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> 1. Never once seen an issue with USB-C to HDMI or VGA connections. It doesn't even make any sense since MacBook Pro users with external, third party monitors

> 1. Never once seen an issue with USB-C to HDMI or VGA connections. It doesn't even make any sense since MacBook Pro users with external, third party monitors are an extremely common combination. Last year I had a lot of problems with this. It was pretty common[1] that USB-C to HDMI cables would work at first and then stop working in a particular port. Sometimes rebooting helped. Sometimes swapping the cable for another in the same port helped. Sometimes using another port immediately helped. There was never a good explanation for why this was happening; most resources blamed the cables. After some software update last year, suddenly all these bad cables are fine in any port. As of this summer, there's a shiny new issue where connecting to GMail (at least) from System Preferences doesn't work, which I discovered through changing my password recently. SysPref claims it needs to open a Google login in Safari (even though that isn't my system browser!), but when Safari opens, it's to a blank page. Again, searching makes this seem like a pretty well-known problem, but no one has a solution, and Apple seems silent on it, and enough people do not have the problem that a common response is that those of us experiencing the issue must be doing or have done something wrong. And maybe we are(!), but I'd sure like to know what. > 3. If you have a tech support issue go into the Apple Store and work with them 1-1. Well, that literally hadn't occurred to me (for problem 2, above); I would have assumed store employees don't know anything one couldn't google immediately? [1] I was quite annoyed that this went on long enough for me to have an opinion like "pretty common" for these connections not to work sometimes, over more than half a dozen such cables.

disiplus 7y ago
i have those problems still, sometimes after waking up, so i play the game have i tried this usb-c port or not. it usualy works after one two times. thank god i have 4 of them. i have a 2 external monitors and usually close the macbook. but hey at least it works. on my linux laptop it allways forgets the layout that i had and resorts to puting the external monitor right, and dont ger me started on X and fractional scalling.
- splittydev 7y ago
  You can use xrandr to load your specific layout at startup. If you don't wanna be bothered with crafting an xrandr command, you can use arandr to generate the script for you. Scaling is a mess though, totally agree with that.
  - disiplus 7y ago
    the problem for me is having mixed dpi monitors and fractionql scaling. for laptop monitor 150% to work it scales everything 2x, that also means that my external 27" 2560 which should be 1x is rendered to 5120 and that is causing stuttering and lag, at least i think it is, tried different drivers and so on. if i set the external monitor to 125 scaling then the rendered resolution is 4k and that works better, ni shuttering and lag. i dont know why it does need to run the external monitor to 2x if i want 1x. and i lost way to much time playing with the setup. ubuntu 1904, if you have any new ideas im willing to try it.
    - vetinari 7y ago
      Becasue X11 doesn't support mixed dpi monitors, so you are using a hack where it pretends to have the same dpi and downsample where necessary. For proper mixed dpi under Linux, you must use Wayland. But then, under Wayland, the fractional scaling is still not done (the wayland apps will work fine at given fractional scale, but x11 app will be @1 upsampled, i.e. blurry. That includes the browsers).
- eropple 7y ago
  YMMV, but since switching to Wayland I've found issues like that to be a lot less common. Not gone completely, but rare enough that I never remember the last time when it finally occurs again. ;)
  - disiplus 7y ago
    sure but with hidpi display most of my apps are blurry, of browsers firefox nightly has it but chrome does not, intelij, vscode and so on.
    - vetinari 7y ago
      Only with the experimental fractional scaling enabled. If you disable it, your X11 apps will be sharp too. (No, I don't know why it still isn't fixed yet.)
      - disiplus 7y ago
        the laptop has a 13 3:2 display with 2160x1440 i cannot run it at 200, 150 is perfect, i need fractional scaling
    - eropple 7y ago
      That's odd. I run a 4K display at 150% and DataGrip (same codebase as IntelliJ) and VSCode look fine.
      - disiplus 7y ago
        are you sure that the fonts aren't blurry ? https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-218458 https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-218458 https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/72759 https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/72759
        eropple 7y ago
        I am, I promise. Lookin' at it right now. ;)
rickyc091 7y ago
I constantly still have problems with my Dell 4k monitor (first gen and last year's model), where it doesn't wake properly from sleep. Most of the time, I resolve it with the following. - Switch the USB-C port from one to another - Open up my laptop from clamshell mode and switch the cables around - Unplug my monitor - Restart my computer The nuclear option of rebooting my computer and monitor always seems to work.
- someguydave 7y ago
  Yeah I have similar problems with a Dell 4K Monitor and a 2018 MacBook. I have to power cycle the monitor to get it to work on occasion.
  - around_here 7y ago
    I have the same issue, but I'm also using the Dell 180w dock with it. I just have to switch ports for the USB-C cable that comes from the dock 1-4 times. Usually the first plug in produces nothing on the monitor. The first port swap gets me on the external display, but at 1920x1080 resolution. The 2nd port swap gets me back at 4k on the external.
- Corrado 7y ago
  I have this exact same problem - 2018 MBP, Dell U3415W. Sometimes it works, sometimes I can move the mouse enough to get it to work, sometimes the monitor won't wake up at all, sometimes the monitor wakes up and has a VGA screen resolution. I thought I had "fixed" it by turning off sleep mode in the MBP, but after a couple of days of working properly it started failing to wake up again. I know its a problem with the macOS somewhere but Apple just doesn't seem to be focused on fixing these types of things. Even if you file a bug report it disappears into the ether and is never heard from again.
  - terinjokes 7y ago
    I own a Dell P2715Q 4K monitor and was having similar issues across operating systems. My understanding is Dell silently fixed this in firmware on new units, but provides no way of updating the firmware in the field.

disiplus 7y ago

i have those problems still, sometimes after waking up, so i play the game have i tried this usb-c port or not. it usualy works after one two times. thank god i have 4 of them. i have a 2 external monitors and usually close the macbook. but hey at least it works. on my linux laptop it allways forgets the layout that i had and resorts to puting the external monitor right, and dont ger me started on X and fractional scalling.

splittydev 7y ago
You can use xrandr to load your specific layout at startup. If you don't wanna be bothered with crafting an xrandr command, you can use arandr to generate the script for you. Scaling is a mess though, totally agree with that.
- disiplus 7y ago
  the problem for me is having mixed dpi monitors and fractionql scaling. for laptop monitor 150% to work it scales everything 2x, that also means that my external 27" 2560 which should be 1x is rendered to 5120 and that is causing stuttering and lag, at least i think it is, tried different drivers and so on. if i set the external monitor to 125 scaling then the rendered resolution is 4k and that works better, ni shuttering and lag. i dont know why it does need to run the external monitor to 2x if i want 1x. and i lost way to much time playing with the setup. ubuntu 1904, if you have any new ideas im willing to try it.
  - vetinari 7y ago
    Becasue X11 doesn't support mixed dpi monitors, so you are using a hack where it pretends to have the same dpi and downsample where necessary. For proper mixed dpi under Linux, you must use Wayland. But then, under Wayland, the fractional scaling is still not done (the wayland apps will work fine at given fractional scale, but x11 app will be @1 upsampled, i.e. blurry. That includes the browsers).
eropple 7y ago
YMMV, but since switching to Wayland I've found issues like that to be a lot less common. Not gone completely, but rare enough that I never remember the last time when it finally occurs again. ;)
- disiplus 7y ago
  sure but with hidpi display most of my apps are blurry, of browsers firefox nightly has it but chrome does not, intelij, vscode and so on.
  - vetinari 7y ago
    Only with the experimental fractional scaling enabled. If you disable it, your X11 apps will be sharp too. (No, I don't know why it still isn't fixed yet.)
    - disiplus 7y ago
      the laptop has a 13 3:2 display with 2160x1440 i cannot run it at 200, 150 is perfect, i need fractional scaling
  - eropple 7y ago
    That's odd. I run a 4K display at 150% and DataGrip (same codebase as IntelliJ) and VSCode look fine.
    - disiplus 7y ago
      are you sure that the fonts aren't blurry ? https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-218458 https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-218458 https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/72759 https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/72759
      - eropple 7y ago
        I am, I promise. Lookin' at it right now. ;)

rickyc091 7y ago

I constantly still have problems with my Dell 4k monitor (first gen and last year's model), where it doesn't wake properly from sleep. Most of the time, I resolve it with the following. - Switch the USB-C port from one to another - Open up my laptop from clamshell mode and switch the cables around - Unplug my monitor - Restart my computer The nuclear option of rebooting my computer and monitor always seems to work.

someguydave 7y ago
Yeah I have similar problems with a Dell 4K Monitor and a 2018 MacBook. I have to power cycle the monitor to get it to work on occasion.
- around_here 7y ago
  I have the same issue, but I'm also using the Dell 180w dock with it. I just have to switch ports for the USB-C cable that comes from the dock 1-4 times. Usually the first plug in produces nothing on the monitor. The first port swap gets me on the external display, but at 1920x1080 resolution. The 2nd port swap gets me back at 4k on the external.
Corrado 7y ago
I have this exact same problem - 2018 MBP, Dell U3415W. Sometimes it works, sometimes I can move the mouse enough to get it to work, sometimes the monitor won't wake up at all, sometimes the monitor wakes up and has a VGA screen resolution. I thought I had "fixed" it by turning off sleep mode in the MBP, but after a couple of days of working properly it started failing to wake up again. I know its a problem with the macOS somewhere but Apple just doesn't seem to be focused on fixing these types of things. Even if you file a bug report it disappears into the ether and is never heard from again.
- terinjokes 7y ago
  I own a Dell P2715Q 4K monitor and was having similar issues across operating systems. My understanding is Dell silently fixed this in firmware on new units, but provides no way of updating the firmware in the field.