Why won't my brand new LG 24" UltraFine work with my USB-C devices?

[Magic Johnson]

Hi everyone,
I've been trying to follow some other related threads here but they were over my head technologically, so please forgive my simple question. I am WFH like most of you, and thought I would treat myself to a nice USB-C display for my MacBook 12" (2015) and my iPad Pro 11" (2018). I purchased the LG 24"UltraFine from Apple- and both these devices are listed as compatible with the display on the Apple website . It works fine when using Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 3 from my iMac but is dead as a doornail on both machines using the LG provided USB-C cable. I spent literally hours with Apple help yesterday and while they were very nice and generous with their time, they were unable to help. I haven't tried LG yet, but plan to. Can anyone out there help? I am using the latest OS and iOS on the respective devices. Any ideas? Thank you so much in advance.

 

[DeanL]

Hi everyone,
I've been trying to follow some other related threads here but they were over my head technologically, so please forgive my simple question. I am WFH like most of you, and thought I would treat myself to a nice USB-C display for my MacBook 12" (2015) and my iPad Pro 11" (2018). I purchased the LG 24"UltraFine from Apple- and both these devices are listed as compatible with the display on the Apple website . It works fine when using Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 3 from my iMac but is dead as a doornail on both machines using the LG provided USB-C cable. I spent literally hours with Apple help yesterday and while they were very nice and generous with their time, they were unable to help. I haven't tried LG yet, but plan to. Can anyone out there help? I am using the latest OS and iOS on the respective devices. Any ideas? Thank you so much in advance.

• Is your monitor plugged correctly to the power source? (Make sure the power cable on the monitor is fully inserted and flush with the rest of the monitor.
• Are you using the included USB-C cable (and not the Thunderbolt Cable, which will not work on USB-C only devices)?
• Is it plugged on the monitor in one of the two ports with a lightning symbol inside a circle?
• Have you fully inserted the USB-C cable? Sometimes the first plug is tight and you need to push it correctly in the Mac or iPad.

If yes to all, then it's probably defective and you should swap it.

 

[Magic Johnson]

• Is your monitor plugged correctly to the power source? (Make sure the power cable on the monitor is fully inserted and flush with the rest of the monitor.
• Are you using the included USB-C cable (and not the Thunderbolt Cable, which will not work on USB-C only devices)?
• Is it plugged on the monitor in one of the two ports with a lightning symbol inside a circle?
• Have you fully inserted the USB-C cable? Sometimes the first plug is tight and you need to push it correctly in the Mac or iPad.

If yes to all, then it's probably defective and you should swap it.

Thanks for your reply

- yes
- yes
- no as that’s the Thinderbolt 3 port/ it’s plugged in the USB-C port
- everything is firmly plugged in

yup I’m afraid I need to swap it/ it’s just a pain

 

[DeanL]

- no as that’s the Thinderbolt 3 port/ it’s plugged in the USB-C port

haha yes, it’s the Thunderbolt port but also the input port. You need to plug the USB-C cable in one of those two ports and the other end on your Mac/iPad.
That’s also in the manual that comes with the screen.

 

[Magic Johnson]

haha yes, it’s the Thunderbolt port but also the input port. You need to plug the USB-C cable in that port and the other end on your Mac/iPad.

Thanks, but sorry I'm confused. As you know, the LG has 3 USB-C ports and 2 Thunderbolt3 ports. There are 2 cables included with the display. One is a "regular" USB-C to USB-C and comes in a package labelled "for iPad Pro, MacBook". The other packet has the lightning marked connectors and is labelled "for MacBook Pro". I have been connecting the 2 devices mentioned in my original post to the USC-C port with the relevantly labelled cable. Am I missing something?

 

[DeanL]

Thanks, but sorry I'm confused. As you know, the LG has 3 USB-C ports and 2 Thunderbolt3 ports. There are 2 cables included with the display. One is a "regular" USB-C to USB-C and comes in a package labelled "for iPad Pro, MacBook". The other packet has the lightning marked connectors and is labelled "for MacBook Pro". I have been connecting the 2 devices mentioned in my original post to the USC-C port with the relevantly labelled cable. Am I missing something?

Like I said, the USB-C cable needs to be plugged on your screen in one of the two ports that has a lightning symbol inside a circle. The other end goes in your Mac.
On page 9 of the manual that came with your LG Display, it says "Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C Host Port", which means if your computer is Thunderbolt OR USB-C only, you plug it there with the appropriate cable which in your case is the USB-C cable.

 

[Magic Johnson]

BINGO! thanks so much- you've made my day. Well duh on my part. Looks beautiful with both the MacBook and the iPad. FYI I spent about 2hours chatting with Apple support on Saturday and literally went through 4 advisers- all very patient, but they were not able to help. So one more quick question. The iPad looks great on the LG display but it doesn't fill the whole screen- is that an inevitability of the different screen proportions?
Thanks again and be safe, wherever you are

 

[jaytv111]

BINGO! thanks so much- you've made my day. Well duh on my part. Looks beautiful with both the MacBook and the iPad. FYI I spent about 2hours chatting with Apple support on Saturday and literally went through 4 advisers- all very patient, but they were not able to help. So one more quick question. The iPad looks great on the LG display but it doesn't fill the whole screen- is that an inevitability of the different screen proportions?
Thanks again and be safe, wherever you are

The iPad never displays widescreen or extended desktop on widescreen monitors. It does do fullscreen video so if you want to watch video fullscreen you can (with certain apps that support fullscreen video). Now I wonder if a 4:3 monitor is fullscreen on the iPad, I guess I could break out an old CRT to see if it's fullscreen lol.

 

[Magic Johnson]

well you've probably got more time on your hands these days lol.
And thanks

 

[DeanL]

BINGO! thanks so much- you've made my day. Well duh on my part. Looks beautiful with both the MacBook and the iPad. FYI I spent about 2hours chatting with Apple support on Saturday and literally went through 4 advisers- all very patient, but they were not able to help. So one more quick question. The iPad looks great on the LG display but it doesn't fill the whole screen- is that an inevitability of the different screen proportions?
Thanks again and be safe, wherever you are

You're welcome! I'm disappointed they were not able to help you. They must not be familiar with the display.
I'm glad it works!
Be safe you as well