Thunderbolt to HDMI Problems

[lukeandfergus]

Hi everyone,

I have spent all day trying to get my Macbook Air (OS X 10.8.4) to display on various televisions via a Thunderbolt-HDMI cable, however I am yet to suceed. I have scrolled and read through a VAST amount of forums and so-called "help pages" on the internet but can't find anything that works for me, however there do seem to be many people with the same or similar problems.

I tested to see if it was the cable which is the problem by connecting it the Thunderbolt port of a laptop supporting Windows 7 and it worked PERFECTLY on my Samsung television. Therefore, the problem lies in my Mac.

When connected to the TV via the Thunderbolt-HDMI cable, a blue screen briefly appears on the Macbook. However, when looking in System Preferences/ Displays, there is no trace of any external screen. Many of the forums I have read say there should be an "Arrangement" tab, but this is not appearing on mine.

I find this very strange, as the product specifications of the Thunderbolt-HDMI cable implied it would easily work for my Macbook Air. This leads me to believe that there is something within the software 'inhibiting' the use of this cable.

Can anybody help me solve this problem, allowing me to display my Macbook's screen on an external display via a Thunderbolt to HDMI cable?

Luke

 

[Boyd01]

I have used a Best Buy store-brand cable on two different TV's with both a 2011 13" MacBook Air and a 2013 11" MacBook Air. No problems. Best Buy will let you return things at no charge, so maybe it would be worth a try? Before you can conclude there's a problem with your Mac, seems like you need to try a different cable. All you have demonstrated so far is that the cable you currently have works correctly on a Windows machine.

Maybe there's a problem with your Thunderbolt port? Have you tried a different kind of display on the Thunderbolt port, such as a DVI monitor with an adaptor? I have used an old Apple Cinema Display with a miniDisplayPort adaptor every day with both my 2011 and 2013 MBA's and no problems there either.

Have you tried any other Thunderbolt peripherals? I have a Seagate thunderbolt dock that uses their Desktop Backup Plus drives and it works fine too. It has a pass-through port and my DVI monitor works correctly when plugged into that also.

 

[TheRealDavid]

I experienced exactly the same behavior as you, Luke. Very frustrating. I tried two different cables and tried connecting to HDMI ports on a couple different devices. Made no difference.

The problem went away after restarting the MacBook Air.

 

[Croatia]

SOLUTION:

I have struggled with this as well for some time and I have found a solution that should work for most:

Follow these steps and it should work for ya:

1. Turn off your TV and unplug the thunderbolt cable from computer.

2. Go to System Preferences/Security & Privacy

- under the firewall tab, turn off the firewall, if you cannot, then just click on the lock to be able to make changes icon

3. Now, while your TV is still off, plug the thunderbolt cable into your computer and the other end to your TV HDMI either through an adapter you have or whatever.

4. Then, turn on your TV, select source or what have you, and select HDMI and your TV should now recognize and display the mac screen.

5. You can go to System Preferences/Displays and you will see that it now recognizes the TV. From here, you can mess with your resolutions etc.


This is the only process that worked for me.

Try it

 

[Paradox Studios]

Solution!!!

DRAG THE SCREEN SIDEWAYS!! I did eeeverything anyone mentioned and was on the verge of buying a new macbook (my screen is broken), this is what worked for me!!

----------

Drag the screen sideways

 

[Briang2404]

SOLUTION:

I have struggled with this as well for some time and I have found a solution that should work for most:

Follow these steps and it should work for ya:

1. Turn off your TV and unplug the thunderbolt cable from computer.

2. Go to System Preferences/Security & Privacy

- under the firewall tab, turn off the firewall, if you cannot, then just click on the lock to be able to make changes icon

3. Now, while your TV is still off, plug the thunderbolt cable into your computer and the other end to your TV HDMI either through an adapter you have or whatever.

4. Then, turn on your TV, select source or what have you, and select HDMI and your TV should now recognize and display the mac screen.

5. You can go to System Preferences/Displays and you will see that it now recognizes the TV. From here, you can mess with your resolutions etc.


This is the only process that worked for me.

Try it [/QUOTE

SOLUTION:

I have struggled with this as well for some time and I have found a solution that should work for most:

Follow these steps and it should work for ya:

1. Turn off your TV and unplug the thunderbolt cable from computer.

2. Go to System Preferences/Security & Privacy

- under the firewall tab, turn off the firewall, if you cannot, then just click on the lock to be able to make changes icon

3. Now, while your TV is still off, plug the thunderbolt cable into your computer and the other end to your TV HDMI either through an adapter you have or whatever.

4. Then, turn on your TV, select source or what have you, and select HDMI and your TV should now recognize and display the mac screen.

5. You can go to System Preferences/Displays and you will see that it now recognizes the TV. From here, you can mess with your resolutions etc.


This is the only process that worked for me.

Try it

perfect thanks

 

[Tommy.Check]

SOLUTION:

I have struggled with this as well for some time and I have found a solution that should work for most:

Follow these steps and it should work for ya:

1. Turn off your TV and unplug the thunderbolt cable from computer.

2. Go to System Preferences/Security & Privacy

- under the firewall tab, turn off the firewall, if you cannot, then just click on the lock to be able to make changes icon

3. Now, while your TV is still off, plug the thunderbolt cable into your computer and the other end to your TV HDMI either through an adapter you have or whatever.

4. Then, turn on your TV, select source or what have you, and select HDMI and your TV should now recognize and display the mac screen.

5. You can go to System Preferences/Displays and you will see that it now recognizes the TV. From here, you can mess with your resolutions etc.


This is the only process that worked for me.

Try it

Worked for me. Thank you!!!