Can anyone help??
I've just moved to macOS Sequoia 15.3
Now my second display (thunderbolt) which worked perfectly, about 2 hours ago is now dead and cant be detected. I've looked on line and it turns out it's a common problem. I wish I had just left the upgradfe.
IS there a fix?
Thank you
iMac 27″, macOS 15.3
Before the latest update to 15.5, I was able to fix this problem by running:
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist
However, this doesn't work any more. With the help of ChatGPT I used the search described elsewhere in this thread :
sudo find / -name "*windowserver*" 2>/dev/null | tee ~/Desktop/windowserver_files.txt
The suggestion from the AI was to run:
sudo rm -f /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist \
/System/Volumes/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist \
~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.windowserver.displays*.plist \
~/Library/Containers/*/Data/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.windowserver.displays*.plist \
GPT: "Yes, it’s very likely macOS now references or prioritizes:
Then shutdown:
sudo shutdown -r now
This worked for me. It looks like the displays.plist is now in a different location after the update, but I haven't bothered to work out exactly where yet. - This narrows it down a bit though. I hope this helps someone else, it's a really frustrating problem that has cost me a few days work over the last year.
That solution worked for me. However, I do not believe you need to download anything. I didn’t. Since it’s a .plist, if you drag the file to your desktop and reboot, the operating system will create a new .plist file. You’ll need to go in and manually set your preferences again, though.
RonKabele wrote:
I believe that is the case for the M1 Mac Mini, perhaps one of the laptops. The Mac Studio M1 I have supports three monitors because that’s what I’ve been doing for over two years. But I do have a Kensington TB3 dock where two of my monitors are plugged into. I would also guess the first M1 Mac Pros support at least three or more monitors.
The M1 Mac mini supports two monitors - one connected via USB-C or Thunderbolt, one connected via HDMI.
The M1 Max and M1 Ultra Mac Studios support up to five monitors.
There were no M1-series Mac Pro desktops.
With regards to MacBook Pro notebooks,
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but I just can’t find this file to delete it. I’ve tried about every single solution apart from changing leads which isn’t an option. Can anyone just let me k ow where to find this file. Thanks
To Apple, when will the second external monitor issue be fixed? I have MacOS 15.3.1 on my M1 MacBook Pro. I have the same problem others have encountered. I've tried all the proposed solutions and it still does not work. I have been using two external monitors (and my MacBook pro monitor) for about a year with earlier MacOS versions with no issues.
This is still going on for me! There was an update and still not fixed, which seems quite remarkable. I've got a rather expensive laptop and for months haven't been able to use another screen with it. I've tried everything that's been discussed here.
Am I alone here? Can someone provide an update as to when it's going to be fixed?
I tried this. It allowed my monitors to connect and be detected, but my MacBook Pro (M2 Pro Chip) will not detect power from the Thunderbolt. I deleted the file you described, but I have to plug in a power source, in addition to the Thunderbolt, in order to run multiple displays with the laptop closed.
Hello Magic,
When you say:
"Then I moved the file at the more general /Library/Preferences location:
sudo mv /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist ~/Desktop
and rebooted, and all is well."
Where did you move it to? Desktop - trash - etc?
Also not sure you have the answer but, I don't seem to have that particular file in the location that has been pointed out. When I was on with Apple Support, the team member had to send it to me, then I had to delete it (lol) as per all the other outlines that refer to this particular file.
Do you have any insight on that, or anyone else reading this for that matter.
My system
14-Core CPU
20-Core GPU
48GB Unified Memory
1TB SSD Storage¹
16-core Neural Engine
16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display²
Three Thunderbolt 5 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, headphone jack, MagSafe 3 port
Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Force Touch trackpad
140W USB-C Power Adapter
Sequoia 15.3.2 (this was the update. I'm not exactly sure what it was shipped with)
It's brand new only I've only had it a week.
Thanks
Unfortunately, the deletion of the plist file did not work for me...really wish it had!
Since I had NO trouble prior to installing the update, I have no choice but to point at the update as the problem. I also wish there was an easy way to rollback updates that didn't require erasing everything on my Mac Mini M1 and reinstalling everything again...
UPDATE: I just returned from purchasing a new HDMI cable - the cable swap didn't work either. I'm still getting intermittent failure on the monitor where it goes black and then the display returns after a brief period of time (a few seconds to a few minutes). I depend on my big monitors quite a bit, and I am so NOT used to Apple OS updates breaking things upon installation. I left the PC world behind partly for that reason and thought my days of fighting with drivers and updates were mainly behind me...alas, no such joy...
So, Apple - when will we see a patch/fix/solution for this issue?
I'm having the same issue as everyone else. I updated to Sequoia 15.4, and my second external display (a dell) only shows "Choose to Mirror or Extend Display from the menu". I can't make any changes to the display which is apparently unrecognized by the menu.
I've tried everything except delete the com.apple.windowserver file, because I can't find that file anywhere on my computer. It isn't in the /library/preferences/ folder or anywhere else. Am I missing something?
Everything worked before the update. Thanks.
To clarify when I say I "moved" the files -- I always play it "safe" when doing these sorts of interventions. Rather than simply deleting the files, I simply moved them to my desktop, as shown in the terminal commands I shared. After I rebooted and found my issue was fixed, I did follow up and delete the two files I'd moved to my desktop, as I clearly did not need them anymore. If I had encountered an issue, moving them to my desktop would have allowed me to restore them to their original location.
cc: Cparr5150
I was forced to update my mac yesterday (too "old" of OS to use microsoft product... apparently). After the update, not able anymore to connect my monitor.
thank you for the info on the file to delete. That fixes my problem too.
APPLE... STEP UP YOUR GAME FOR F*** SAKE. How can you allow such a problem to happen. For all the non technical people out there, this is going to create a mayhem of frustration and an increasingly bad User experience of your product.
This is beyond annoying. every time I wanna connect my external 4k monitor via thunderbolt it brings up a dialog as if this is a brand new display. I have to then choose to extend screen, change resolution, and move all windows from laptop screen to main display. EVERY TIME!! it completely takes away the work flow. In previous MacOS it just worked like windows. even deleting that com.apple.windowserver.displays file does not help. Apple fix this please
I have a cheap separate monitor I bought from China, after upgrading to 15.5 it still doesn't recognize this monitor, I tried deleting com.apple.windowserver.displays.*.plist but it didn't work either.
just started happening today. out of no where. i thought maybe i should upgrade macos to 15.5 but that didnt fix it. only one monitor works at a time, not both, although both light up, and both do work when im in startup options by holding power button when turning on, so its not a monitor or cable or usb problem, its a software glitch. Ridiculous apple where are your e2es???
i have 1 monitor plugged in with hdm and another with display port through a usb c dock. worked just fine till today.
For what it's worth. My external monitor stops working when my mac's battery reaches 100%. I don't know if it's the settings of the mac or the monitor. I have MacBook Pro M2 (Sequoia 15.5). External monitor worked fine until battery reached 100%. This was with USB-C cabel.
macOS Sequoia 15.3 wont let me detect my second display
