DisplayLink Forum - View Single Post - 3 External Monitor with Macbook Pro lagging problem

xavierr · 07-23-2021, 01:52 PM

Here's an update I sent Kate / DisplayLink in case it can help anyone else:

Unfortunately my setup is a bit inflexible so it's difficult to put all screens in landscape mode.

I kept on troubleshooting these last few days and here are a few additional pieces of information that will answer some of your questions:

- I'm definitely having issues with DisplayLink Manager 1.4:
I installed it when I upgraded my OS to BigSur, and that's when I started having these issues.
- I used to be on the legacy driver, and on a positive note the layout of the monitors is much more stable on v1.4 (yeah!) -- I used to have to reconfigure my screens ~once a week on the legacy driver, which was so annoying that I wrote a script based on "displayplacer" to automate that process.

ISSUE #1
---------------------
- After working on my macbook for prolonged periods of time, some of the monitors connected to the DisplayLink will inevitably stop responding.
- I can no longer hover my mouse over them and eventually they turn black.
- At that point, I have to manually kill DisplayLink Manager v1.4 and manually start it again.
- Restarting DisplayLink Manager v1.4 restores my monitors to a working state.
- I typically have to kill/restart the driver once or twice a day.
- Now that I have pin pointed the issue, it's annoying but at least I have a workaround.
- The DisplayLink Information .zip file that I sent 3 days ago was taken after experiencing Issue #1.

ISSUE #2
---------------------
- When using Google Meet / Zoom, and typically after sharing screen, my macbook's fan starts spinning loudly, my mouse starts lagging massively, and when I open activity monitor kernel_task runs above 1000% CPU usage.
- My best course of action when this happens is to shutdown my macbook, wait for it to cool down, and restart it.
- I've had this issue systematically when using Google Meet / Zoom, so I have taken the following measures for it not to happen:
* I disconnected all external monitors and confirmed that I can do a Google Meet/Zoom and share screen without any issues.
* when kernel_task runs above 1000% it seems to be because my macbook is overheating, so I have propped it up ~1cm and I have directed a fan towards the macbook
- I had a successful Google Meet yesterday:
* I kept the Google Meet Window on my macbook's monitor and I have not moved the Google Meet Window on to any external monitor.
* I have successfully shared my macbook's monitor without experiencing the kernel_task above 1000% CPU issue.

Hope that helps.

07-23-2021, 01:52 PM	#7
xavierr Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Canada Posts: 22	Here's an update I sent Kate / DisplayLink in case it can help anyone else: Unfortunately my setup is a bit inflexible so it's difficult to put all screens in landscape mode. I kept on troubleshooting these last few days and here are a few additional pieces of information that will answer some of your questions: - I'm definitely having issues with DisplayLink Manager 1.4: I installed it when I upgraded my OS to BigSur, and that's when I started having these issues. - I used to be on the legacy driver, and on a positive note the layout of the monitors is much more stable on v1.4 (yeah!) -- I used to have to reconfigure my screens ~once a week on the legacy driver, which was so annoying that I wrote a script based on "displayplacer" to automate that process. ISSUE #1 --------------------- - After working on my macbook for prolonged periods of time, some of the monitors connected to the DisplayLink will inevitably stop responding. - I can no longer hover my mouse over them and eventually they turn black. - At that point, I have to manually kill DisplayLink Manager v1.4 and manually start it again. - Restarting DisplayLink Manager v1.4 restores my monitors to a working state. - I typically have to kill/restart the driver once or twice a day. - Now that I have pin pointed the issue, it's annoying but at least I have a workaround. - The DisplayLink Information .zip file that I sent 3 days ago was taken after experiencing Issue #1. ISSUE #2 --------------------- - When using Google Meet / Zoom, and typically after sharing screen, my macbook's fan starts spinning loudly, my mouse starts lagging massively, and when I open activity monitor kernel_task runs above 1000% CPU usage. - My best course of action when this happens is to shutdown my macbook, wait for it to cool down, and restart it. - I've had this issue systematically when using Google Meet / Zoom, so I have taken the following measures for it not to happen: * I disconnected all external monitors and confirmed that I can do a Google Meet/Zoom and share screen without any issues. * when kernel_task runs above 1000% it seems to be because my macbook is overheating, so I have propped it up ~1cm and I have directed a fan towards the macbook - I had a successful Google Meet yesterday: * I kept the Google Meet Window on my macbook's monitor and I have not moved the Google Meet Window on to any external monitor. * I have successfully shared my macbook's monitor without experiencing the kernel_task above 1000% CPU issue. Hope that helps.