M1 MacBook Air + D6000 + 3 displays - Weird issue with sound settings

TheHokemon · 02-05-2023, 06:05 PM

I am having a very strange issue. It did this to me once before but I seemed to have fixed it by randomly plugging things in and rebooting, etc. In the past I learned that whenever I came back to the desk after using my laptop "untethered" I would just shut the MBA down and then start it up by plugging the docking station into the laptop and beginning with a fresh boot. It seems this is no longer working the way it did.

These are the issues I am seeing:

1) When I first start up, or plug the docking station into the laptop, and then open System Preferences, and click on the Sound settings, it takes 60 seconds for the settings to display. If I unplug the docking station, the sound settings show immediately of course, telling me the docking station is involved.

2) When I then try to open an app that likely hooks into some sort of sound API in the system (like Logic Pro, social media apps, Quicktime Player), it takes 60 seconds for the app to open (the icon bounces in the dock and then decides it is going to work). Apps that don't use any sound (like Photoshop or Transmit or whatever) launch immediately and quickly. Once they are running all work normally.

3) Safari in particular acts very strangely. When I first try to load a webpage, it fails (loads to a point and stops) and gives me the error "This page was reloaded because a problem occurred." After a few attempts (waiting the appointed time) it then eventually works normally.

It feels like these apps are requesting something in the system and then time out and default to the correct process or whatever and carry on. Sound seems to be the culprit but that's just my suspicion based on observations.

I have updated the dock to the latest firmware (had to buy a Windows craptop to do it and will return it lol), I am running Mac OS 13.2, DisplayLink 1.8, all the latest and greatest. I have reinstalled the driver, plugged and unplugged, did all the combos.

Anyone else experiencing issues like this?

TheHokemon · 02-05-2023, 06:53 PM

Just did an experiment. I timed how long the Sound Settings took to display once clicked in System Preferences. Exactly 60 seconds.

That sure seems like a timeout to me.

TheHokemon · 02-17-2023, 04:52 PM

PROBLEM FIXED.

This was an odd one. After a couple weeks of working with Kasia and team at DisplayLink Technical Support (wonderful experience), we had come to the conclusion that this was an OS bug and she had filed it with her development team.

And then I had a thought and went into the Audio MIDI Setup. I saw that I had created a “Multi-Output Device” at some point, and the Dell dock was checked in the list of devices to use. I deleted the entry in MIDI settings and lo and behold…the problem went away.

I checked and rechecked, and restarted the Mac and tested again. Quit the DisplayLink Manager app, unplugged/replugged the dock, etc. No issues. The problem no longer persisted.

I added back the Multi-Output Device to see if I could recreate the problem and I did! After I unplugged the dock and plugged it back in again, the problem returned. And as soon as I deleted the Multi-Output Device, the problem went away.

So that was it. Not sure why this was causing the issue but as of right now (knock on wood) the whole setup including my THREE displays attached to an M1 MacBook Air is working perfectly.

Happy Friday!

02-05-2023, 06:05 PM	#1
TheHokemon Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2021 Posts: 8	M1 MacBook Air + D6000 + 3 displays - Weird issue with sound settings I am having a very strange issue. It did this to me once before but I seemed to have fixed it by randomly plugging things in and rebooting, etc. In the past I learned that whenever I came back to the desk after using my laptop "untethered" I would just shut the MBA down and then start it up by plugging the docking station into the laptop and beginning with a fresh boot. It seems this is no longer working the way it did. These are the issues I am seeing: 1) When I first start up, or plug the docking station into the laptop, and then open System Preferences, and click on the Sound settings, it takes 60 seconds for the settings to display. If I unplug the docking station, the sound settings show immediately of course, telling me the docking station is involved. 2) When I then try to open an app that likely hooks into some sort of sound API in the system (like Logic Pro, social media apps, Quicktime Player), it takes 60 seconds for the app to open (the icon bounces in the dock and then decides it is going to work). Apps that don't use any sound (like Photoshop or Transmit or whatever) launch immediately and quickly. Once they are running all work normally. 3) Safari in particular acts very strangely. When I first try to load a webpage, it fails (loads to a point and stops) and gives me the error "This page was reloaded because a problem occurred." After a few attempts (waiting the appointed time) it then eventually works normally. It feels like these apps are requesting something in the system and then time out and default to the correct process or whatever and carry on. Sound seems to be the culprit but that's just my suspicion based on observations. I have updated the dock to the latest firmware (had to buy a Windows craptop to do it and will return it lol), I am running Mac OS 13.2, DisplayLink 1.8, all the latest and greatest. I have reinstalled the driver, plugged and unplugged, did all the combos. Anyone else experiencing issues like this? Last edited by TheHokemon; 02-05-2023 at 11:11 PM.

02-05-2023, 06:53 PM	#2
TheHokemon Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2021 Posts: 8	Just did an experiment. I timed how long the Sound Settings took to display once clicked in System Preferences. Exactly 60 seconds. That sure seems like a timeout to me.

02-17-2023, 04:52 PM	#3
TheHokemon Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2021 Posts: 8	PROBLEM FIXED. This was an odd one. After a couple weeks of working with Kasia and team at DisplayLink Technical Support (wonderful experience), we had come to the conclusion that this was an OS bug and she had filed it with her development team. And then I had a thought and went into the Audio MIDI Setup. I saw that I had created a “Multi-Output Device” at some point, and the Dell dock was checked in the list of devices to use. I deleted the entry in MIDI settings and lo and behold…the problem went away. I checked and rechecked, and restarted the Mac and tested again. Quit the DisplayLink Manager app, unplugged/replugged the dock, etc. No issues. The problem no longer persisted. I added back the Multi-Output Device to see if I could recreate the problem and I did! After I unplugged the dock and plugged it back in again, the problem returned. And as soon as I deleted the Multi-Output Device, the problem went away. So that was it. Not sure why this was causing the issue but as of right now (knock on wood) the whole setup including my THREE displays attached to an M1 MacBook Air is working perfectly. Happy Friday!