Maybe it's just me, but none of my recent Macs seem to play nicely (or even work at all) with external monitors. For instance, my 2019 MBP 16" simply refuses to maintain a connection with a 4K monitor, regardless of interface (Thunderbolt, HDMI, DisplayPort) or connection hardware (native TB port, 3rd party dock, or even Apple's own HDMI adapter)--the monitor will lose signal after a minute or two every single time. I've tried different cables and even different monitors (LG, Samsung). I've reset the PRAM (or whatever the heck it's called, I'm not a techie) and tried a few "hacks" that I've found from a couple seemingly reliable sources online. Nothing works. After a long battle, I've simply given up and conceded the ridiculous result that my top of the line MBP cannot be used with an external display, unless you can get by with one- to two-minute bursts of work before it decides to drop the signal and then physically disconnect and reconnect the cable every one to two minutes. Absurd.
My M1 MBP 13" is only slightly better in the sense that I can get it to maintain a connection over HDMI (but not DisplayPort), but *only* by using Apple's own adapter. No other 3rd party dock/adapter/cable will maintain the signal (and I've tried at least *four* different docks, each from different manufacturers, Caldigit, Hyperdrive, Satechi, etc) and numerous different cables). At least it works, but I don't have the flexibility of using a 3rd party dock for this purpose (even though I'd very much like to).
My Windows laptop from work, on the other hand, works every single time regardless of how I connect it. Direct connection. Third party adapters and docks. Pretty much any cable you want. No fuss whatsoever.
This is beyond frustrating for me, as one of my primary use cases for my Macs is photo editing. Sorry for the rant.
My M1 MBP 13" is only slightly better in the sense that I can get it to maintain a connection over HDMI (but not DisplayPort), but *only* by using Apple's own adapter. No other 3rd party dock/adapter/cable will maintain the signal (and I've tried at least *four* different docks, each from different manufacturers, Caldigit, Hyperdrive, Satechi, etc) and numerous different cables). At least it works, but I don't have the flexibility of using a 3rd party dock for this purpose (even though I'd very much like to).
My Windows laptop from work, on the other hand, works every single time regardless of how I connect it. Direct connection. Third party adapters and docks. Pretty much any cable you want. No fuss whatsoever.
This is beyond frustrating for me, as one of my primary use cases for my Macs is photo editing. Sorry for the rant.
