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I just purchased a Dell P2175Q monitor for my 15" MBP w/Touchbar. I'm connecting with a USB-C to DisplayPort cable, but when I go to Apple > System Preference > Displays, there is nothing about the Refresh Rate. Pressing the Option key does not show any additional options.

I've seen countless screenshots where this information should appear. Is there another way to check the refresh rate?

I'm on macOS 10.13.4

Thanks.

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3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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After pressing the option key while clicking the "Scaled" radio button, tick the box "Show low resolution modes." This will show the refresh rate. display preferences image

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  • 3
    My 24fps movies would stutter on my 60fps TV. Followed the steps above to find out that my Mac had set a value of 30fps for the TV. Choosing 60fps solved my problem. Thanks!
    – Michael
    Jan 10, 2019 at 0:39
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    This is the only answer that tells how to see the refresh rate, thanks!
    – Bogatyr
    Oct 24, 2019 at 9:12
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    Thank you! I don't know why they had to make it this convoluted. Using your method I managed to set my monitor to 120Hz instead of 60. Why the "Show low resolution modes" option would enable a refresh rate dropdown is beyond me.
    – Chris White
    Aug 6, 2020 at 17:37
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    This doesn't work for me on 10.15.6.
    – parzival
    Aug 21, 2020 at 20:10
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    I wonder how does one guess tha magic combo of option-clicking a radio button
    – Ciprian Tomoiagă
    Aug 31, 2022 at 7:01
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You need to hold down the option-key while clicking the "Scaled" radio button to bring up the hidden part of the interface.

However, usually this does not give you any information on Refresh rate on this type of monitor as you cannot set it anyways.

You can click the Apple-logo in the top-left corner of the display, choose "About this Mac" and then "System Report" to bring up the system report. Choose "Graphics/Displays" and you'll have the information on the monitor. In the listing "Resolution" you'll see the refresh rate.

Note: Changing refresh rate might not be supported for the built-in display on some models, and in that case this option only appears if an external display that supports changing the refresh rate is connected to your Mac.

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    It's like they don't want you to view the refresh rate.
    – Daniel Que
    Sep 6, 2018 at 3:46
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    Mostly FYI: In Mojave, I don't see the resolution on the Graphics/Displays information. I have the LG display and a MBP with the displays mirrored.
    – pedz
    Dec 19, 2018 at 3:13
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    Thanks, but in High Sierra I don't see the refresh rate there. It only says: "Resolution: 2560 x 1440 (QHD/WQHD - Wide Quad High Definition)"
    – Magne
    Jan 8, 2019 at 14:33
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    I don't see this on an Apple Thunderbolt Monitor on Big Sur. Not in System Prefs, not in System Information, either.
    – benwiggy
    Mar 30, 2021 at 18:19
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    Not displayed in Big Sur either...
    – Per Quested Aronsson
    Jun 15, 2021 at 7:06
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You can also use a command-line tool called cscreen

# install homebrew if you don't have it already
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# install cscreen
brew install cscreen

# list displays
cscreen -l

The output will look like this

(base) 12:06:41 jupyter ~$ cscreen -l
DisplayID  Index     Depth     Width     Height  Refresh
1c81fe45       1        32      2560       1440    60
 4281006       2        32      1680       1050     0

Note that with macOS Catalina, the first time you try to open the cscreen the os will not allow it because it isn't signed. You have to go to "Security & Privacy" in "System Preferences" and allow it.

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    This does not work for built-in display on MacBook Pro 2017 with Big Sur. cscreen lists one display with the wrong resolution and refresh rate 0 (no external display connected), but maybe that's expected?
    – Per Quested Aronsson
    Jun 15, 2021 at 8:45
  • For me cscreen shows logical resolution of desktop scaling, not the physical resolution the monitor is ran at. Same as system report.
    – Agent_L
    Aug 31, 2022 at 7:24

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