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I currently have two external monitors hooked up to my Macbook pro. One is connected using an HDMI -> USB-C cable and the other is plugged into a USB-C Hub that has a number of ports including an HDMI port which my second monitor is plugged into. With this setup any time I want to hook up my external monitors I have to plug in both the HDMI -> USB-C cable and the hub that the HDMI -> HDMI cable is plugged into.

What I'm wondering is if there is any way that I could connect both of my monitors through a single USB-C port on my MacBook rather than using two ports? I've done quite a bit of Googling/Amazoning looking for USB-C hubs but the majority of what comes up includes at most 1 USB-C input. I did find one that had two USB-C ports but it specifically said it wasn't for video.

Is there any way to connect both of my external displays through a single USB-C port on my MacBook or am I destined use two ports every time?

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Yes, you can do this using a Thunderbolt dock. It won't work with a USB-C hub/dock.

Lots of these docks are available on the market. For example the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock, the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock, the OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock, and the Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Pro.

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If you have a M1 MacBook then there is no one cable solution to two displays. It's a limitation of the hardware, no Thunderbolt dock will fix this. Belkin explains this in their support documents. https://www.belkin.com/us/support-article?articleNum=317939

There are docks that will support two displays on M1 Macs by using a USB based GPU. Because it is a separate GPU it will act differently in some situations than the native GPU. Because it's using USB the performance is limited. Because the dock will have another GPU it's going to cost more than a dock with a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter chip.

If you have an Intel MacBook then @jksoegaard has the answer, find a Thunderbolt dock that supports two displays.

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  • He can't have an M1 MacBook, as he explains that he has two external monitors functioning already - he just wants to avoid having to plug in two cables. The M1 MacBook Pro only supports 1 external monitor, so it cannot be that computer.
    – jksoegaard
    Jan 11 at 20:52
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You need a KVM switch, so you don't need to do any plug and unplug of any cables while you decide to make a switch between your MBP and other systems.

The way you're planning to do (using a type-C with dual video outputs) will not work at all.

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    You have misunderstood the question. There's 1 computer and 2 monitors - not the other way around.
    – jksoegaard
    Jan 7 at 0:17
  • @jksoegaard is correct
    – Abe Miessler
    Jan 11 at 18:52

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