If your external display is dark or low resolution

If your Mac is working, but the external display connected to it has a blank or black screen (no video) or can’t use its highest resolutions or refresh rates, try these solutions.

Check cables and connections

Make sure your external display’s power cable and video cable are connected securely and correctly at both ends. Find out more about how to connect a display to your Mac.

Your external display will be dark or use a lower resolution or refresh rate if your video cable or any adapter you may be using with it doesn’t support the resolution and refresh rate of the display. If you’re using a Thunderbolt or USB-C adapter, it must also be compliant with DisplayPort Alt Mode, Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4.

If the display is connected to a Mac laptop computer with a closed lid, make sure the Mac is connected to a power source and using an external keyboard and mouse.

If your display is connected to a hub or dock, connect your display to a port directly on your Mac.

Find out what your Mac supports

Your external display will be dark if it exceeds the maximum number of external displays that your Mac can use at the same time. This limit varies by Mac model.

Your external display will be dark or use a lower resolution or refresh rate if you configure it to exceed the maximum supported resolution or refresh rate. This limit varies by Mac model, display, the video cable and adapter used with the display, and the resolution and refresh rate of other connected displays. Find out what to do if your screen becomes dark after you’ve changed its resolution or refresh rate.

To find out how many external displays your Mac supports, and at which resolutions and refresh rates, check the specifications for your Mac model:

Detect your display

If your Mac can’t detect your external display, your external display will be dark. Follow one or more of these steps to try again to detect your display.

• Disconnect the display from your Mac, then reconnect it. It may help to turn off the display first.

• Put your Mac to sleep, then wake it. On Mac laptop computers, you can close the lid for a few seconds, then open the lid again.

• Choose Apple menu  > System Settings (or System Preferences), then click Displays. Press and hold the Option key to show the Detect Displays button, then click the button.

• Restart your Mac. If you can’t restart your Mac, press and hold its power button for about 10 seconds to turn it off. Then press and release the power button to turn it back on.

Allow your display to connect

When connecting a display to a Mac laptop computer with Apple silicon, your Mac may ask you to allow this accessory (your display) to connect. If you don’t allow it to connect, your display will remain dark. Find out more about allowing accessories to connect to Mac laptop computers.

Check display brightness

If your external display is dark, make sure its brightness hasn’t been turned down.

• If your keyboard and external display are made by Apple, you can use the Brightness Up key on the keyboard to increase brightness. Or choose Apple menu  > System Settings (or System Preferences), then click Displays and use the brightness control there.

• If your external display is not made by Apple, you may need to use its built-in controls and menu system to adjust brightness. If you can’t do that and your display is dark, the display may not have power, or it may be malfunctioning.

Update software

Software can affect display detection, the quality of the image on your display, and the resolutions and refresh rates available to your display.

• Install the latest macOS updates, which also deliver firmware updates for displays made by Apple.

• If your display is not made by Apple, make sure it’s using the latest firmware from the manufacturer. Check your display’s documentation or the manufacturer’s website for details.

If you still need help

• Make sure your Mac itself is turning on. Find out what to do if your Mac doesn’t turn on, or what to do if your Mac turns on but doesn’t start up all the way.

• If the display is working but its picture seems blurry, try changing the resolution. The display’s default, native resolution may be sharper than a scaled resolution. Some third-party displays have built-in controls that you can use to adjust picture sharpness.