
-> 8K DP KVM. Not sure why but this KVM is really cheap at $60 compared to other 8K KVMs which go for $300-400. The only difference I could find is the lack of hot key support, but it comes with a physical desktop switch.
-> From the KVM a DP to USB-C and USB2 cable connect to a Anker TB4 hub. Hub also provides power and Ethernet.
-> Anker hub to MBP via single TB4 cable

My new MBP won't be here for another 3 weeks, so I wasn't able to test switching yet. I'll likely use a similar setup but in combination with the adapter (it's not bidirectional) mentioned above to have one more port on the TB4 hub for a NVM drive. So it will be KVM->DP 1.4 and USB2 cable->Adapter->TB4 Hub with Ethernet, power and NVM->single TB4 cable to MBP.

I'm curious how the Mac connects to the XDR (DSC, HBR2 / HBR3) but Apple's display diagnostic tool does not seem to work on ARM.

Hi Petardosh, were you able to test switching? How does it work? I am trying to do something similar, but with an LG monitor and two M1 Macs.

petardosh · Jan 19, 2022

@lrb3000 I haven't been able to test switching properly yet. The Belkin cable died just as I got my new MBP and I've been waiting for a replacement since then. I've able to test running the display through the KVM to the other MBP before that and haven't had any issues, but didn't use the switching.

I regret getting the Belkin instead of the Wacom splitter since getting the Belkin exchanged has been painful due to the back and forth sending it to China. Also the Belkin is out of stock at Giztop from where I bought it so not sure when the replacement will arrive.

petardosh · Feb 16, 2022

@wago I'm still running into issues with my setup and was wondering how you switch on the KVM (hotkey with magic keyboard, KVM buttons) and how you have connected the Belkin cable to the KVM?

I now have the Lindy 1.4 KVM, which looks almost identical to the Startech you have but supports DP 1.4. Switching using hotkey is still hit and miss. Sometime works perfectly sometime the screen shows but keyboard input does not work or screen does not show up. My current wiring is Magic keyboard and trackpad connected to HID inputs on the KVM and the Belkin cable via small USB hub to one of the USB A 3.1 ports on the KVM.

anti1869 · Oct 6, 2022

Hey guys, this post helped me a lot so I'm paying back by sharing my setup that works for me (mostly 🙂

Macs that I'm connecting to Pro Display are MacMini M1 2020 and MacBook Pro 14" M1. So both are recent and has DSC support (so they can do 6K resolution through DisplayPort 1.2 link).

Parts

This is what I am using (all parts was easy to buy on Amazon in EU at the time of writing):

- Apple Pro Display XDR (obviously)

- Thunderbolt cable that was included with display. Connect it to Wacom Link port marked for display, the other end goes to XDR thunderbolt port. If you don't have that cable anymore, usbc cable that comes with Wacom Link also works.

- Wacom Link Plus. You need to power it with separate usb-c power adapter. You have to buy it (cable as well or use included) if you don't have it. It does not need much power, so the one from iphone will do. There are reports that connecting it to computer port does not work.

- miniDP to Display port cable. I bought not-so-expensive-one on Amazon "Silkland Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort 1.4 1M, 8K@60Hz". Connect one end to Wacom Link and other end to KVM

- micro USB to USB cable. This one included with Link. Do Wacom -> KVM as well.

- KVM. I had good experience before with one from ATEN (which is professional-grade equipment). On the other hand StarTech dock that I have was piece of cagal from the start. So I bought Aten CS1922 DisplayPort 1.2 KVM. There is more expensive version CS1922M. It have more gizmos like combining sources to one display, but I didn't need it. They have even more options, go to aten.com and pick the one you need. There is new sexy one coming soon. They all 4K (DisplayPort 1.2). Description say they can not do 6K, but that's fine if your graphics card able to use DSC

- Two usb-c to DisplayPort cables *bidirectional* (this is important). I got recommended ones from Club3D CAC-1557. Also they are Dutch and I am in The Netherlands 🙂 Connect them between KVM and those macs of yours.

- Also connect sound and usb-cables between KVM and macs. Aten have these cables included in KVM package.

- Keyboard and mouse setup I'll leave to you as there are many options. I use wireless non-mac ones that can switch between sources themselves.

- Some velcro tape to reduce the mess

Does it work?

Well, most of the times. KVM works quite fast. Switching takes 2-4 seconds. I have full 6K resolution for both inputs.

But sometimes picture does not show and the only thing that helps is to disconnect and connect usbc cable from the mac. Which is annoying.

It happens mostly when non-active input is not used for a long time. When I'm switching back and forth between macs during the day - it's fine.

Also what I've noticed - when inactive, mac goes into headless mode (like there is no display connected at all). This is on contrary with other setup with usbc-DVI dual-link that I had before with gorgeous Cinema Display 30. There inactive mac still thought it connected to display. So maybe that black screen is mac os misbehaving and not hardware-related, dunno...

Okay, that's it folks. I hope it will help someone.

petardosh · Oct 13, 2022

anti1869 said:
Does it work?

Well, most of the times. KVM works quite fast. Switching takes 2-4 seconds. I have full 6K resolution for both inputs.

But sometimes picture does not show and the only thing that helps is to disconnect and connect usbc cable from the mac. Which is annoying.

Thanks for sharing your results and setup! I found the "occasional not working" issue to be a showstopper and manually switching cables has been more reliable for me.

I really hope that any of SSI KVM products are going to be available at some point (https://www.ssi.com.tw/product/kvm-switch). They have a USB4 and TB3 KVM in their product line which both should work with the XDR.

schweigert85 · Oct 15, 2022

petardosh said:
Thanks for sharing your results and setup! I found the "occasional not working" issue to be a showstopper and manually switching cables has been more reliable for me.

I really hope that any of SSI KVM products are going to be available at some point (https://www.ssi.com.tw/product/kvm-switch). They have a USB4 and TB3 KVM in their product line which both should work with the XDR.

are you talking about this one? https://www.ssi.com.tw/product/kvm-switch/tbt4-kvm-dock

looks like you cant really buy anything on their site its all request a quote... which makes me feel like its going to be v expensive lol

I feel like I should buy one of those Belkin cables as their intended use case might not be around for much longer

petardosh · Oct 17, 2022

SSI is a OEM only selling to resellers like Belkin, Startech etc. They would need to release a SSI product with their branding.

Connecting multiple Macs to Pro Display XDR

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