Mac mini (M4) — Windows move to one screen after sleep with dual display setup

Hi everyone,


I’m using a Mac mini (M4) with two monitors connected. Every time the Mac goes to sleep or when I log out and back in, all open windows move to one of the screens instead of staying where they were.


It’s pretty annoying because I have to rearrange everything each time I wake the Mac up.


Both monitors are connected directly (no dock), and I’ve already tried changing the “Displays have separate Spaces” option, but the issue remains.


Has anyone else experienced this or found a fix? Any advice would be appreciated! 🙏


Thanks in advance!


—José

Mac mini, macOS 26.0

Posted on Oct 7, 2025 5:52 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 8, 2025 8:12 AM

The Mac does not rely on Windows-like side-loaded "Drivers" which are actually packages of resolutions and settings for a specific display. Instead, it goes straight to the immutable source -- it asks the display itself.


To get a Mac display to become active, you need the Mac to query the display, and the display to answer with its name and capabilities. Otherwise, the display will not be shown as present, and no data will be sent to the display. "No signal detected" is generated by the DISPLAY, not by the Mac.

 

This query is only sent at certain times:

• at startup

• at wake from sleep — so momentarily sleeping and waking your Mac may work

• at insertion of the Mac-end of the display-cable, provided everything on that cable is ready-to-go

• hold the Option key while you click on the (Detect Display) button that will appear in Displays preferences (from another display)


so try doing some of those things and see if the display comes alive.


Modern Displays with multiple ports are sometimes busy scanning the other ports, looking for an input, and miss the query from the Mac. They need to pay attention to the port you are actually using, or they will miss the query.


Some displays have On-Screen Display settings that can be used to tell the display a computer is attached on a certain port, or a certain port should be highest priority. Changing those may make your display more responsive.


Some displays include their own private "sleep" settings for the display alone. This can allow the display to enter its own sleep mode, on top of the Mac's not sending it data. A display that is sleeping on its own can generally not respond to the Mac's query, and will stay dark.


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Mac mini (M4) — Windows move to one screen after sleep with dual display setup

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