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I need 2 external monitors but I am having difficulties to do it on my MacBook Air mid 2012. My monitors are 2 Ausus VG278Q.

I tried different docks. Latest one (which I believee was my best shot) is a Belkin Thunderbolt 2 Expresss Dock HD.

Later I found out that the Mid 2012 don't support more than 1 external monitor at all. Is there any solution to that problem ?

I've seen this other question: Will the Macbook Air (Mid 2012) support dual monitors?

My understanding is that your monitors need to be have a thunderbolt 2 entry, so you can daisy chain then. Is my understanding correct? If that is the case mini DP entries are enough or it needs to be really Thunderbolt 2 ? This is already old technology and having to buy monitors to fit this requisite is quite limiting and very likely not future proof.

Any other solutions?

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The only monitor that can daisy-chain the display connection is the Apple Thunderbolt Display. Your Asus monitors don't have Thunderbolt hubs or 'pass-through' connectivity.

However, I'm surprised that the Belkin Dock didn't work: assuming that it had a HDMI port and a TB2 pass-through, then that's exactly what it's for.

There are TB2 to dual HDMI adaptors, which might work, if you can find one. https://www.techpowerup.com/149981/zotac-announces-dual-hdmi-output-adaptors

If you really want to invest in 'future-proofing', you might be better served updating your Mac.

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Officially, Apple states that both the 2012 and 2013 MacBook Air will only support a single external display. However if you’re using Thunderbolt (not DisplayPort) you can daisy chain two monitors together.

Thunderbolt is not mDP (mini DisplayPort); DisplayPort is a protocol/signal carried on the Thunderbolt port (it’s a subset of TB). So, it’s not the same thing and there’s only so much DisplayPort bandwidth supplied.

As far as docks go, they don’t magically add display bandwidth that doesn’t already exist on your MacBook. Remember, if it only supported one (non-Thunderbolt) display to begin with, unless you add another video adapter (like a USB video adapter), you’re still limited to one.

As for future proofing, you really can do this. Thunderbolt 1 and 2 are obsolete so what was current in 2013 is superseded in 2015 (TB2)and then that was subsequently obsolete in 2017 (TB3).

Your best bet (to “Future proof”) is to purchase high quality 4K or 5K monitors with DisplayPort and/or ThunderBolt connectivity. You visually can’t see more than 4K so anything past that is actually a waste. Then get a Macs that meet your needs and plug it into those monitors

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  • If the MBA has the bandwidth for 2 displays, one of which is connected via the TB 'hub' on a TB Display, then surely a TB hub without its own built-in display should also be sufficient?
    – benwiggy
    Apr 6, 2020 at 14:13
  • @benwiggy - not how it works. You're confusing the TB bus with the DP signaling. I think a better way to look at it is with Apple's TB display. They actually aren't "TB displays" instead they are TB enclosures with displays attached to them. Remember those were the Cinema Displays previously with the DVI ports (much less bandwidth)
    – Allan
    Apr 6, 2020 at 14:19
  • Exactly my point. The TB display is a TB hub with a display, and it can run another display. So a hub without a display should cope with two.
    – benwiggy
    Apr 6, 2020 at 14:20
  • But those hubs are DisplayPort/HDMI (much more bandwidth). Plus, remember TB carries the PCIe bus. Each TB Display had what was a essentially a "video adapter" in them to go to DVI. On that the OP's MBA he would need a USB video adapter to get the second. Remember, his TB dock didn't work.
    – Allan
    Apr 6, 2020 at 14:27

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