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How can you use an older iMac (2012) as an external monitor with a newer MacBook Pro (2023)?

I have an older iMac, and I would like to use it as an external monitor for my newer MacBook Pro (2023). It seems like pressing Command + F2 on the iMac does not work.

MacBook Pro 15″

Posted on Aug 21, 2023 9:28 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 21, 2023 9:45 AM

To use any of these iMac models as an external display:

  • The iMac used as a display must have macOS High Sierra or earlier installed.
  • The other Mac that you're connecting it to must have been introduced in 2019 or earlier and have macOS Catalina or earlier installed.
  • The cable connecting the two Mac computers must be a Thunderbolt  or Thunderbolt 2  cable.


As you can see, this is not working as your new MacBook most likely run a newer macOS then Catalina

13 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 21, 2023 9:45 AM in response to joschro02

To use any of these iMac models as an external display:

  • The iMac used as a display must have macOS High Sierra or earlier installed.
  • The other Mac that you're connecting it to must have been introduced in 2019 or earlier and have macOS Catalina or earlier installed.
  • The cable connecting the two Mac computers must be a Thunderbolt  or Thunderbolt 2  cable.


As you can see, this is not working as your new MacBook most likely run a newer macOS then Catalina

Sep 12, 2023 9:22 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I'm not done here. I still don't have a good answer as to why this functionality was taken away. It seems to me Apple took it away because they want people to purchase a studio display for $1,599 or $1,999. The problem is, I can find something completely adequate for my needs for a fraction of the price. Even under $300! If they keep doing this, I'm going to keep replacing my Apple devices, until I have nothing Apple left. That's when maybe they'll realize this whole planned obsolescence thing was not the best idea.

Aug 26, 2023 10:29 AM in response to joschro02

Apple seems to have decided this feature is too difficult to support going forward. It also may be too hard to enforce Digital Rights Management on such a display.


Refreshing a modern display is done at the highest data rates of anything your MacBook Pro does. Accessing the drive comes in second. In addition, the timing required is completely unforgiving. This is a very difficult problem, and your Macs were never built for the purpose of accepting display data from an outside source at full-motion Video standards.


The device that IS purpose built for this purpose is your TV set. Or an external display of your choosing.



Sep 12, 2023 9:54 PM in response to joschro02

joschro02 wrote:

I'm not done here. I still don't have a good answer as to why this functionality was taken away…


The answer is “no. This does not work.”


The reason why? Nobody here knows why Apple might have removed this.


Good displays are available less expensively than the Apple Studio displays and Pro Display XDR, as well. There’s a nice top-of-the-line 42” OLED with 4K (2160p) resolution for ~USD$1000, for instance.


The old iMac displays from circa 2012 are 2560 by 1600; not that far past 1080p TV. For comparison, Apple Studio display is 5120 by 2880. (If you do want a lower-resolution non-Retina display such as a 1080p TV display, also look for info on enabling AppleFontSmoothing from the command line, too.)


Buy what works for your needs and your budget. if that’s not Apple gear, so be it.


Sep 13, 2023 6:48 AM in response to joschro02

Apple took away Target Display Mode on the iMacs themselves when the first 27" 5K Retina iMac came out in Late 2014 – long before there was a 27" 5K Studio Display. Probably long before there was a standalone display on the drawing board.


iMacs that supported both TDM and Thunderbolt required Thunderbolt connections to use TDM. That sounds like a technical restriction, not a marketing one. You'd need $80 in Thunderbolt hardware ($50 TB3-to-2 adapter plus $30 TB 1/2 cable) to make a Thunderbolt data connection between a modern TB3/TB4-equipped Mac and a 2012 iMac. To reuse a 27" 2560x1440 or 21.5" 1920x1080 display. Displays have come down in price since Late 2009, when a 27" Dell 2560x1440 monitor went for $1200 ($1000 if they had it on a good sale). Even if you could reuse a 2012 iMac's screen as a display for a Mac Studio, the economics of connecting the two machines might strongly discourage you from doing so.


So the iMacs where the new restrictions on "the other Mac" hurt are the 27" ones from 2009 and 2010, because those Macs only required a Mini DisplayPort connection – not a more exotic and expensive Thunderbolt one.


How can you use an older iMac (2012) as an external monitor with a newer MacBook Pro (2023)?

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