Lack of available resolutions on Big Sur M1 Macs

tommiy · 05-22-2021, 09:20 PM

Like yourself I've noticed there is a distinct lack of resolution modes available on the M1 compared to intel MACs via displaylink. For comparison, I have a LG 27inch (27UK850) connected via USB from an elgato thunderbolt dock. Both Intel mac and M1 are running Display Manager 1.3. On the Intel Mac I plug in and I have many HiDPI options to chooe from but typically I used 2560x1440. If I unplug the Intel and plug in the M1 I only get 4 resolution and non-past 1920x1080. I'll do an exact comparison and post today. Using scaled on the M1 I still can not get 2560x1440. If I use RDM I can but the fonts are all washed out and blurry. No way you could spend 8hrs a day in front of it.

I'm considering returning the M1 as without it doing dual displays there is no real way of getting a clear 2 display solution because the display link option seems to only work if you want really large 1920x1080 screens which sadly is not what I am looking for.

tommiy · 05-22-2021, 10:32 PM

Here is my findings from my 2 Macs. In fact I'm thinking of returning the M1. The external hardware here is identical with an elgato thunderbolt3 dock and a dell 6000 connected to it.

2017 Mac Pro HiDPI resolutions of the LG 27UK850 on Catalina 10.15.7
3840x2160
2560x1440
2048x1152
1920x1080
1600x900
1280x720

I unplug the 2017 MBP and plug in M1 running 11.2.3 and I get
3840x2160
1920x1080
1600x900
1280x720

The M1 is 4 days old and i simply can not work at 3840x2160 everything is just to small. The 2 other resolutions above 1920 are missing on the M1. I've also not upgraded to later BigSur releases because I saw Displaylink messages stating that potentially the 3840 would also disappear. I suspect the issues here are probably at Apples end and either the OS or hardware. I'm not sure that Displaylink will be able to overcome these problems. Hence I'll probably send the M1 back just prior to the return period expiring. Seems my Intel Mac is superior for every day work irrespective of how fast a M1 may be......if you need multiple monitors it seems that the M1 is not the device for you.

tommiy · 05-23-2021, 02:59 AM

On the surface it appears that displaylink only offers the resolution from the monitor edid and specifically the CEA data block. For my case the display resolutions offered match the edid data.

zcutlip · 06-04-2021, 04:13 PM

After updating to macOS 11.4 and DisplayLink Manager 1.4, It does offer 4K now (3840x2160).

However, the best HiDPI scaled resolution it offers on my M1 MacBook Pro is 1920x1080. So this isn't much of an improvement for me.

christianhopkins · 06-04-2021, 06:44 PM

Hi All,

I've been monitoring the various threads while suffering the same symptoms. I have the Mac device listed above (have had it for 3 weeks) connecting to a Kensington DL device. I immediately updated my OS to Big Sur 11.3 before connecting any devices. But I've had the issues everyone describes from the outset (I believe the issue is with the Mac OS and changes associated with it).

If I connect my monitor to the DisplayLink device (via DisplayPort) the resolution drops to 1920 x 1080.

If I connect my monitor straight to the Macbook (DisplayPort to USB-C, the native resolution is 3440 x 1440.

Right now I have Big Sur 11.4 and DL 1.4.0

I've also used HDMI rather than DP, with zero change.

I'm sure it will get sorted eventually, but thought I'd throw my config up for support to review.

oztrip · 06-23-2021, 08:04 AM

This is a duplicate of the older post. DisplayLink has very limited resolution selection and most of them are very low resolutions which does not work well on the modern monitors.

For some of us this is a key feature.

Older post link: Missing Resolutions

rosch · 06-25-2021, 01:46 PM

I've been using SwitchResX for many years now, which enables all kinds of resolutions. It also works on my M1 iMac with a monitor connected via DisplayLink. Give it a try!

oztrip · 06-23-2021, 08:12 AM

On another hand Max OS Monterey Bata is here. Someone with M1 could test it as I guess there is loads of dual monitor support features. Multi monitor limitation to me is a deliberate issue from Apple as Mac Mini M1 can handle dual screens nativity. I wouldn’t be surprised Apple quietly added support for it.

ScreamCZE · 06-23-2021, 09:40 AM

M1 limitation is that it can support a total of 2 monitors. That means an internal monitor (if you have a MacBook/iPad) and 1 external monitor = a total of 2 monitors.

That is the reason why Mac Mini does support 2 external monitors - it does not have an internal monitor that "takes one slot". So you can connect 1 monitor to the HDMI port and 1 monitor to USB4.

06-04-2021, 06:44 PM	#5
christianhopkins Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2021 Posts: 1	M1 Macbook Air Hi All, I've been monitoring the various threads while suffering the same symptoms. I have the Mac device listed above (have had it for 3 weeks) connecting to a Kensington DL device. I immediately updated my OS to Big Sur 11.3 before connecting any devices. But I've had the issues everyone describes from the outset (I believe the issue is with the Mac OS and changes associated with it). If I connect my monitor to the DisplayLink device (via DisplayPort) the resolution drops to 1920 x 1080. If I connect my monitor straight to the Macbook (DisplayPort to USB-C, the native resolution is 3440 x 1440. Right now I have Big Sur 11.4 and DL 1.4.0 I've also used HDMI rather than DP, with zero change. I'm sure it will get sorted eventually, but thought I'd throw my config up for support to review.

06-23-2021, 08:12 AM	#8
oztrip Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2021 Posts: 3	On another hand Max OS Monterey Bata is here. Someone with M1 could test it as I guess there is loads of dual monitor support features. Multi monitor limitation to me is a deliberate issue from Apple as Mac Mini M1 can handle dual screens nativity. I wouldn’t be surprised Apple quietly added support for it. Last edited by oztrip; 06-23-2021 at 08:17 AM.

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05-22-2021, 09:20 PM	#1
tommiy Member Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 92	Like yourself I've noticed there is a distinct lack of resolution modes available on the M1 compared to intel MACs via displaylink. For comparison, I have a LG 27inch (27UK850) connected via USB from an elgato thunderbolt dock. Both Intel mac and M1 are running Display Manager 1.3. On the Intel Mac I plug in and I have many HiDPI options to chooe from but typically I used 2560x1440. If I unplug the Intel and plug in the M1 I only get 4 resolution and non-past 1920x1080. I'll do an exact comparison and post today. Using scaled on the M1 I still can not get 2560x1440. If I use RDM I can but the fonts are all washed out and blurry. No way you could spend 8hrs a day in front of it. I'm considering returning the M1 as without it doing dual displays there is no real way of getting a clear 2 display solution because the display link option seems to only work if you want really large 1920x1080 screens which sadly is not what I am looking for.

05-22-2021, 10:32 PM	#2
tommiy Member Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 92	Here is my findings from my 2 Macs. In fact I'm thinking of returning the M1. The external hardware here is identical with an elgato thunderbolt3 dock and a dell 6000 connected to it. 2017 Mac Pro HiDPI resolutions of the LG 27UK850 on Catalina 10.15.7 3840x2160 2560x1440 2048x1152 1920x1080 1600x900 1280x720 I unplug the 2017 MBP and plug in M1 running 11.2.3 and I get 3840x2160 1920x1080 1600x900 1280x720 The M1 is 4 days old and i simply can not work at 3840x2160 everything is just to small. The 2 other resolutions above 1920 are missing on the M1. I've also not upgraded to later BigSur releases because I saw Displaylink messages stating that potentially the 3840 would also disappear. I suspect the issues here are probably at Apples end and either the OS or hardware. I'm not sure that Displaylink will be able to overcome these problems. Hence I'll probably send the M1 back just prior to the return period expiring. Seems my Intel Mac is superior for every day work irrespective of how fast a M1 may be......if you need multiple monitors it seems that the M1 is not the device for you.

05-23-2021, 02:59 AM	#3
tommiy Member Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 92	On the surface it appears that displaylink only offers the resolution from the monitor edid and specifically the CEA data block. For my case the display resolutions offered match the edid data.

06-04-2021, 04:13 PM	#4
zcutlip Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 2	After updating to macOS 11.4 and DisplayLink Manager 1.4, It does offer 4K now (3840x2160). However, the best HiDPI scaled resolution it offers on my M1 MacBook Pro is 1920x1080. So this isn't much of an improvement for me.

06-23-2021, 08:04 AM	#6
oztrip Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2021 Posts: 3	This is a duplicate of the older post. DisplayLink has very limited resolution selection and most of them are very low resolutions which does not work well on the modern monitors. For some of us this is a key feature. Older post link: Missing Resolutions

06-25-2021, 01:46 PM	#7
rosch Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2021 Posts: 2	I've been using SwitchResX for many years now, which enables all kinds of resolutions. It also works on my M1 iMac with a monitor connected via DisplayLink. Give it a try!

06-23-2021, 09:40 AM	#9
ScreamCZE Member Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 50	M1 limitation is that it can support a total of 2 monitors. That means an internal monitor (if you have a MacBook/iPad) and 1 external monitor = a total of 2 monitors. That is the reason why Mac Mini does support 2 external monitors - it does not have an internal monitor that "takes one slot". So you can connect 1 monitor to the HDMI port and 1 monitor to USB4.