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Connect 3 external monitors to MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021

Hi there


MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021)

Chip apple M1 pro

MacOS Montery version 12.6


I have 3 external monitors, each 4K.


Only 2 will connect and I can't work out how to get the third connected. All 3 work, but only 2 at a time (whether HDMI or USBC cables).


The specs say (MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications (AU))

Display Support

Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and:

  • Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Pro) or
  • Up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Max)


Does anyone have any clues as to how I can do this? HDMI? Do I need Thunderbolt cables?

I'm loathe to get a docking station so would prefer to connect to the Mac direct, if I can.


Any device would be greatly appreciated.

Posted on Nov 12, 2022 12:39 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 12, 2022 1:40 AM

If you have the M1 Pro chip you can connect 2 external displays at a time, with the M1 Max you can connect 3. So if you indeed have a M1 Pro you cannot use all the 3 displays all toegether

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8 replies

Nov 12, 2022 7:00 AM in response to _melster

The Apple standard for its built-in hardware-accelerated displays, makes them suitable for full-motion video for production/display of cinema-quality video with NO dropped frames, and NO dropouts or partial-blank scan lines due to memory under-runs or other issues. This requires a hardware rasterizer/display-generator for each fully-accelerated display. 


If you are doing full motion video, you need a more capable computer.


If you are only doing program listing and stock quotes and other slow to change data, there are some other solutions, but they require you to make some strong compromises.

Nov 13, 2022 3:32 PM in response to _melster

DisplayLink technology creates a "fake" display buffer in RAM, sends the data out over a slower interface to a stunt box with DisplayLink custom chips that put that data back onto a "legacy" interface. It is not a true "accelerated" display, and it can suffer from lagging. Just adding the DisplayLink Driver is not adequate to get a picture -- you need a DisplayLink "stunt-box" or a Dock that includes DisplayLink chips.


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It may be acceptable for a second display showing slow-to-change data such as computer program listings, stock quotes, or spreadsheets, but NOT for full motion Video, not for Video editing, and absolutely not for gaming. Mouse-tracking on that display can lag, and can make you feel queasy.


In a pinch, it may even play Internet videos (as one user put it) “without too many dropped frames".


The Apple standard for its built-in hardware-accelerated displays, makes them suitable for full-motion video for production/display of cinema-quality video with NO dropped frames, and NO dropouts or partial-blank scan lines due to memory under-runs or other issues. This requires a hardware rasterizer/display-generator for each fully-accelerated display.


If you are only doing program listing and stock quotes and other slow to change data, there are some other solutions, but they require you to make some strong compromises.

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It is really nice to know that you can use a DisplayLink display if you MUST have an additional display for some of the types of data I mentioned. But that is NOT the same as the computer supporting a second, built-in, Hardware-accelerated display.


These displays depend on DisplayLink software, and are at the whim of Apple when they make MacOS changes. There have been cases where MacOS changes completely disabled DisplayLink software, and it took some time for them to recover.


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I think the Big Surprise for a lot of Hub/Dock buyers is that they thought they were getting a "real" display, but actually got a DisplayLink "fake" Display. If you got what you expected in every case, I would not use such pejorative terms to describe DisplayLink.


Connect 3 external monitors to MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021

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