How do I connect multiple displays to my MacBook M1/M2?

How to connect a monitor to a MacBook M1/M2

You’ve probably just bought a new Mac and are wondering how to connect several monitors to a MacBook M1 or M2, because you’ve heard there are some problems with it. Every new Mac with an M1/M2 chip has USB-C ports with Thunderbolt / USB 4.0, which lets you connect an external monitor with a USB-C to DisplayPort cable at up to 6K 60Hz.

The MacBook Pro and Mac mini with M1/M1 Pro/M1 Max chips have an extra HDMI 2.0 port, which gives you a maximum of 4K 60Hz. The new MacBook Pro M2 Pro and M2 Max now support 8K 60Hz and 4K up to 240Hz thanks to HDMI 2.1.

Unfortunately there are some limits. The MacBook Air M1/M2 supports only 1 external display, while the Mac mini supports 2 (one through a USB-C port and the other through HDMI). Even though there are several USB-C ports, without special adapters you won’t be able to connect more displays to a MacBook Air M1/M2.

To build a setup with 2 independent 4K 60Hz screens and still have a free port for the charger, you can use the I-TEC USB 3.0 – 2x Display Port 4K Ultra HD (U3DUAL4KDP) adapter. In that case the adapter uses 1 USB-C port. The second port can be used for the charger (unless you have a MacBook Air M2 with MagSafe 3, where you can connect a third monitor straight to the laptop).

I-TEC USB 3.0 – 2x Display Port 4K Ultra HD

Manufacturer code: U3DUAL4KDP

• A powerful and versatile video adapter that can connect up to two monitors at the same time
• The adapter supports resolutions of up to 2x 4K/60 Hz, regardless of the laptop’s graphics performance
• Two DisplayPort outputs (DP++)
• Two external monitors are also supported on the Apple M1 and M2 platforms
• Connects to all USB ports: USB 3.0, USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4
• The adapter is compatible with all major operating systems

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OWC USB-C Dual HDMI 4K Display Adapter

Manufacturer code: OWCCADPDL2HDMI

OWC is one of the better brands making computer accessories. It’s known for its hubs and drive enclosures. It isn’t among the cheapest, but it pays you back with build quality. Unlike the i-tec adapters above, this one is made of aluminium. The range also includes a solid USB-C to dual HDMI adapter with DisplayLink technology.

• Displays: up to two 4K@60 Hz displays
• Monitor output: 2x HDMI 2.0, up to 4K at 60 Hz
• Chipset: DL-6950
• Certifications: CE, FCC
• Max. resolution: single and dual displays up to 4K@60 Hz (3840 x 2160)
• Refresh rate: 60 Hz
• macOS compatibility: from macOS 10.15 Catalina
• Windows compatibility: from Windows 7 32-bit Edition
• Android compatibility: from version 10.x

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I-TEC Thunderbolt 3 Dual DP Video Adapter

Manufacturer code: TB3DUAL4KDP

The i-tec Thunderbolt 3 adapter may look like a cheaper alternative, but unfortunately it doesn’t have DisplayLink, so on a Mac it won’t handle two independent monitors. I’m including it as a curiosity, because it pays to read the spec.

• 1x integrated Thunderbolt™3 cable for connecting to your device (27 cm)
• Adapter technology: Thunderbolt™3
• Video ports: 2x Display Port
• Resolution:
  • 1 monitor: 1x Display Port → up to 4K/60 Hz
  • 1 monitor: 2x Display Port → up to 5K/60 Hz
  • 1 monitor: 1x DisplayPort → up to QHD/144Hz
  • 2 monitors: 1x DisplayPort + 1x DisplayPort → up to 2x 4K/60Hz
  • 2 monitors: 1x DisplayPort + 1x DisplayPort → up to 2x QHD/144Hz
• Compatible with G-Sync / Freesync, HDR 400-1000
• OS: Windows 10/11, macOS X (Sierra and later) with the latest updates
• Product dimensions: 100 x 60 x 15 mm
• Product weight: 95 g
• Package dimensions: 180 x 130 x 25 mm
• Package weight: 155 g
• The adapter is compatible with all major operating systems

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MacBook Air M2 with MagSafe 3

If you charge a MacBook Air M2 through MagSafe 3, you can connect two DisplayLink adapters.

How many monitors can you connect to an Apple computer?

If you’re not sure how many external monitors you can connect to your Apple computer, there’s a simple way to check. Go to the Apple menu > About This Mac, double-click the serial number, then press CMD + C to copy it.

Next, go to the Tech Specs page with Apple hardware specifications and paste your serial number with CMD + V. You can also find your computer yourself. Once you’ve found it, the Video Support or Graphics section gives the exact number and type of displays that Mac supports.

How many monitors can a Mac with an M1/M2 chip handle?

• MacBook Air and iMac with an M1/M2 chip – 1 display at 6K 60Hz connected to a Thunderbolt port
• Mac mini M1 – 1 display at up to 6K 60Hz connected to a Thunderbolt port and 1 display at 4K 60Hz connected to the HDMI port.
• MacBook Pro 14/16 M1 Pro – 2 displays at 60Hz connected to Thunderbolt ports (6K) and 1 HDMI display (4K).
• MacBook Pro 14/16 M2 Pro – 2 displays at 4K 60Hz connected to Thunderbolt ports and 1 HDMI display at 4K 240Hz or 8K at 60Hz
• MacBook Pro 14/16 M1 Max – 3 displays at 60Hz connected to Thunderbolt ports (6K) and 1 connected to the HDMI port (4K), which gives 4 displays in total.
• MacBook Pro 14/16 M2 Max – 3 displays at 4K 60Hz connected to Thunderbolt ports and 1 HDMI display at 4K 240Hz or 8K at 60Hz
• Mac Studio with an M1 Pro chip supports up to 5 displays connected through Thunderbolt or HDMI

IMPORTANT – if you want to connect all your screens through a docking station

When you go by the spec that lists how many displays you can connect, remember that you can connect 1 display per port. If you plug in a docking station with 2-3 HDMI/DisplayPort ports, all the screens may end up showing the same picture (so-called mirroring).

That’s because computers running macOS with M1/M2 chips don’t support MST (Multi-Stream Transport) for splitting one video signal into several separate ones. For that you need devices that work like an external graphics card.

What is Multi-Stream Transport (MST)

Multi-Stream Transport is a feature of DisplayPort 1.2 or newer that lets you send several video signals through a single DisplayPort connection (DisplayPort is one of the standards contained in the Thunderbolt / [USB 4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB4) connector). Unfortunately, not every DP 1.2 and newer port supports MST, so it’s worth checking the graphics card spec.

MST gives you two options:

• hub mode, where one DP cable can split the signal into several more, including other types such as HDMI
• daisy-chain mode, which lets you connect several screens in a series, where one monitor passes the video signal on to the next and each one shows something different.

How to connect several monitors to a MacBook M1 Pro and M1 Max through a docking station

The new MacBook Pros with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips have no trouble connecting several screens. However, when you start looking for a docking station with 2-3 video outputs, the description will often include a note or graphic saying that on macOS with M1/M2 chips all displays will show the same picture, because of MST (Multi-Stream Transport).

Luckily there is a way to use multiple screens no matter how many your Mac supports.

Interestingly, if you have an older MacBook and set up Windows on it with Boot Camp, MST works in extended mode. For now, on macOS the fix is a solution like DisplayLink, which works as an external graphics card.

DisplayLink – an external graphics card for a MacBook M1/M2

Macs with M1/M2 chips have a limit on external displays. Even though a MacBook Air M1 has only two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, special adapters or docking stations let you connect as many as 3 displays to it. They have to be devices with a DisplayLink chip, which works like an external graphics card, and you need to install its software on your system. That lets you connect several displays and manage them.

DisplayLink adapter for two monitors

One of the simpler adapters that let you connect 2 independent displays is the U3Dual4kDP or the U3Dual4kHDMI, which you connect with a USB-A or USB-C cable (using the included adapter). Such an adapter works like an external graphics card, which you set up with special DisplayLink drivers and an app that integrates with the system. You can manage monitors added this way in System Settings as if they were supported natively.

You’ll find the full list of adapters and docking stations on the website of Synaptics, the maker of DisplayLink, under this link.

6 external monitors on a MacBook Air M1? It’s possible!

Interestingly, DisplayLink lets you connect even 6 monitors to a MacBook Air M1 or a Mac mini. You can do it with several DisplayLink stations/adapters, which work as external graphics cards.

Unlocking with an Apple Watch when using DisplayLink screens

The only problem with this type of monitor setup is that you can’t unlock your Apple computer with an Apple Watch. For now, such an option has only been introduced experimentally, in the beta of the DisplayLink Manager 1.5 driver. It’s worth checking which driver version your adapter works with, because it can differ between manufacturers and models.

The best docking station for a MacBook Pro M1/M2 that supports several monitors?

The first 2 docking stations available on the Polish market that caught my eye are i-tec products, which support up to 3 external monitors on Apple computers and up to 4 on PCs. Both support Power Delivery up to 85W, so they’ll easily power a MacBook Air M1/M2 or the base version of the MacBook Pro M1 Pro with an 8-core CPU. You can get both stations for around PLN 1000.

i-tec USB 3.0 / USB-C / Thunderbolt 3, 3x 4K Docking Station + Power Delivery 85W

Manufacturer code: CATRIPLE4KDOCKPD

• Video ports: *2x DisplayPort,1x HDMI
• Max. number of external screens (Intel): 3
• Max. number of external screens (M1): 3
• USB-C data ports: 1
• USB 3.0 ports: 5
• RJ-45 LAN port: 1
• Audio/microphone: Yes
• USB-C power output: 85 W
• Material: ABS

i-tec USB-C Quattro Display Docking Station Power Delivery 85 W

Manufacturer code: C31QUATTRODOCKPD

• Video ports: *2x DisplayPort,2x HDMI
• Max. number of external screens (Intel): 3
• Max. number of external screens (M1): 3
• USB-C data ports: 1
• USB 3.0 ports: 5
• RJ-45 LAN port: 1
• Audio/microphone: Yes
• USB-C power output: 85 W
• Material: ABS

CalDigit TS3 Plus / TS4 docking stations support 2 screens only with M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips

If you want to connect 2 external monitors, have a MacBook Pro or a Mac Studio, and want a higher-end product, the CalDigit TS4 docking station is a great solution. If you don’t need to charge the laptop, or you have the 8-core MacBook Pro M1 Pro, you can look at the cheaper CalDigit TS3.

A complete docking station for the MacBook Pro M1

Beyond the monitor question, the CalDigit TS4 is really well equipped. It has a 2.5GB Ethernet port, an SD/microSD 4.0 UHS-II card reader, 3 Thunderbolt ports, 3 USB-C 10Gb/s ports and 3 audio outputs. That’s 18 ports in total, so there are no compromises here. The build quality shows too, thanks to an aluminium casing made to take heavy use. In my opinion it’s the most complete Thunderbolt 4 docking station I’ve seen so far.

It may only not suit people who want to connect 3 monitors or more, but nothing stops you from plugging a DisplayLink adapter into one of the ports, or, a bit less elegantly, connecting straight to the Mac’s own port, which will handle an additional display.

There are plenty of 10-in-1 USB-C stations and the like, but their specs often aren’t impressive. Especially after the early days of the M1 chips, when cheap docking stations could brick your MacBook. (The problem has since been fixed by system updates.)

CalDigit TS4, the best docking station for a MacBook Pro for creators

This station supports Power Delivery of up to 98W for your laptop, and it has its own 230W power supply. Besides the laptop, there are 2 more Thunderbolt 4 ports that charge at 15W, plus a USB-C port that charges at 20W. Not to mention 4 USB-A ports, 2 of which also charge at 7.5W.

A docking station supporting 2 monitors at 4K 60Hz

You can find plenty of docking stations that support 1 or 2 4K monitors, but when you look at the spec, most of them offer only 30Hz at 4K, which is a bad joke to me. I could live with 30Hz on a projector, but even when browsing the web or working in Excel you notice something is off and the picture judders.

Thanks to DisplayPort 1.4 support, the CalDigit TS4 drives two 4K 60Hz displays at the same time (even 5K 60Hz, if it’s an Apple Studio Display) connected to Macs with M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips.

A cheap and good docking station

If connecting several external monitors isn’t a priority for you, nor 4K at 60Hz and top-notch connectivity, you may be interested in Baseus or D-Link docking stations.

D-Link DUB-M810

Right now I work on a MacBook Pro 14 and a 27-inch NEC 27 MultiSync PA271Q at QHD resolution. Until I add a second 4K monitor to my setup (which I’m planning), I use the D-Link DUB-M810 hub, which costs about PLN 300.

For now it has everything I need:

• Power Delivery up to 100W
• Ethernet port
• HDMI connector
• 3 USB-A ports

That lets me hide it behind the monitor (it just lies there loose), with an Ethernet cable permanently plugged in for working with my NAS. I’ve also got a Lightning cable plugged in, because sometimes I use my phone as a router (ah, those data limits), and the second USB port goes into the monitor, which has a more convenient hub on the side of its casing. The whole thing is powered by a USB-C to USB-C cable plugged into the original charger. I had to run from the hub to the Mac through a USB-C extension, because the built-in cable is only 15 cm long. It does the job for now.

Dell Universal Dock D6000

Another station costs about PLN 1200, but it’s quite a popular model, and for half that price or less (sometimes even with a VAT invoice, probably ex-lease) you can get a used one in good condition. It has a USB-C port with up to 65 W, which is enough to charge a MacBook Air M1, because the station has its own power supply. It also supports 2 displays at 4K 60Hz. According to the spec it’s designed for Dell laptops, but in many places online you can read that it also works with MacBook M1/M2 models.

Ports:

• USB 3.0 – 4 pcs
• USB 3.1 Type-C – 1 pc
• HDMI – 1 pc
• RJ-45 (LAN) – 1 pc
• DisplayPort – 2 pcs
• Audio output – 1 pc

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Dell Universal Dock UD22

The UD22 is the successor to the D6000. It’s very similar, but it loses the audio jack on the front of the casing and in return gives USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports with 10Gbit/s transfer instead of the 510Gbit/s of the D6000 – that’s some power! It’s not a Thunderbolt 3/4 station but a USB-C one, though I think it’s worth considering, because it costs about half as much as the CalDigit TS4.

Power Delivery also goes up from 65W to 96W, so it can power the stronger MacBook Pro 14 versions with M1 Pro/M1 Max chips without trouble, and quite possibly with fast charging too. You can connect the 16″ MacBook Pro M1 as well, but it won’t get fast charging, because that model uses a 140W charger plugged into MagSafe 3 (USB4/TB4 supports up to 100W) and this dock has a built-in USB-C cable.

With Macs you need to install the DisplayLink drivers as usual to connect 2 independent monitors.

With Windows computers you can use Alt Mode and connect 1 monitor to the DisplayPort and the second to HDMI or USB-C.

Ports:

Front

• USB-A 3.2 Gen 2
• 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 with PowerShare

Back

• Power adapter input
• HDMI 2.0
• 2x DisplayPort 1.2 (2)
• Gigabit Ethernet RJ45
• 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2
• USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C with DisplayPort 1.4 Alt Mode

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What to look out for when choosing a docking station for a MacBook

As you can see, when choosing a docking station it doesn’t pay to go only by the number of ports, because even with several video outputs, without DisplayLink you won’t be able to run several monitors at once. Unless you want each one to show the same picture, but that’s rarely why we buy an extra monitor. Another thing is to check the parameters of every connector, because you may find that a poor-quality adapter limits what your hardware can do.

Let’s start with the HDMI/DisplayPort ports, because that’s where cheap adapters disappoint the most. Even though the box often has a big 4K label, check the refresh rate too, because you can be badly let down after plugging your super laptop into your super monitor, which either won’t be supported or will run at 30Hz, which these days is a joke.

HDMI and DisplayPort port standards

Maximum DisplayPort resolutions by version:

• DisplayPort 1.2/1.2a: 4K 60Hz
• DisplayPort 1.3: 5K/60Hz or 4K/120Hz
• DisplayPort 1.4: 8K/60Hz

DisplayPort++ (DisplayPort Dual-mode) – DP++ connectors don’t differ physically, but they differ in support for extra adapters. The Dual-mode version works with (cheaper) passive adapters to other video signals (HDMI, DVI). Otherwise you need active adapters, which convert the signal from DP to HDMI or from DP to DVI.

Maximum HDMI resolutions:

• HDMI 1.4: 4K/30Hz
• HDMI 2.0: 4K/60Hz
• HDMI 2.1: 4K/120Hz, 8K/60Hz or 10K/30Hz

It’s also worth paying attention to this when choosing DP and HDMI cables.

USB-C vs Thunderbolt 3/4

USB-C versus Thunderbolt is a topic for a separate post, but to simplify, USB-C is the shape of the plug, and what spec, transfer speeds and capabilities it has depends on the transmission standard. There are so many USB transmission standards that it’s hard to count them, and without looking at the spec you often can’t tell whether it’s USB 2.0/3.0/3.2 and whether you can plug a monitor into it or not. Thunderbolt 3 and 4 use the USB-C connector but give you more capabilities and cause less confusion, because they carry PCI-E, Ethernet, DisplayPort, USB and device charging up to 100W through Power Delivery.

If you choose a Thunderbolt 3 or 4 docking station, you can be sure you’re getting 40Gbps transfer (the minimum TB4 can have is 32Gbps) and at least 15W of power delivery. USB 4 comes in 2 versions, 20 and 40Gbps, with a minimum power of 7.5W. And then there are loads of USB-C 3.0/3.1/3.2 hubs, which can be Gen 1 or Gen 2, which in simple terms means they have 5 or 10Gbps of transfer. USB-C hubs with USB 3.0/3.1 are the most common, because they’re the cheapest and good enough for connecting HDDs, a mouse and a keyboard.

Power Delivery

Power Delivery lets you plug your MacBook’s charger into a docking station or an adapter that has such a connector. That way your MacBook is connected with a single USB-C cable to the docking station, which feeds it up to 100W.

If you want to connect your computer this way, you need to check how much power the accessory’s manufacturer specifies, because a MacBook Pro M1 needs almost 100W. For a MacBook Air M1, 30W of Power Delivery is enough for everything to work smoothly without damaging your hardware. Of course it isn’t essential, and you can connect the power supply and the docking station separately, but then you have 2 cables plugged in instead of 1. A matter of looks.

Monitors with Power Delivery

Monitors with Power Delivery are an interesting solution too: the picture goes to the screen, and the screen powers your laptop at the same time. That way you only need one USB-C cable to the laptop for power and video.

For a while I used this setup while testing a really nice monitor, the HP U32 4K, which has a very good picture, is beautifully made and also has a USB hub built in. At that time I was using the D-Link hub, which doesn’t support 4K/60Hz, so I had to connect the HP screen straight to the MacBook.