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Is there a way to connect 2 external displays to Macbook Air M2

I have an ultrawide monitor and a Studio Display. I want to connect them both at the same time as I need both for different aspects of my work. Is there a way to do this? All the solutions I found on net requires weird or specific hardware...

MacBook Air

Posted on Sep 1, 2023 1:18 AM

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Posted on Sep 11, 2023 3:59 PM

There are "workaround" solutions using things like DisplayLink-equipped hubs or adapters – but none give you extra first-class hardware video outputs.


DisplayLink (and similar technologies) work by

  • Having you install a special driver on your Mac. It creates virtual displays in software, and periodically sends updates over something like USB-C (USB).
  • Having you use an external "stunt box" (hub, adapter) that has a special chip set to decode the compressed updates that the driver sends out.


Screen refresh may not be as consistent as what you would get with real hardware video output, and vendors of these types of products will sometimes say that the products are not meant for frequently-changing content, or for video games.


If new versions of macOS break the special driver, you will be dependent on third-party vendors to update that driver before displays connected in that way will work again.


Also, if you're trying to play DRM-hobbled content, it might not play on monitors connected in this way, or might not play at all if ANY monitors are connected in this way.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 11, 2023 3:59 PM in response to mutucan87

There are "workaround" solutions using things like DisplayLink-equipped hubs or adapters – but none give you extra first-class hardware video outputs.


DisplayLink (and similar technologies) work by

  • Having you install a special driver on your Mac. It creates virtual displays in software, and periodically sends updates over something like USB-C (USB).
  • Having you use an external "stunt box" (hub, adapter) that has a special chip set to decode the compressed updates that the driver sends out.


Screen refresh may not be as consistent as what you would get with real hardware video output, and vendors of these types of products will sometimes say that the products are not meant for frequently-changing content, or for video games.


If new versions of macOS break the special driver, you will be dependent on third-party vendors to update that driver before displays connected in that way will work again.


Also, if you're trying to play DRM-hobbled content, it might not play on monitors connected in this way, or might not play at all if ANY monitors are connected in this way.

Sep 11, 2023 4:10 PM in response to mutucan87

Assuming that by Studio Display, you mean the 27" 5K Apple Studio Display (2022) – not one of the much older and lower-resolution Studio Displays that Apple sold between July 2000 and June 2004 – there's another issue.


That display takes Thunderbolt 3 input, to provide extra bandwidth to support its very high (5K) resolution. I do not believe that any DisplayLink adapter offers (Thunderbolt 3, 5K) output to drive that monitor. The adapters might let you attach 4K DisplayPort and HDMI monitors in a second-class way - but Thunderbolt 3 and 5K is a bridge too far.


So I think you need to get accustomed to using one external display at a time.

Apr 30, 2024 11:51 AM in response to mutucan87

For M-series MacBooks that are limited to one external display, a USB DisplayLink™ adaptor or dock can be used to add a 2nd external display.


I ran into this one external monitor limitation when I bought the first MacBook Air M1 — so I went with DisplayLink.com's driver and a DisplayLink-certified USB-to-HDMI adapter:


  1. My first external monitor was driven using Apple's standard USB-C to HDMI adapter, à la Use an external display with your MacBook Air - Apple Support (CA), (but your favourite USB-C adaptor or dock with HDMI output should work.)  
  2. My 2nd external monitor was driven using the DisplayLink™ driver, https://www.displaylink.com/downloads/macos, along with a Displaylink™-certified USB-to-HDMI adapter. ( I used this one, a StarTech USB32HD4K USB to HDMI 4K adapter: https://www.startech.com/en-us/audio-video-products/usb32hd4k but any Displaylink™-certified HDMI adaptor or dock should work. )


I found the DisplayLink driver supported my MacBook Air M1 in clamshell mode, and that I had no problem displaying internet videos on my DisplayLink-attached 1920x1080 external monitor. (My primary display, a 2560x1440 monitor, was supported using an Apple USB-C to HDMI adapter).


Yes, there remains the possibility with using 3rd-party drivers like DisplayLink, that they will be broken by a future MacOS update, or that a DisplayLink-attached external monitor will perform less well for some content (video editing?) but the above setup met my needs in allowing for two external monitors.

Is there a way to connect 2 external displays to Macbook Air M2

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