Urgent! Can M1 MBA USB-C cable included in the box be used to connect to external monitor?

[matrix07]

Hi,

just got a 32” Samsung 4K smart monitor. I saw there is a USB-C port at the back. Talked to Samsung support & they said it can be used to connect to my MBA.
but when I use the cable that’s included in the box for charging, the monitor doesn’t recognize it. It said there is no device connected to the port.

So is this cable can be used in this scenario?

 

[Pressure]

No, it's a PD charging cable with USB2 (480Mbps) transfer rate.

 

[Aggedor]

I've just had the exact issue with a Corsair 32UDH144. I bought an Apple Thunderbolt 4 cable, and now it works fine. These cables are expensive, but you are guaranteed they will work.

Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) Pro Cable (1.8m)

Thunderbolt 4 Pro Cable provides superfast data transfer, charging and connection to your compatible Mac. The braided design avoids tangles. Buy now.

www.apple.com

On the Mac side, the USB-C cable has to support DP 1.4 to work with a monitor, so not all USB-C cables will work. The USB-C port on the Samsung monitor has to say USB-C DP Alt Mode. For example, my monitor has two USB-C ports, but only one is DP Alt Mode, the other just powers the USB hub built in to the monitor.

Edit: Other USB-C display cables will work, and might be cheaper, but check the specs and make sure it matches the Apple one as close as possible.

 

[matrix07]

On the Mac side, the USB-C cable has to support DP 1.4 to work with a monitor, so not all USB-C cables will work. The USB-C port on the Samsung monitor has to say USB-C DP Alt Mode. For example, my monitor has two USB-C ports, but only one is DP Alt Mode, the other just powers the USB hub built in to the monitor.

Edit: Other USB-C display cables will work, and might be cheaper, but check the specs and make sure it matches the Apple one as close as possible.

Thanks. So this cable guaranteed to works with my M1 MBA? This Samsung only has 1 USB-C port though.

or should I go for Apple Digital AV adapter?

 

[Aggedor]

Thanks. So this cable guaranteed to works with my M1 MBA? This Samsung only has 1 USB-C port though.

or should I go for Apple Digital AV adapter?

If the Samsung USB-C port has DP Alt Mode (ie, you can actually use it as the display cable for that monitor), then the Apple one will 100% work. I'm using it right now - here's the cable plugged into my M1 MBA, and here's the display settings showing how the monitor is working. This cable is designed for connecting Apple Silicon Macs to the Apple Studio Display, so I presume the tech specs on it are pretty high.

I would assume that USB-C port on the Samsung monitor is DP Alt Mode (it is 2023 after all), but you can always just Google the tech specs of that monitor to make sure.

Edit: This cable also supports pass-through charging up to 100W. My Corsair monitor only delivers a pathetic 15W, but for a M1 MBA, this is actually enough. If you upgraded to a MacBook Pro, you'd likely need to plug in the Mac's power brick too.

Edit edit: I used the Apple digital AV adaptor on my previous monitor that didn't have USB-C, so connected it via HDMI. But that monitor was only 4K 60Hz anyway. If you can avoid it, I'd say don't use an adaptor. Apple's one doesn't have USB-C out, and you need that anyway.

 

[matrix07]

If the Samsung USB-C port has DP Alt Mode (ie, you can actually use it as the display cable for that monitor), then the Apple one will 100% work. I'm using it right now - here's the cable plugged into my M1 MBA, and here's the display settings showing how the monitor is working. This cable is designed for connecting Apple Silicon Macs to the Apple Studio Display, so I presume the tech specs on it are pretty high.

View attachment 2312036

View attachment 2312040
I would assume that USB-C port on the Samsung monitor is DP Alt Mode (it is 2023 after all), but you can always just Google the tech specs of that monitor to make sure.

Edit: This cable also supports pass-through charging up to 100W. My Corsair monitor only delivers a pathetic 15W, but for a M1 MBA, this is actually enough. If you upgraded to a MacBook Pro, you'd likely need to plug in the Mac's power brick too.

Edit edit: I used the Apple digital AV adaptor on my previous monitor that didn't have USB-C, so connected it via HDMI. But that monitor was only 4K 60Hz anyway. If you can avoid it, I'd say don't use an adaptor. Apple's one doesn't have USB-C out, and you need that anyway.

Seems I have 2 choices. Go with the Thunderbolt 4 or Apple adapter and using HDMI.

Thank you. Now I go shopping. ☺️

 

[Aggedor]

Seems I have 2 choices. Go with the Thunderbolt 4 or Apple adapter and using HDMI.

Thank you. Now I go shopping. ☺️

If your monitor is only 60Hz, HDMI is fine (via the adaptor). I had perfect performance.

If your monitor is higher than 60Hz, use USB-C, because Apple's HDMI is limited to 60Hz.

USB-C has the added advantage of pass-through charging for your MBA. Either option - USB-C or the adaptor - will still leave one USB-C port on your MBA free.

 

[matrix07]

If your monitor is only 60Hz, HDMI is fine (via the adaptor). I had perfect performance.

If your monitor is higher than 60Hz, use USB-C, because Apple's HDMI is limited to 60Hz.

USB-C has the added advantage of pass-through charging for your MBA. Either option - USB-C or the adaptor - will still leave one USB-C port on your MBA free.

Mine is 4K 60Hz so seems I have that option.
Browsing Apple website and deciding. ☺️

 

[Aggedor]

Mine is 4K 60Hz so seems I have that option.
Browsing Apple website and deciding. ☺️

Just make sure you use a good HDMI 2.1 cable if you go that route.

 

[matrix07]

Just make sure you use a good HDMI 2.1 cable if you go that route.

Thank you. I’ll try the HDMI cable that comes with monitor first.
I saw a discount on Apple adapter. I think I’m gonna grab it. I also will look for a deal on Apple 1 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable which doesn’t have a discount here at the moment but will keep an eye on it. I like that it’s far cleaner than using adapter.

 

[EmanuelF]

I would pay attention to be 4k 60hz also. Many cables on amazon are still HD 60hz but this information is not mentioned. The ones that are 4k 60hz specify this.

 

[bigjnyc]

Thank you. I’ll try the HDMI cable that comes with monitor first.
I saw a discount on Apple adapter. I think I’m gonna grab it. I also will look for a deal on Apple 1 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable which doesn’t have a discount here at the moment but will keep an eye on it. I like that it’s far cleaner than using adapter.

You can also get a HDMI to USB-C cable on amazon which is what I did... Just make sure you get the 4K cable and not one of the cheap ones.

 

[matrix07]

You can also get a HDMI to USB-C cable on amazon which is what I did... Just make sure you get the 4K cable and not one of the cheap ones.

Good to know. Thanks. 👍

 

[matrix07]

I would pay attention to be 4k 60hz also. Many cables on amazon are still HD 60hz but this information is not mentioned. The ones that are 4k 60hz specify this.

Yeah I would be really pissed if the cable included in the 4K monitor box can not do 4K. If that’s the case they would get a call from me. ☺️

 

[matrix07]

Good news. Adapter arrives and works really well.


Bad news. my normal MBA temp goes up from 30-40 to 50+. Looks like I'll upgrade my MacBook soon.

 

[giffut]

Those temperatures are fine formthe M1 macbook air. It is a passively cooled device. You might need to worry if it goes beyond 80 celsius. If you use it stationary and in closed mode, use stand which holds it vertically.

 

[Aggedor]

Those temperatures are fine formthe M1 macbook air. It is a passively cooled device. You might need to worry if it goes beyond 80 celsius. If you use it stationary and in closed mode, use stand which holds it vertically.

Agreed. 50+ temp is nothing! I use a Twelve South BookArc for my MBA (which you can see in my photo), but there are loads of vertical stands available.

 

[matrix07]

Yeah but currently I’m using handbrake frequently and notice the one that used to be done in less than an hour now an hour+ long.
Surprisingly though watching Apple TV full screen on this monitor (4K 60Hz) the temp actually dropped from 50 to early 40 all through the show. 😳

 

[Aggedor]

Yeah but currently I’m using handbrake frequently and notice the one that used to be done in less than an hour now an hour+ long.
Surprisingly though watching Apple TV full screen on this monitor (4K 60Hz) the temp actually dropped from 50 to early 40 all through the show. 😳

Handbrake is fairly intensive, so that doesn't surprise me. But the slower time shows the system is throttling to prevent overheating, so everything is working as intended. You want more, get a MBP

Watching 4K video isn't actually very intensive. If you open Activity Monitor you could compare 4K video streaming with Handbrake use. There should be a huge difference.

 

[matrix07]

Watching 4K video isn't actually very intensive. If you open Activity Monitor you could compare 4K video streaming with Handbrake use. There should be a huge difference.

Right. I think Apple does a good job using hardware decoding on Apple TV compared to YouTube that will get my MBA to 50+ easily so new CPUs that will hardware decoding AV1 on YouTube is looking more and more tempting. 😅