MacBook Air M1 need advice to connect two external (not apple) monitors

[Sbmama5678]

Hi. Hopefully someone can help me. I just got the MacBook Air M1 and Apple only has one usb-usb-c adapter which will only show one external monitor. I need to have two displays. I’ve read a little about DisplayLink being a work around but wanted to see if anyone had first hand experience with this? Both monitors have usb connections so I’d need a third party multi adapter I guess? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[SPUY767]

DisplayLink works fine for me. I have three External monitors running. Just have to download the drivers here: DisplayLink Drivers MacOS

 

[Sbmama5678]

Ok great - which adapter/docking station do you have?

 

[Sbmama5678]

I guess that should have been my main question-I need advice on decent adapter/docking station. I believe I'll have to download displaylink anyway. Thanks!

 

[SPUY767]

I guess that should have been my main question-I need advice on decent adapter/docking station. I believe I'll have to download displaylink anyway. Thanks!

Plugable USB C Triple Display Docking Station with Laptop Charging, for Thunderbolt, USB4, or USB-C Systems, Compatible with Windows, macOS, ChromeOS laptops (3X HDMI, 6X USB 5Gbps Ports, 100W PD)

The Plugable UD-3900PDZ USB-C Docking Station supports up to three HDMI displays via a combination of USB-C DisplayPort Alternate Mode ("Alt Mode") and DisplayLink USB graphics. Host charging to 100W via USB-C Power Delivery ("PD"), Gigabit Ethernet, audio, and 6x USB device connectivity. All thr...

www.amazon.com

 

[macais]

Plugable USB C Triple Display Docking Station with Laptop Charging, for Thunderbolt, USB4, or USB-C Systems, Compatible with Windows, macOS, ChromeOS laptops (3X HDMI, 6X USB 5Gbps Ports, 100W PD)

The Plugable UD-3900PDZ USB-C Docking Station supports up to three HDMI displays via a combination of USB-C DisplayPort Alternate Mode ("Alt Mode") and DisplayLink USB graphics. Host charging to 100W via USB-C Power Delivery ("PD"), Gigabit Ethernet, audio, and 6x USB device connectivity. All thr...

www.amazon.com

Hello, when calling the link from my region, I only get a list of different devices.
Could you lease tell the exact type.
thanks

 

[Dickie]

The link is to this one;

https://plugable.com/products/ud-3900pdz

 

[macais]

The link is to this one;

https://plugable.com/products/ud-3900pdz

Thanks! Problem was amazon germany

 

[Sbmama5678]

Plugable USB C Triple Display Docking Station with Laptop Charging, for Thunderbolt, USB4, or USB-C Systems, Compatible with Windows, macOS, ChromeOS laptops (3X HDMI, 6X USB 5Gbps Ports, 100W PD)

The Plugable UD-3900PDZ USB-C Docking Station supports up to three HDMI displays via a combination of USB-C DisplayPort Alternate Mode ("Alt Mode") and DisplayLink USB graphics. Host charging to 100W via USB-C Power Delivery ("PD"), Gigabit Ethernet, audio, and 6x USB device connectivity. All thr...

www.amazon.com

So the dock needs to have display link ports in order to work?

 

[jdb8167]

So the dock needs to have display link ports in order to work?

The M1 MacBooks only support a single external monitor. As you say, a Display Link hub is a workaround. There really isn’t any other solution though you can use an iPad with sidecar.

 

[Sbmama5678]

The M1 MacBooks only support a single external monitor. As you say, a Display Link hub is a workaround. There really isn’t any other solution though you can use an iPad with sidecar.

Thank you and yes I know M1 Macbook air natively only supports one external monitor but I was asking about if I needed to get a display link docking station and/or a docking station that has specific ports for displaylink. See pic

 

[jdb8167]

Thank you and yes I know M1 Macbook air natively only supports one external monitor but I was asking about if I needed to get a display link docking station and/or a docking station that has specific ports for displaylink. See pic

I'm still not sure what you are asking. DisplayLink isn't really a type of port, it is a hardware solution for connecting monitors that doesn't require a graphics card. Are you confusing DisplayPort with DisplayLink? You need whatever type of port that your monitor supports. Usually either HDMI and/or DisplayPort.

 

[JPack]

In short, you need to buy a dock that uses DisplayLink chipset. There are less expensive hubs available with two or more HDMI or DisplayPort connectors. However those rely on DP Alt Mode and do not work with MacBook.

 

[Sbmama5678]

Plugable USB C Triple Display Docking Station with Laptop Charging, for Thunderbolt, USB4, or USB-C Systems, Compatible with Windows, macOS, ChromeOS laptops (3X HDMI, 6X USB 5Gbps Ports, 100W PD)

The Plugable UD-3900PDZ USB-C Docking Station supports up to three HDMI displays via a combination of USB-C DisplayPort Alternate Mode ("Alt Mode") and DisplayLink USB graphics. Host charging to 100W via USB-C Power Delivery ("PD"), Gigabit Ethernet, audio, and 6x USB device connectivity. All thr...

www.amazon.com

Thanks I got three monitors up and running!

 

[davss]

See how I managed to connect 5 or 4 external monitors to Air M1 with 12800 px total horizontal and 2880 px vertical resolutions:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/m1-macbook-closed-lid-dual-monitors.2269530/post-29650309

 

[smeetster]

Sorry to piggyback onto this question, but it's very interesting stuff!
So I could use this solution for an intel laptop as well (2018 MacBook Air 13")?

But is that the best solution? The Air can support two non-mirrored external displays through HDMI if I drive one with each thunderbolt port. Maybe one usb-C can drive both if one is HDMI and one is DP (?).

What are the relative advantages/disadvantages of DisplayLink vs a thunderbolt -> dongle -> HDMI/DP solution?

 

[jdb8167]

Sorry to piggyback onto this question, but it's very interesting stuff!
So I could use this solution for an intel laptop as well (2018 MacBook Air 13")?

But is that the best solution? The Air can support two non-mirrored external displays through HDMI if I drive one with each thunderbolt port. Maybe one usb-C can drive both if one is HDMI and one is DP (?).

What are the relative advantages/disadvantages of DisplayLink vs a thunderbolt -> dongle -> HDMI/DP solution?

Sorry but no it can’t. The M1 MacBook Pro and the M1 MacBook Air can only drive one external monitor through the GPU. There is a workaround using USB but that has limitations and requires an external DisplayLink dock.

Edit: It looks like you are asking about an Intel Air and not the M1. Sorry for the misinformation. The Intel Air can indeed use two monitors.