Thunderbolt monitors connecting to a 2017 MacBook Pro

Question

Thunderbolt monitors connecting to a 2017 MacBook Pro

I have a 15' MacBook Pro (2017) and I have three Apple thunderbolt displays.

I can get two of the screens working together via daisy chaining them together but I can't get the third to come to life.

Is two the maximum, I though you could run 4 screens ?

Processer - 3.1 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7

Graphics - Radeon Pro 560 4 GB Intel HD Graphics 630 1536 MB

Posted on Dec 5, 2022 09:36 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Phil0124

Level 10

214,291 points

Dec 5, 2022 09:52 AM in response to Officially lost

What resolutions are the first two displays running at?

You can run 4 displays but not at the full 5K resolution. You can only run 2 at 5K.

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications

Video Support

Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:

Up to two displays with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors
Up to four displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors
Up to four displays with 3840-by-2160 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors

Thunderbolt 3 digital video output

Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
VGA, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)

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Answer 2

Dec 5, 2022 12:34 PM in response to Phil0124

Hi - I have them running at 2560 x 1440 - the default setting - and the colour profile is Thunderbolt Display, is that too high ?

I can get two working perfectly on that setting - the two working are 'daisy" chained together - one thunderbolt cable going into the back of the other monitor and the lead from that monitor going into the computer. When I add the third monitor it just stays as a dark screen. (I have tied moving the monitors around and they all work single and daisy chained).

The third screen works when I content it to the laptop and all three work great is it because you can only daisy chain two together or because I am using an adaptor to go from thunderbolt two to three ?

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