How To Connect Dual Monitors To Macbook Pro
One display can be connected to another and one of the displays can be connected to a Thunderbolt port on your Mac if the displays themselves have Thunderbolt connectors. You may connect each monitor to a different Thunderbolt port on your Mac if your computer has two of them.
To hook up two monitors with a MacBook Pro, you can use either its HDMI, mini DisplayPort, or Thunderbolt (over USB-C) ports, and plug your MacBook Pro into the monitors using appropriate video cables and adapters. For instance, your MacBook Pro may support one external display over USB-C, and one using its HDMI port. If there is a difference in ports, like needing to use HDMI with the display, but that connection is not available on a Mac, then adapters can be used. If the up to two displays have Thunderbolt ports themselves, you can plug one display into another, and then plug one of the displays into the Thunderbolt port on the Mac.
Look for a dock that has two or more display ports, preferably one that you can plug into the display of choice without an adapter. The USB-C Laptop Dock has a DisplayPort as well as an HDMI port, giving you flexibility in connecting to displays if needed. Depending on your model, you might have the HDMI port available, or you might eventually be using DisplayPort 1.4 inside of Thunderbolt 3 to connect the displays. You can also attach the first screen through another display port in your dock, or through Thunderbolt or USB-C-to-HDMI or DisplayPort adapters.
You will have to connect the second display via one of the USB-A ports on the dock using an external adapter. Connect your first monitor like normal using either a USB-C cable or USB-C adapter. If using adapters for non-USB-C connected monitors, make sure that adapters are securely attached to each other and your Mac. Some monitors with older connections need adapters for Mac usage, sometimes more than one.
With the majority of MacBooks having just two Thunderbolt 3 ports, the limitations of dual-monitor setup can cause a few annoyances, such as cluttered cables or a finite number of ports available. Even older generations of Intel Macs could support at least two external monitors over USB-C or Thunderbolt, so limiting to only one external monitor on first-generation M1 and M2 Macs has caused some major frustrations. The good news is there are still ways to attach more than one external monitor to the M2 MacBook Air, M1 MacBook Pro, M1 Mac Mini, and first generation M2 Macs using Docking Stations, hubs, or Dual HDMI Adapters. Some USB-C Thunderbolt 3 docks come with built-in software called DisplayLink capabilities, which allows multiple external monitors to connect to an M1 MacBook without additional dongles or adapters.
Once you install DisplayLink and plug your monitors into the dock, you can manage each monitor connected to your M1 or M2 Mac via your MacOS System Preferences, just as you would with any other monitor. Using the latest video adapter software from DisplayLink, you can connect up to five displays to your M1 MacBook using the existing docking station. Once the drivers are updated, you can connect additional displays using Kensington USB-A DisplayLink video adapter. A USB DisplayLink adapter can add support for two or three monitors on the M1 MacBook at a price far less expensive than a full-size dock.
If you decide to opt for Option 2 (DisplayLink Docking Station/Hub) or Option 3 (Dual HDMI Adapter), you will also have to download a free DisplayLink driver in order to control the monitors your M1 or M2 Mac is connected to. In that case, pick the monitors that fit your display needs, then pick cables, docking stations, adapters, and/or hubs that support Thunderbolt 3.
You just connect a Thunderbolt cable to the laptop, and connect each monitor to its respective port on your device. The connection is relatively simple, since you are just connecting a display cable to a relevant port on your Mac. Connecting Displays For each display, connect the video cable securely (and an adapter, if needed) from a video-out port on the Mac to a video-in port on the display.
A USB-C hub will provide HDMI output for the MacBooks native M1 video-out signals, as well as several USB-A ports for your USB DisplayPort adapter. For instance, if your external monitor has an HDMI port, you would either need a USB-C to HDMI adapter (like this one) in addition to the male-to-male HDMI-to-HDMI cable (which typically comes with your external monitor). On the Mac Studio, you can plug up to five external displays into the Mac using the Thunderbolt 4–USB-C–and HDMI ports at the rear of your machine. USB-C ports and Thunderbolt ports are universal, but not exactly the same.
In particular, trying to plug a USB-C cable into a DVI adapter — then the HDMI cable to your monitor — seems like it would break the Macs connection, and would almost certainly result in the Mac failing to recognise the HDMI external display. Once you know that your external display works – and know that your hardware works – you may be able to narrow the issue down to the adapter, the connector, the cable, or perhaps software. Sometimes, you are sure that both your monitor and Mac are working correctly, and that your cables and/or adapters are in a good working condition – but your external monitor will not display on your Mac anyway.
Unfortunately, unlike Thunderbolt hubs, USB-C docks such as Plugable cannot charge the MacBook M1 when you are using them, so you will have to keep the Mac connected to the power brick at all times. A secondary USB-C PD port lets you charge your connected laptop up to 100W – convenient since this compact, high-quality docking station is using one of the two Thunderbolt ports on your M1 or M2 laptops by itself.
It costs PS80, or US$80, so it needs to be taken into account when pricing your MacBook purchase, should you require more than a single monitor, and wish to use the USB-A port instead of a display port like HDMI or DisplayPort. The Macbook Multi-Display Docking Solution works using USB-Cs alternative mode and the DisplayLink technology.
With any of the above-mentioned docking solutions, you will be able to expand the capabilities of external displays into more than just a few monitors; which will lead to increased productivity for your M1 configuration. With the USB-C Laptop Dock, you can transform a Tb3 or USB 3.1 Type-C (Type-C) notebook into a two-monitor workstation, including Dual 4K60Hz Resolutions on Thunderbolt 3 notebooks. Meanwhile, the Mac Mini 2020M1 does indeed support 2 external monitors — one over HDMI, and one over USB-C. You can attach a third monitor to your Mac Mini through its other USB-C port, but you will have to use a DisplayLink-compatible docking station (see below).
Can I connect 2 monitors to my MacBook Air M1?
The M1 Mac Mini can natively handle up to two external monitors, one via the HDMI connector and the other via USB-C, in contrast to the M1 and M2 MacBooks, which can only natively support one monitor. even so, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro M1 versions only support one external monitor.
Does MacBook Pro support dual monitors?
The M1 Mac Mini can natively handle up to two external monitors, one via the HDMI connector and the other via USB-C, in contrast to the M1 and M2 MacBooks, which can only natively support one monitor. However, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro M1 versions only support one external monitor.