I've just purchased the 27MD5KL-B model from the Apple Store and am having issues with the camera + firmware updates. The camera isn't registering at all (Photo Booth/FaceTime say the camera is off). And when I try to use the LG Screen Manager app, it tells me there's an update but the update never passes 0% and fails every time:
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Are these common issues? Anyone ressolved the firmware update issues? I've been pretty disappointed in the software quality as so many people recommended this one, on top of being a $1,300 monitor. I tried reaching out to LG support but they tell me there are no firmware updates and that I should bring it in to be serviced. This is day one with the display.
Wow! LG couldn't even get the translation to English correct for their error message, "Please plug out the monitor power cable and plug it again.".
Onto the more important problem, in the monitor software version, "(3.04,0.0, 5250,4.13,0.3)", the second grouping of digits "0.0" should be the display camera firmware version. But, that's not correct and is probably still 1.13 since I doubt LG changed the camera from the 27MD5KA(B). You can check if macOS has detected the camera by actually activating it. It's in a power saving state when not in use. If it won't activate, then you have an OS detection problem. The camera firmware version can be viewed from selecting " > About This Mac > System Report > USB > LG UltraFine Display Camera".
If the camera is not detected, then try factory resetting the monitor with the "LG Screen Manager" app. Also, check that the Thunderbolt 3 cable is ,in fact, a Thunderbolt 3 cable and not USB-C. The physical connectors are the same but the software protocol for communication is not.
I would deduce that either the camera is not being detected by your OS or has a communication problem either from hardware or software related problems on the 5K. If you can connect the monitor to a different computer with macOS, Windows, or Linux, then you could quickly check if the problem is related to macOS that this is occurring on. If the different computer detects and activates the camera, then it's macOS on that computer. If it's only on the one computer, then proceed with resetting.
0. Disconnect any peripherals on the macOS computer, to include the monitor, you're using this display with and reconnect only the display via a known operational and compatible Thunderbolt 3 Cable.
1. After the display is detected, then open the app and select "Factory Reset" under "Settings".
2. After the reset, then disconnect the monitor from the computer.
3. Reconnect the monitor and check that the camera is detected and will activate. If not, then you can attempt another firmware update. If the update fails again, the firmware version is still "0.0", and the camera will not activate, then this will require LG to repair/replace. It's still under warranty and you may be able to get a replacement from Apple, instead of going through LG's return process.