M2 Air lags with external display connected

[raed762]

I've had my M2 Air for about 4 months (8C GPU/GPU, 24GB, 1TB) and recently got an external monitor to use with it.

The system frequently lags for 2-3 seconds at a time when the external display is connected. I've ran through every troubleshooting step you can imagine. I:

- Reset NVRAM and SMC
- Tried using a different monitor (same result)
- Tried different display cables (usb-c, hdmi, vga, etc.)
- Tried using the dock without an external power source
- Reset computer
- Connected monitor directly to computer using usb-c to usb-c

I'm using an off brand "Mokin" dock purchased off Amazon that according to its description, "supports VGA Resolution up to 1080P@60Hz."

The monitor's frame rate is 60hz and I cannot change it in display settings. I noticed the problem is much worse and occurs more frequently when using a wireless mouse whether plugged into the dock or usb-c port on the computer. I don't think this is an issue with the trackpad, wireless mouse or dock as Activity Monitor shows a spike in CPU usage whenever the lag occurs. The issue occurs regardless of the workload and even happens after a clean restart with nothing running.

I spoke to Apple support and they were of no help. Anybody know what the issue could be? I paid extra money to get the upgraded storage/ram and it's very frustrating that I'm running into this issue. You'd think that a $1800 computer would be able to handle an external monitor being connected..

 

[tstafford]

What do you mean by it "lags"?

Also what kind of monitor is this, what's it's native resolution and what resolution are you running?

 

[1BadManVan]

I've had my M2 Air for about 4 months (8C GPU/GPU, 24GB, 1TB) and recently got an external monitor to use with it.

The system frequently lags for 2-3 seconds at a time when the external display is connected. I've ran through every troubleshooting step you can imagine. I:

- Reset NVRAM and SMC
- Tried using a different monitor (same result)
- Tried different display cables (usb-c, hdmi, vga, etc.)
- Tried using the dock without an external power source
- Reset computer
- Connected monitor directly to computer using usb-c to usb-c

I'm using an off brand "Mokin" dock purchased off Amazon that according to its description, "supports VGA Resolution up to 1080P@60Hz."

The monitor's frame rate is 60hz and I cannot change it in display settings. I noticed the problem is much worse and occurs more frequently when using a wireless mouse whether plugged into the dock or usb-c port on the computer. I don't think this is an issue with the trackpad, wireless mouse or dock as Activity Monitor shows a spike in CPU usage whenever the lag occurs. The issue occurs regardless of the workload and even happens after a clean restart with nothing running.

I spoke to Apple support and they were of no help. Anybody know what the issue could be? I paid extra money to get the upgraded storage/ram and it's very frustrating that I'm running into this issue. You'd think that a $1800 computer would be able to handle an external monitor being connected..

A dock that only supports up to 1080p sounds like a pretty cheap dock. Can you not just hook up the monitor through a usb c to display port cable? I run mine off a 27” Qhd Dell monitor at 165hz without a single issue. But it’s plugged directly into my MacBook.

I also have a dock from Satechi that’s made for the m2 airs and it works perfectly as well. I’m guessing it’s an issue with this dock you’re using

 

[NeonNights]

Another vote for bad/cheap dock. Same thing happened with my M1 Air. I used a $35 Aukey 7-1 USBc dock that claimed 4K30 but it had serious latency/lag issues. The mouse and keyboard was so slow on my external that it was basically unusable. I then bought an $80 CalDigit SOHO dock that supports up to 4K60 through HDMI and everything works perfectly with an external TV/monitor, no lag at all. I would suggest trying a different dock.