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Why external 4K Display will only display on 1920x1080?

I got a 28' UHD 4K monitor today (Acer Nitro VG280K), the tech spec does claim max resolution 3840x2160. However, when I connect my old MacBook Pro (late 2012) with HDMI cable, it will only display FHD (1920x1080), which is very disappointing.


  • This old MacBook pro (late 2012) does have 2 MDP and 1 HDMI, I'm assuming the 2 MDP should be Thunderbolt 2
  • The VG280K have 2 HDMI 2.0 port and 1 full size DP (DP1.2) port, I'm using the HDMI cable coming with the monitor.
  • I tried to adjust the resolution by going to "System Preferences"->"Display". For the built in Retina display, when I choose "Scaled" instead of "Default for display", I can see there are 4 little squares. However, for VG280K, when I choose "Scaled", it only shows 4 options (refer to screenshot), none is UHD


Also this is the System Report->Graphic Display section, VG280K is marked as 1920x1080.


Really out of idea now. Do I need a better HDMI cable? Would a MDP->DP cable do the trick? Any advice is appreciated!


MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Sep 1, 2020 8:02 PM

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Posted on Sep 1, 2020 8:23 PM

You won’t get 4K regardless, your Mac doesn’t support it. Your Mac can support a single display up to 2560x1600 via Thunderbolt and a single display up to 1920x1200 via HDMI.  A miniDP to DP or miniDP to HDMI cable would connect to to your TB2 port (same plug), and give you the max resolution of 2560x1600.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 1, 2020 8:23 PM in response to MacArthur2

You won’t get 4K regardless, your Mac doesn’t support it. Your Mac can support a single display up to 2560x1600 via Thunderbolt and a single display up to 1920x1200 via HDMI.  A miniDP to DP or miniDP to HDMI cable would connect to to your TB2 port (same plug), and give you the max resolution of 2560x1600.

Why external 4K Display will only display on 1920x1080?

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