Trouble connecting monitor to 2020 MacBook Pro (13i, Catalina)

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Trouble connecting monitor to 2020 MacBook Pro (13i, Catalina)

I’m trying to connect a Lenovo Legion 27Q-30 to my MacBook Pro (2020, intel, 13 inch). The laptop is still on Catalina and I’m using an adapter (Green Cell AK50) to try and connect my monitor via an HDMI cable. Unfortunately, the monitor displays the “input not supported” message. I also cannot change my refresh rate, which appears to be set at 30 when plugging in the cable. I tried using the cable on an older Mac (2015 MB Pro) with a dedicated HDMI port and it worked as intended. Could anyone point me towards a solution? Thinking about buying another adapter with DisplayPort to use the monitor’s native cable.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 25, 2025 4:27 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 25, 2025 5:56 AM in response to SVBlue

The only monitor I could find on the Lenovo site matching that description was a "Lenovo Legion R27q-30 27-inch PS QHD 180 Hz Gaming Monitor" that is "Available Soon."

Lenovo Support – Lenovo Legion R27q-30 - Overview

The monitor's manual indicates that the monitor has two DisplayPort inputs and a HDMI input. It looks like when the monitor is running at native resolution (2560x1440 pixels), it can run at refresh rates of 60 Hz, 120 Hz, 144 Hz, 165 Hz (DisplayPort only), or 180 Hz (DisplayPort only with overclocking turned on).

Your MacBook might only support 60 Hz. If you're being forced down to 30 Hz, I would wonder whether that was a limitation of the particular adapter you were using (or HDMI cable you were using), rather than a limitation of either the monitor or the MBP.

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

You might try getting a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter, or a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter cable no longer than three feet / one meter.

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Answer 2

Dec 25, 2025 10:38 AM in response to SVBlue

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.

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