Washed out external monitor on M1 Mac mini on usb c

Just got a new M1 Mac mini that I want to connect 2 monitors to. Both LG 4K 27UK850. The one hooked up via hdmi looks great. The one hooked up via usb c looks terrible. Washed out colors, low contrast. I see other people complaining about this in various forums, Reddit, Macrumors. All settings on the monitor and system are proper. Used the same set up for years on my Intel MacBook Pro With no issues. Just fishing for an official response and hopefully a fix soon? Otherwise it has to go back. Not really usable for me in its current state.

Posted on Feb 11, 2021 10:06 AM

Top-ranking reply

Arcainz

Level 1

10 points

Posted on Apr 28, 2021 07:28 PM

Found some solutions. I've had the exact same problem. I have a M1 Mac Mini using 35-inch LG monitor via USB-C to Display Port. Prior to 11.3, turning off the monitor then back on again used to fix it and the colors would no longer be washed out. After upgrading to 11.3 I initially had no problems with the color, but I started fiddling around with the HDR settings (in System Preferences -> Display) - big mistake - _don't_ check the HDR tick box. I ended up checking the HDR tick box and the colors became washed out again, even after unchecking the box. I tried turning off/on the monitor, unplugging the monitor, rebooting, changing out to a USB-C to HDMI cable then back to USB-C to Display Port - but none of these worked - still washed out colors. The solution I found was to mirror my display via AirPlay Display (in System Preferences -> Display) to my Samsung TV, then turn off the AirPlay Display, and my monitor reset back to the nice dark/vivid colors and no longer washed out. That worked for me, hope that helps :)

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71 replies

Bobylov

Level 1

4 points

May 19, 2021 06:24 AM in response to David Oldenburg

Any info about fix in 11.4?

Jun 9, 2021 11:58 PM in response to JayD2121

Don't expect a fix soon, this is still an issue even with the latest macOS 12 beta. Apple does not seem to have much inclination fixing this issue apparently. :(

Jun 11, 2021 03:21 PM in response to faisalfromsengkang

I have an HDMI to USB-C cable - same issue. Hope Apple gets a fix for this.

janacm

Level 1

4 points

Jun 15, 2021 06:01 PM in response to David Oldenburg

On my 4K LG monitor, I went into the monitor settings > picture > game adjust > decrease the Black Stabilizer slider to 0. I now have deep blacks.

Jul 15, 2021 06:39 AM in response to selected9

True. Apple would rather be a TV company. :-))

douhuat

Level 1

4 points

Aug 13, 2021 03:08 PM in response to matin_zd

As mentioned, I have tried all the motheds (including disabling HDR) without any progress. Only thing works is to use thunderbolt cable.

Oct 24, 2021 11:59 PM in response to jussylewis2

For me only this script worked.

It changes not only /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist file but also one more which has external display UUID in name.

Darney

Level 1

9 points

Nov 11, 2021 10:55 AM in response to matin_zd

See my post on this. I had to enable HDR to solve the issue.

Jan 5, 2022 09:56 AM in response to Arcainz

Unchecking the HDS tick box worked for me!!. Thank you!

Jan 5, 2022 09:59 AM in response to Arcainz

Unchecking the HDR worked for me!! Thank you!!

Details:

Mac book pro

LG Monitor 27QN880

Monterey OS

Type - c to Type C cable.

Jan 5, 2022 12:32 PM in response to clarkiprc

HDR = High Dynamic Range

See the screenshot in earlier messages for the location of the system setting under System Preferences -> Displays.

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Washed out external monitor on M1 Mac mini on usb c