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I have a late 2016 MacBook Pro 15" connected to a Dell S2721QS 4K monitor via a Wavlink WL-UMD502 docking station and a HDMI 2.0 cable.

I am attempting to power 4K at 60Hz, but macOS seems to be unable to support this. However, Windows is able to support it fine.

Windows support

When I attempt to run this from macOS, I only see 30Hz, 25Hz, and 24Hz options. I have attempted to Option + click on Scaled resolutions and showed all resolutions, but they all still just support at most 30Hz. I also installed SwitchResX, but from quickly looking around at the options there, there was no 60Hz 4K option - there was a 1440p @ 60Hz option that showed up, although it was not HiDPI. I have also tried resetting NVRAM, with no changes.

MacOS No Support

This seems like it is definitely a software issue given that it is fully functional on Windows, but I am lost on how to bypass macOS thinking it can't drive the display at 60Hz.

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3
  • 1) Only one port on the WL-UMD502 supports 60Hz, make sure it is connected to the correct port. 2) Do you have a Display Port cable to check if the issue occurs then as well? 3) Do you have another adapter to test the display? The issue might be caused in connection with your hub/dock in general.
    – Kevin Grabher
    Commented Oct 14, 2021 at 17:11
  • On Windows, I am able to get 4K 60Hz from both HDMI ports. I did test with a DisplayPort 1.4 cable, but that was not able to run 4K at all, so I'm guessing this dock doesn't properly support DisplayPort. I don't see how this could be an issue with the dock, since it is easily able to run at 4K60 on Windows.
    – WhyIsItReal
    Commented Oct 15, 2021 at 1:12
  • Looks like I misread their (misleading) product page, it doesn't seem to matter which HDMI port you use, as long as only one display is connected. However, their page also confirms that Display Port should provide 4K@60Hz. Either way I think the best option would be to see if you can find another adapter or another Mac to test your adapter to further troubleshoot where the issue occurs.
    – Kevin Grabher
    Commented Oct 15, 2021 at 10:22

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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I just bought the same monitor (Dell S2721QS 4K) and had exactly the same issue connecting to my 2017 MacBookPro (four Thunderbolt ports). I was using the HDMI 2.0 cable that came with the monitor and the official Apple HDMI to USB-C adapter.

To fix the issue: I ordered a DisplayPort to USB-C cable (https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B07S7NTNHC/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) for ~€11 and it arrived today and I've now got a lovely range of 60 Hz resolutions to run the external monitor at!

Screenshot showing all the display options (at 60Hz) in the standard Display Prefs on Mac OS Monterey

Screenshot of SwitchResX current resolutions available at 60Hz and HiDPI

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3
  • Weird. I ordered a DisplayPort to USB C cable, I'll see if that works better. I'm just confused because clearly the HDMI cable + port works at 4K 60Hz, since it's fully functional on Windows.
    – WhyIsItReal
    Commented Oct 29, 2021 at 20:39
  • With the DisplayPort cable, I was also able to get 4K at 60Hz. I'm not sure what the issue with HDMI is, since it works on Windows, but I guess I'll just use DisplayPort.
    – WhyIsItReal
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 6:29
  • I'm not sure why either, but I'm glad the displayPort cable is a solution.
    – Antony Ribot
    Commented Nov 2, 2021 at 10:02

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