Potential "fix" for washed out colors on external monitor

[ProfessionalFan]

I know a ton of people have experienced washed out colors on their external monitor when connecting via USB-C.

I stumbled into a potential "fix" for this until Apple figures it out, assuming they ever do.

Enable Sidecar and the colors are fixed.

Why does this work? I have no idea, but it works every single time for me. I finally have the correct colors again on my monitor when doing this.

Of course, this would require you to own an iPad that works with Sidecar.

I am running macOS 11.3 RC with an LG 27UK850. I reported this issue to Apple awhile ago and now informed them of this "fix" so maybe it will help their troubleshooting.

 

[ader42]

What monitor are you using?

 

[ProfessionalFan]

What monitor are you using?

LG 27UK850

 

[ader42]

Thanks, my reason for asking is I’m looking into what monitor to get for an M1 Mini = good to be aware of potential issues and am leaning towards LG and BenQ in terms of brands.

 

[Marty_Macfly]

I know a ton of people have experienced washed out colors on their external monitor when connecting via USB-C.

I stumbled into a potential "fix" for this until Apple figures it out, assuming they ever do.

Enable Sidecar and the colors are fixed.

Why does this work? I have no idea, but it works every single time for me. I finally have the correct colors again on my monitor when doing this.

Of course, this would require you to own an iPad that works with Sidecar.

I am running Big Sur 11.3 RC with an LG 27UK850. I reported this issue to Apple awhile ago and now informed them of this "fix" so maybe it will help their troubleshooting.

Thanks Larry,

I may try that at the weekend!

The laptop screen looks, well, amazing.

The external monitor though, looks pretty washed out. No comparison.

i’ve got used to it, for the convenience of a larger screen, more ergo to look at for long periods etc.

Any improvements in colour et cetera it’s worthwhile, seems I’m stuck with the set up for while.

Regards
Martin

 

[haralds]

Could be related to HDR. There are bugs with that Intel in Big Sur, too. My "Media" Mini cannot be set to HDR on the current release due to washed-out color on my HDR display in that mode.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

Could be related to HDR. There are bugs with that Intel in Big Sur, too. My "Media" Mini cannot be set to HDR on the current release due to washed-out color on my HDR display in that mode.

I have HDR disabled, it isn't that. But I do appreciate you trying to help since that could be an issue for others.

 

[Spacemunky]

I know a ton of people have experienced washed out colors on their external monitor when connecting via USB-C.

I stumbled into a potential "fix" for this until Apple figures it out, assuming they ever do.

Enable Sidecar and the colors are fixed.

Why does this work? I have no idea, but it works every single time for me. I finally have the correct colors again on my monitor when doing this.

Of course, this would require you to own an iPad that works with Sidecar.

I am running macOS 11.3 RC with an LG 27UK850. I reported this issue to Apple awhile ago and now informed them of this "fix" so maybe it will help their troubleshooting.

IT WORKED
Oh my god, I have spent all week pulling my hair out fiddling with everything. I've been onto Apples technical support for over 5 hours with no solution and this has finally worked. It only worked however when I disconnected side car but I could tell instantly that the colours and black was correct. You sir are a genius.

I noticed that the Black Level that was locked on Low is now on High which my 2017 MacBook Pro was set at.

Did you ever hear back from Apple what was causing it?

This should be a pinned topic.

 

[Budgiemac]

i dont have this issue but i have lines in some pictures only on my one monitor but all other monitors work perfect. I wouldnt use acer with m1

 

[11235813]

All monitors show washed out colors by default in my experience, since the default gamma in the industry makes everything a shade of gray. So I use the display calibrator to change the gamma until colors look right to my eyes.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

Did you ever hear back from Apple what was causing it?

Nope

 

[ProfessionalFan]

All monitors show washed out colors by default in my experience, since the default gamma in the industry makes everything a shade of gray. So I use the display calibrator to change the gamma until colors look right to my eyes.

This washed out issue was never an issue with the Intel based MacBooks for me using the same monitor. It is 100% an M1 thing though not sure if is all monitors. Most complaints seem to focus on the LG monitors.

 

[Spacemunky]

This washed out issue was never an issue with the Intel based MacBooks for me using the same monitor. It is 100% an M1 thing though not sure if is all monitors. Most complaints seem to focus on the LG monitors.

It definitely is, I was fearful it was a hardware issue. But the sidecar trick has worked so it's got to be a software issue. Why they've not fixed it in 6 months is beyond me. As I said M1 was locking in a LOW Black Level in the Monitor Settings but now it locks on HIGH just as the Intel MacBook did.

 

[Bobacks]

Hey thanks. The Sidecar trick worked on my M1 MacMini and LG 27UK850.
I'd been fighting with it since yesterday (when I got the M1) and I didn't know what was wrong.
Still would like to try the idea of USB-C -> DisplayPort cabel Idea.

 

[Aggedor]

Hmm. I have an LG 4K display with my M1 MBA, and it has two colour profiles available - LG HDR 4K, which looks washed out, and SD 170M-A, which looks perfect to me.

 

[hajime]

I know a ton of people have experienced washed out colors on their external monitor when connecting via USB-C.

I stumbled into a potential "fix" for this until Apple figures it out, assuming they ever do.

Enable Sidecar and the colors are fixed.

Why does this work? I have no idea, but it works every single time for me. I finally have the correct colors again on my monitor when doing this.

Of course, this would require you to own an iPad that works with Sidecar.

I am running macOS 11.3 RC with an LG 27UK850. I reported this issue to Apple awhile ago and now informed them of this "fix" so maybe it will help their troubleshooting.

Thanks for the solution. I just connected my M1 iPad Pro to a 4K TV. Same issue. From Apple’s documents, Sidecar on iPad is enabled from the Mac side. Without a Mac, how do I enable Sidecar from iPad Pro?