Mac Studio not sending video signal to monitor after long time off

[sebalvarez]

I've had a Mac Studio for two weeks now. While I love it, I've come across a couple of issues I'm not too happy about. One was a kernel panic caused by Onedrive, and to me, no matter how bad a program might be, an OS should be strong enough to kill it and not let it bring the whole system down. Another kernel panic was caused by copying a lot of files from an external mechanical drive into the internal SSD, about 2.5 TBs that obviously took a long time, but again, that shouldn't be able to take down the whole OS. And the drive itself doesn't have any problems. I've done that before with my iMac and it never gave me a kernel panic from copying TBs of files. But I guess these may be mac OS problems.

But the other problem that seems more hardware related. This happened about three times in two weeks, and it is that when I turned on the monitor, nothing came on screen, and after a few seconds, it showed me the message that it wasn't receiving a signal, so it would go to sleep. But the machine is on, and if I press some of the keys, the internal speaker makes that sound when you press the wrong key, which in this case it's because it's in the login screen, expecting me to enter the password. One time I even did that, without seeing, but I typed it and pressed enter, and nothing happened. The only way to get back the signal was to unplug the cable from the back of the Mac Studio and plug it back in, then it got the signal.

But this weird because it's not something that happens every time the monitor is off for hours, in fact many nights I left the machine on, turned the monitor off, and the next morning when I turned on the monitor and then pressed a key on my keyboard, the monitor showed the login screen.

The Mac Studio is connected to two Dell P2715Qt monitors, using two USB-C to Displayport cables I got on Amazon a few days before I was set to receive the Mac Studio. As far as I can tell, they are strong cables, they connect very well, it's easy to insert them but not to the point where they seem like they're loose. About the same as the Apple branded cables.
The second monitor is not very much in use with this machine, it's connected to a Macbook Pro with a USB-C to mini Displayport cable. And I haven't had any problems with that connection. I still have to swap the two monitors, but these are identical, I've had them for about 6 years and never gave me any problem.

Has this happened to anyone here?

 

[Gnattu]

I am having issues with passive USB-C to Displayports cable with certain monitors, and by using an active solution like a Thunderbolt dock then use the DP port from the Dock resolves my problem on M1 Max but not on original M1. My diagnostics is that some monitors will disconnect the USB/DP connection totally when inactive and M1 Macs do not like such behavior and treat it as the monitor is totally disconnected, and I have to replug the cable for the monitor to be recognized.

Your problem could be easily mitigated by never turn off your monitor, could you give it try?

 

[sebalvarez]

I am having issues with passive USB-C to Displayports cable with certain monitors, and by using an active solution like a Thunderbolt dock

Sorry, what do you mean by "passive USB-C"? First time I hear that, but granted, I didn't have anything USB-C until recently.

Your problem could be easily mitigated by never turn off your monitor, could you give it try?

I would, the problem is this monitor, when it's in sleep mode rather than turned off, fades the intensity of the power button light on and off constantly. Since I have my desk a few feet away from my bed, and I'm a very light sleeper, that white blueish LED would make it really hard to fall asleep.

 

[Gnattu]

Sorry, what do you mean by "passive USB-C"? First time I hear that, but granted, I didn't have anything USB-C until recently.

This means a cable without any chips intergrated but only wired, so it is "passive".
An "active" solution integrates another chip.

 

[Gnattu]

that white blueish LED would make it really hard to fall asleep.

I have a router with a very bright power LED and I cannot turn it of through the firmware, so I just tapped it🤣

 

[satcomer]

What I found was some Intel apps the required keck hacks to function causing the issue, especially big software and its' outdated software! I am seeing a Mac software reckoning coming this fall when Apple finally replaces the last Intel Mac Pro software will have put of at least Universal versions to survive in MacWorld!

 

[BanditoB]

How did you originally set up your Mac Studio? Did you do a migration from another machine? It’s possible that this could have brought over something that is interfering with the video output of your Studio on occasion.

 

[sebalvarez]

How did you originally set up your Mac Studio? Did you do a migration from another machine? It’s possible that this could have brought over something that is interfering with the video output of your Studio on occasion.

No, I had another older Mac but I chose to do it clean, however I did sign in with my Apple ID to get all the sync features that make Apple products so great (and no, I don't work for Apple, that's just the way it is. Say whatever you want about Apple, and I don't like Apple fanatics, but you gotta admit, their sync features across devices are great, with some glitches every now and then).

I found this glitch to be weird, and I wouldn't put it past it that it's the monitors' fault, because they are Dell, and while their picture quality is actually pretty good, I've had two Dell PCs myself, plus other Dell devices at different workplaces, and to me one thing that is clear about Dell is that they design their products not with the goal of lasting and the user having a good experience, but rather how fast they can be assembled in factory and out the door to sell more and more. These two monitors seem to have better build quality than the Dell PCs I had, but they seem flaky, so much that a gnat got inside the screen and when I crushed it and then couldn't clean it at all, I realized it was between two layers of the screen. Something tells me that doesn't happen to high quality monitors.

But this glitch keeps acting in random way, I don't have it for days, then it comes back, then it goes away and so on. So well, it's not the end of the world, I spent all my doe on the best Mac Studio I could afford, so these old monitors will have to do for years to come.

 

[BanditoB]

Hmm…it does sound like it could be some sort of timing issue that only crops up occasionally. I hate these sorts of problems that are not reproduceable at will. It makes tracking them down very difficult.

Who knows? Maybe MacOS Ventura will solve the problem. One never knows.