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How To Use Macbook As Monitor

How To Use Macbook As Monitor

How To Use Macbook As Monitor

Connect your PC to the HDMI or HDMI Adapter. The USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter or your MacBook should be used to connect the adapter’s other end. Make sure the sharing options are enabled by opening the “Screen Sharing” settings in Windows. A video capture hardware or software like Space Desk are also options.

You can see which displays work with the MacBook by going to your Macs menu bar, and clicking on the About This Mac tab. This webpage will provide you all information regarding what monitors can be supported on your MacBook, as well as how many displays you can plug into the MacBook. Once you have verified you can hook up a monitor to the MacBook with no issues, all you have to do is plug your monitors into power if needed, and use the wired connections options that are available to hook them up to your MacBook. Install your external monitor by connecting it to power, then connecting the monitors connector to the available Mini-Display Port on your MacBook.

Remember, MacBooks support an external monitor as their sole display when the MacBook is connected to power. Once MacBook is connected to monitors, you have the option of closing the lid so the external monitor is your only display. Shutting down the MacBooks lid will make the external monitor the primary display when the Mac is still powered and awake. If you are using an external keyboard and mouse, you may want to turn off the Macbooks built-in display after connecting — you may need to hit a key or tap the mouse to turn the external display back on.

Plug Your External Display In To Power Supply Plug the external display into the MacBook Make sure that the external display (or both, if you are able to use both displays) is powered and that it is accessible from the Open System Settings/System Preferences Displays. If you wish to use your external monitor as an extension of the MacBooks screen, instead of just viewing what you are seeing on the Mac, ensure that Mirror displays is unchecked.

You thought that you could plug in another device to a new MacBook and use it as a display, taking advantage of the Macs sharp display. It does not necessarily need to be an iPad; you can connect a monitor to a MacBook, too. If the up to two displays have Thunderbolt ports themselves, you can plug in one display into another, then plug in one of those displays into a Thunderbolt port on MacBook.

You can use more than one iMac as one display, if each iMac uses a Thunderbolt cable that goes directly into the Thunderbolt port of another Mac (not your own iMac). If there is a difference in ports, for example, needing to use HDMI with the display, but that port is not available on the Mac, adapters may be used. You could also use an HDMI port to connect an external screen — especially handy if you are looking to hook into a TV for a home entertainment center setup.

This port does indeed support Mini DisplayPort video out, so you can use a Mini DisplayPort cable to connect a Mini DisplayPort display. This port can be configured to expand your laptops display, as long as it has that port. 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 attach a display. You could plug your notebooks USB-C output right into your displays USB-C input.

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If you are looking to create a monitor rig for a MacBook Pro, you will be glad to know you can plug the monitor into one of four Thunderbolt/USB ports. As long as you have the correct cables, you will be able to hook up a MacBook Air to almost any external display – even old PC monitors. Any display that works over USB-C cable should work with the MacBook. You can also use the USB-C cable to AirPlay Mac-to-Mac, but that option is of course restricted to Macs that have USB-C ports.

Macbook As MonitorCapable Via
(M1 Ultra) Four 6K Screens Via USB-C
(M1 Ultra) Single 4K displayVia HDMI
(Mac Mini) 6K DisplayVia Thunderbolt 3
(Mac Mini) 4K ScreensVia HDMI
How To Use Macbook As Monitor

The M1 Ultra in Mac Studio is capable of handling up to four 6K screens via USB-C, and a single 4K display via HDMI. Apples silicon models running the M1 chip are capable of handling two displays in the Mac mini, including one 6K display via Thunderbolt 3, and a 4K screen via HDMI. The M1 Pros dual external displays are able to render at a whopping 6K at 60Hz, making them ideal for video editing, CAD work, and the like. MacBook Pros dating all the way back to 2011 can use a supported iMac as a monitor, although the resolution you get out the box may be reduced.

Watch this video to learn how to use your old MacBook Pro as an external monitor

The good news is even if you do not own an iMac 8-years-old or older that supports Apples Target Display Mode, you can still use an iMac as a monitor, using various different options. While Apples target display mode is limited to 2009-2014 iMacs, thankfully, there are several other options for using that sweet, big screen on your iMac as a monitor. If you are lucky enough to own an older iMac, you can probably get away with using Apples target display mode, but you also have to run macOS Catalina or older — the same goes for a secondary Mac. Target display mode will not let the MacBook Pro take advantage of any other peripherals attached to the iMac, such as its iSight camera, or anything connected over USB.

Once you figure out exactly what displays — and how many — you are allowed to connect, just make sure that your external displays are connected to power sources if needed, and plug them into your MacBook using whichever cable connections are available to you depending on which year of the MacBook. It is even possible to connect more than one display, making it possible to create a triple-monitor setup, or whatever other multi-monitor configuration you might have in mind. If you own the MacBook Air 13, you can configure an extra display via its own hardware – although there is a workaround for connecting another one (see below). Heres where you can find more info about using an iPad as your second monitor.

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If you have a MacBook Pro 13 with 2020s M1 chip, you will be limited to connecting just one external display, and even using the dock does not let you add any more, so you may need to opt for a wider screen if you want a ton of real estate. The MacBook 14 and 16 2021 M1 Pros can handle up to two external displays using their Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) and HDMI ports, while the M1 Max chips can handle up to four.

Can I use my old Mac as a monitor?

Any iMac being used as a monitor must be running macOS High Sierra or a previous version. You must have macOS Catalina or older installed on the other Mac to which you are connecting it, and it must have been released in 2019 or earlier. The Mini DisplayPort cable that connects the two Mac computers is required.

How do I connect my Macbook to HDMI?

To connect a MacBook to HDMI, use a compatible HDMI cable to connect the MacBook’s Thunderbolt port to an HDMI port on a TV, monitor, or projector. Then, adjust the display settings on the MacBook to output video and audio through HDMI.

How do I display HDMI on my laptop?

To display HDMI on a laptop, connect the HDMI cable from the external device to the laptop’s HDMI port. Then, change the display settings on the laptop to extend or duplicate the screen to the external device. Some laptops may require additional settings to be adjusted in the graphics control panel.