Macbook Pro (M4 Pro) Not recognizing 2 external displays

I use a Macbook Pro with my 2 screens all the time, 1 via HDMI the other one via USB-C. They would always work fine, but now it only recognize one at the time... Tried new cables and nothing happens when I click on "Detect displays". I find it weird that it always worked since I have my Mac and through some updates, but now only one is working at the time.


Any help with this?

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Sep 8, 2025 08:54 AM

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3 replies

Sep 12, 2025 01:06 PM in response to charles021

that DELL E2414H appears to be a 1920 by 1080 display at 8 bits/color and up to 75 Hz

interfaces include DVI and

Analog VGA


The cables you want for that are limited to ONE meter maximum length for use with modern Macs.


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that LG 27MP41D appears to be a 1920 by 1080 display at 8 bits/color up to 75 Hz

interfaces include

HDMI 1.4

Analog VGA


HDMI cables you want for HDMI-only Displays (higher resolutions than 720p TV sets) are marked as Certified with an anti-counterfeiting tag and are labeled:


"PREMIUM High Speed HDMI cable" or that + "with Ethernet" (up to 4K at 30Hz) --OR--

“ULTRA High Speed HDMI cable" or that + "48G" (supports higher resolutions and backward-compatible)


Cables with No Certification tags are good for your standard 720p TV set, and not much more.


HDMI was invented for HD TV sets. it works great at its original resolution of 720i or 720p. At higher resolutions, it quickly develops issues that are complex to solve, and the cables and adapters required to solve are NOT intuitive.




Sep 12, 2025 11:42 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

The first one is a DELL E2414H (age's same or more than 2nd): DVI-D to USB-C cable (no adapter both ends). 1080 x 1920 resolution & vertical orientation.

The second is a LG 27MP41D.d Full HD (~2300 hrs old) : HDMI to HMDI cable (no adapter both ends).

1920 x 1080 resolution & horizontal orientation.


What's weird is, I have been using this exact setup for a few months already and both monitors would connect and work together.

Now, it seems like my mac will only accept one connection at the time. I can't seem to find a problem with the hardware. I swept cables and restart my mac with and without the monitors connected. They work fine independently, but when both are connected to my mac only one of them works..

Macbook Pro (M4 Pro) Not recognizing 2 external displays

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