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I sometimes share my desk with a MacBook Air (M1) user, which only works with one external display.

The Thunderbolt 3 hub (SD5200T) is connected to a 5k Studio display via Thunderbolt and a 1440p display via Displayport. (Despite claiming it can only handle one 5k display, this setup works fine for my MacBook Pro, likely due to the Studio Display using a compressed signal)

When I connect the MacBook Air, it only displays on the 1440p display. I'd like it to use the 5k display and ignore the other. Plugging out the 1440p works well, but I'd rather avoid unplugging the Displayport cable every time. Alternatively unplugging the Studio Display from the hub and going directly to the MacBook Air isn't ideal either, since the Ethernet chip on the hub is much faster than a USB adapter on the display.

Is there a solution to either completely ignore the 1440p display or ensure the 5k display is preferred on the MacBook Air?

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  • Does your Mac detect both displays or just one? If only one is detected, then this would be a function of the hub and/or how quickly the display sends its EDID info that the Mac can detect.
    – Allan
    Commented Jan 9 at 11:00
  • What happens if you turn off the 1440p display before connecting the MacBook Air?
    – David Anderson
    Commented Jan 9 at 11:10
  • From the MacBook Pro: looks like the 1440p display is detected first. Now I was able to resolve this, though not ideal: 1. connect 2. turn off 1440p display 3. turn on 1440p display while the power on screen is shown, it connects to the 5k display. This works both with the laptop open or closed. What doesn't help is just turning off the display, it still appears in the display settings. Also using the lunar app didn't help.
    – ahag
    Commented Jan 9 at 11:53

1 Answer 1

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Adding a preliminary answer, after trying to turn off the display as suggested in a comment:

  1. connect to the dock
  2. turn off 1440p display
  3. turn on 1440p display while the power on screen is shown, it connects to the 5k display. This works both with the laptop open or closed and remains after the 1440p is fully started.

This isn't ideal because it delays the process quite a bit and shows the annoying bright startup screen of the display, though it's better than connecting and disconnecting cables or opting for slow network connectivity.

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