How To Set Up External Monitor On Macbook Pro

How to connect a monitor to MacBook Pro

A designer uses a MacBook Pro connected to a monitor

(Image credit: Arian Darvishi via Unsplash)

If you accept ane of Apple'due south top-stop laptops, you may well be wondering how to connect a monitor to MacBook Pro. The latest MacBook Pros offering unprecedented power and they boast fantastic Liquid Retina XDR displays too, but at 16in even the largest MacBook Pro is rather pocket-size for many creatives to piece of work on, especially if you need to work across various panels or windows at the same time.

Connecting your MacBook Pro to an external monitor is the obvious solution, simply it'southward not ever so straightforward. Apple tree'south changed the MacBook Pro's ports so many times over the years that how you connect a monitor, and even how many monitors you can connect, varies depending on your device. In the guide below, we'll walk you step-past-footstep through how to connect a monitor to MacBook Pro for the latest models, and also reply some of the nearly frequently asked questions about connecting a monitor to a MacBook Pro.

Not yet chosen your screen? And then see our own guide to the best monitors for MacBook Pro. And, depending on how many monitors y'all desire to connect, you might too want to choose the best dock for MacBook Pro to expand your connection options.

How to connect a monitor to MacBook Pro

Any MacBook Pro tin can be connected to at least 1 external monitor as all models have a port that tin can back up video output. How you do that will depend on which device yous have, and you lot're likely to need either a USB-C monitor or an adapter or dock. Beneath we'll look at how to connect a monitor to the most recent models.

01. Identify your MacBook Pro

Product shot of the 2022 MacBook Pro 14 — The 2022 MacBook Pro 14 (Image credit: Apple)

It should be fairly elementary to connect a laptop to a monitor, right? Just plug in a cable, and yous're good to go. And it is that simple (nigh), but you'll need to know what MacBook Pro you accept, and more specifically what ports information technology has for video support.

Over the years, Apple's inverse the selection of ports it includes on its top-terminate laptops. If you're not certain what MacBook Pro you have (nosotros don't blame y'all; there have been so many iterations), then go to the menu (the Apple tree icon and 'About This Mac'. Double-click your serial number and press Command-C to copy information technology. In your browser, go to Apple tree'south Tech Specs page (opens in new tab), click the Search Tech Specs bar, and press Command-V to paste in your laptop's serial number. Click Search, and then click the specs page for your Mac. Hither'southward you lot'll find details on your laptop's ports.

02. Cull the right cable

Product shots of the 2022 MacBook Pro 16 from each side showing its ports — The 2022 MacBook Pro 14 and 16 have an HDMI port and 2 Thunderbolt four ports you lot can employ to adhere an external display (Image credit: Apple)

The latest M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro 14 and xvi (released in October 2022) have Thunderbolt 4 ports and an HDMI port, so you accept two options to connect a monitor. The Thunderbolt four cables are backwards compatible and can be used to connect to a display using a Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C cable. If y'all have a monitor that doesn't have a USB-C port, run across our guide to the best USB-C monitors to find 1 or utilise an adapter or dock every bit required. You lot tin likewise use the HDMI port to connect an external screen – peculiarly useful if you want to connect to a TV to gear up an amusement centre.

The 2022 M1 MacBook Pro 13 doesn't accept an HDMI port just has either two or iv Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C ports. You can connect but one external brandish using either a Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C cablevision. Again you can use an adapter or a dock if y'all have a monitor that doesn't support this connection type. MacBook Pros from 2022 to 2022 also have Thunderbolt 3 ports so the same applies to those. Make sure you choose a cable that's long plenty to go from the back of the display to your port on the Mac.

03. Connect your monitor

This is the easy bit. Once you've got the right cable and an adapter if you need ane, you lot're fix to connect. Plug your monitor into the ability, and so connect your display to your Mac. If you're using an external keyboard and mouse, yous can close your MacBook's in-born display once you're connected – you might have to press a key or click your mouse to wake up the external display.

If you observe that the external display doesn't plow on later you connect it, try connecting your display while your MacBook is turned off, then switch your MacBook on. Still no luck, and so double-check your cables are properly connected, and check your software is upwards to date. Finally, in System Preferences > Displays, you can printing the Alt/option key to bring up the 'Observe Displays' button. Click on 'Detect Displays', and this should crusade your Mac to meet the external monitor. For more help with potential problems see our guide to how to fix a black screen on MacBook Pro.

04. Accommodate your display

Screenshot of display arrangement settings on the MacBook Pro — In the Arrangement tab, y'all tin drag your external monitor to where you want it to meet your main screen. (Paradigm credit: Apple tree)

Finally, with the monitor now continued yous tin conform and arrange your brandish. In the display configuration options in 'Arrangement Preferences', y'all tin can set how the displays are arranged, turn screen mirroring on and off, and adjust colour, resolution, and more than.

Go to 'Organization Preferences' via the toolbar shortcut or search for it in Spotlight Search. Click on 'Displays' and then 'Arrangement'. Here you can elevate the boxes to conform how the monitor displays your screen. Information technology might take a bit of trial and error if you're using multiple displays. The primary display where your desktop icons and app windows appear will be indicated with a white menu bar (come across the prototype higher up).

If y'all desire to utilise your external monitor as an extension of your MacBook screen rather than to simply view what you're seeing on your laptop, make certain the 'Mirror Displays' box isn't checked. Check this box if yous desire to view the same thing you see on your laptop screen. You lot tin can select 'Show mirroring options in the card bar when available' to see a status card in the menu bar that makes it quicker to turn mirroring on and off.

To arrange resolution, in 'Display' you lot can select 'Best' to employ the all-time resolution your monitor can offer or 'Scaled' to match the display to your MacBook Pro. Max resolution is proficient for film or for tasks that demand the space, but scaled will ofttimes get in easier to elevate apps beyond the screens. There are also options to select if you're using an angled or vertical in the 'Rotation' menu, and you can adjust colour and brightness. For this, we'd recommend using one of the best monitor calibrator tools.

What monitor should I cull for MacBook Pro?

MacBook Pros are incredibly powerful laptops for their size, and the latest models tin can drive impressive displays. There's no problem handling 4K and the M1-chipped devices can even drive a 6K display at 60Hz (and more than than one of them if yous take the M1 Pro or M1 Max 2022 MacBook Pro 14 or xvi).

You can usually pretty much any monitor y'all chooset, but there are a few things to consider. A USB-C monitor wil be the all-time option since all recent MacBooks accept compatible Thunderbolt three or iv ports, whereas but the latest 14in and 16in Macbook Pros have HDMI ports. And, remember that USB-C monitors tin likewise evangelize power via that USB-C cable to charge your laptop.

If you're planning to use your MacBook Pro for creative work, y'all'll desire wide colour gamut coverage – 97% DCI-P3 or higher. Y'all'll also want to go for a resolution to friction match your laptop's. A 24in – 32in 4K monitor will generally provide a similar viewing feel to the brandish on ane of the recent MacBook Pros.

How many monitors tin can I connect to MacBook Pro?

How many monitors yous tin can connect to your MacBook Pro depends on which model yous have – or rather on which fleck you lot accept. If y'all have the 2022 M1-chipped MacBook Pro thirteen, yous tin can only connect one external brandish, and even using a dock won't allow you to add together more, so yous might desire to choose a wide screen if you lot need a lot of space.

However, the 2022 M1 Pro MacBook 14 and sixteen can drive upwards to 2 external displays with its Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) and HDMI ports, and the M1 Max fleck can bulldoze up to four. To bank check which fleck yous accept, go to the Apple tree menu > Virtually This Mac.

An image of a MacBook Pro, and HDTV and Apple TV on a blue background — (Image credit: Apple tree)

How do I use AirPlay?

If you have an Apple tree Telly or an AirPlay two–enabled smart Tv set, you tin can besides use your Goggle box as a display for your MacBook past using AirPlay Mirroring. This lets you wirelessly send what's on your Mac display to an HDTV with Apple TV.

You'll need to make certain your Mac and Apple Telly are on the aforementioned network. Click the Screen Mirroring icon in the Control Center (two horizontal rectangles overlaid), then cull your Apple tree TV. To select whether your desktop matches the size of the Mac screen or the TV screen, click the AirPlay status icon then choose This Mac or Apple TV. The AirPlay condition icon in the menu bar will turn bluish when you're using AirPlay Mirroring.

An image of a an iPad and a MacBook Pro side to side, with the iPad being used as a second screen — (Epitome credit: Apple)

Can I close the chapeau on my MacBook Pro while using an external monitor?

By default, endmost the hat on your MacBook Pro puts is to slumber. If you want to use your MacBook Pro via an external monitor while the lid is closed, yous'll demand to change some settings. Go to System Preferences > Battery > Energy Saver > Power Adapter, and move the slider to Never. For this to work, y'all'll demand to have a keyboard and either a mouse or trackpad connected to your MacBook Pro or it will still sleep when you close the lid.

How do I use an iPad every bit a second brandish for MacBook Pro?

You can also use your iPad as a 2d display for your MacBook. Information technology'southward not exactly going to give you a lot of extra screen space, just information technology can be useful as a screen extension, to work more closely on detailed tasks or if you want to use your iPad as a graphics tablet with the Apple tree Pencil. To exercise this, you can use the Sidecar feature with macOS Catalina or afterwards and a compatible ‌iPad‌ running iOS 13 or later. The easiest mode is once more via AirPlay.

Click the ‌AirPlay‌ icon (the rectangle with a triangle in information technology) at the top of the Menu bar and if you accept a compatible iPad it will show upwards on the list. Yous tin mirror your display or move your arrow over the full-screen button of a window and choose to motility that window to your iPad display.

Read More:

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Joe is a regular freelance announcer and editor at Creative Bloq. He's in accuse of getting our product reviews upward onto the website and keeps track of the best equipment for creatives, from monitors to role supplies. He'due south worked as a writer and translator for 20 years and likewise works as a project manager at a pattern and branding agency based in London and Buenos Aires, where he manages a squad of designers, photographers and video editors.