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How to Add a Second Monitor to Your MacBook
This is how to add a second monitor to your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or MacBook. These are all great portable computers, and when you are at the office or at home you can upgrade your productivity with a second display.
You can easily add a monitor to your MacBook to get more space to do work. This works with all MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro screen sizes, and it is a great work from home upgrade. With a monitor, you can more easily multitask, watch videos, work on big spreadsheets, and compare documents.
If you have room, you should consider adding a monitor to your MacBook. This makes working on two windows or apps at the same time easier and you can also increase the text size if you have trouble seeing or reading the screen.
Read: How to Use an iMac as a Second Monitor
You can also add an external keyboard and mouse to your MacBook Pro to turn it into a desktop workstation that you just need to plug your MacBook into. You can connect a monitor directly to your MacBook Pro, or you can buy a MacBook Pro dock. In some cases, you will need an adapter.
Here’s how to add a second monitor to your MacBook. Plus a look at what you need and what to look for in a monitor.
What to Look for in a Monitor for Your MacBook or MacBook Pro
If you already own a monitor there is a good chance that you can plug it into your MacBook or MacBook Pro with an adapter and start using it. If you are shopping for a new monitor, there are some things to consider.
Easily add a monitor to your MacBook or MacBook Pro.
Figure out how big of a monitor you want, if you want a widescreen monitor, and what kind of resolution you need.
At the minimum, you’ll want a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution monitor. This is also known as HD, and it’s good enough for many users. That said, it’s worth looking at a 4K or a widescreen monitor.
QHD, QHD+ and 4K monitors are great options and you will see a range of resolutions as you shop. Personally I prefer a curved widescreen monitor and I don’t need it to be 4K, but if money is no object you can go up to 4K or 5K in a wide range of sizes.
- 34” 21: 9 WQHD (3440 X 1440) Curved IPS display
- USB type-C connectivity
- HDR 10 compatible
- Supports sRGB 99% color gamut
- Height & tilt adjustable stand
Most monitors now offer HDMI, DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort and a DVI or VGA connection. Some come with a USB C connection. The model listed above can plug in directly to your MacBook Pro with USB C.
How to Connect a Second Monitor to Your MacBook or MacBook Pro
After you get your monitor on your desk or in the office, you can connect it to your MacBook.
If you are using a 2015 or older MacBook Pro, you can connect an HDMI cable from your computer directly to a monitor. If you own a new MacBook Pro with USB C or a 12-inch MacBook you will need a USB C to HDMI or USB C to DisplayPort adapter. The MacBook Air requires a mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter.
On an older MacBook Pro, you have two options: HDMI or Mini DisplayPort/Thunderbolt. As mentioned earlier, if your monitor has DVI, you can get Apple’s Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter. If your monitor has HDMI, you can plug an HDMI cable in directly.
If you have a MacBook Air, your only option is Mini DisplayPort/Thunderbolt. With that said, you’ll either need the above adapter or a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter.
With the 12-inch MacBook or new MacBook Pro, it’s a bit more tricky, but to connect a DVI monitor to it, you’ll need a DVI to HDMI adapter, as well as USB-C adapter. Or if you’re using HDMI, you can simply just get the USB-C adapter. There are fewer options you have as far as ports go, the more complicated it gets, but there’s always a way.
Now, once you have connected the monitor to your MacBook and turn it on, your MacBook will automatically detect the added display. You’ll just need to customize it the way you want by opening up System Preferences and clicking on Displays.
From here, the most important settings are found in the Arrangement tab at the top. This is where you can set which monitor is your main display. To do this simply click and drag on the miniature menu bar and place it on the monitor that you want to act as the main display.
You can also click and drag on a whole monitor to move it around and set how you want the desktop to act. My second monitor is at eye level, while my MacBook is on my desk, so I set the main monitor as my second monitor.
From there, you can start using your second monitor. You can drag apps from one monitor to the next and you can use an app like Magnet to move them around with keyboard shortcuts.
The MacBook will automatically detect your monitor whenever you plug it in, and macOS will remember window sizes with the second monitor as well. When you unplug, all windows go to your MacBook.
USB C to Lightning Cable | |||||||||||||||||
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When it comes to connecting your iPhone to your MacBook Pro, the best option is to buy a USB C to Lightning cable instead of using an adapter that is more likely to get lost or left at home. Sure, an adapter would double as a USB adapter for other devices, but we're looking to remove adapters as possible. I own two of these cables and I love them. Not only can I connect my iPhone directly to the Mac, but if I plug this cable into my MacBook Pro charger I can fast charge my iPhone X. This also works for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. When fast charging the iPhone charges up to 50% in 30 minutes. Apple sells two official USB C to Lightning cables. You can use this to charge your iPhone or iPad, sync to iTunes and even to use with Duet to use your iPad as a second display for your MacBook Pro. | |||||||||||||||||
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Last update on 2021-09-19. This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to read our disclosure policy for more details. Images via Amazon API
Carlajslaton
03/06/2016 at 7:58 am
6767=1my best friend’s half-sister makes $87 /hr on the laptop . She has been out of a job for eight months but last month her check was $16467 just working on the laptop for a few hours.
find more info… See More
Ross
03/10/2016 at 1:09 pm
Great instructions. I’m wondering…is it possible to run a DVI adapter to VGA and then run a VGA cable to an iMac using an adapter from VGA to thunderbolt in order to use a MacBook as an extended display? Or it this for output only?
Jeanine Scott
06/09/2016 at 7:40 pm
I’m trying to connect an older Dell monitor to my macbook air 15″. I have the Belkin DVI adaptor. Everything is plugged in but adaptations is not showing on my display options. I’d very much appreciate any ideas you may have.
Kerry
06/10/2016 at 4:46 am
@Jeanine and Ross – I have old Dell monitor and a new Lightening cable and VGA adaptor. When I plug my monitor into the Mac Book I get flashing on my Mac Book screen and no Arrangement tab – any help you get please send my way too :)
jonathan niewerth
06/20/2016 at 2:46 am
hi, i have a macbook air and a dell monitor, I’m using the macbook air to remotely log into a pc that is at work, i can only get the display to show up on the mac and not the dell monitor. any thoughts ?
S.A. Paige
07/25/2016 at 9:37 am
I have two macbooks and can’t seem to get one to be a display, even when using command F2. Do you know if a macbook/macbook connection is possible? I don’t have a monitor.
BV
10/08/2016 at 8:43 am
Same problem here… Have you now found a solution ?
everydaydifferent
10/08/2016 at 11:41 am
Nothing yet. But if I do figure it out, I’ll let you know.
home repairman
12/14/2016 at 9:34 pm
Good site you’ve got here..It?s hard to
find high-quality writing like yours nowadays.
I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
sikopomp
12/18/2016 at 10:51 am
Thanks for all the help!
Jillian
12/27/2016 at 7:58 pm
I really like your writing style, good information, appreciate it for putting up :D.
Matt
02/26/2017 at 8:04 pm
i have two dell p2715Qt monitors and want to have them both “daisy changed” together so can have extended display on both, with my MacBook pro retina closed on desk- currently the only thing i am able to do is mirror display any ideas? have tried both display port and hdmi with no luck
Bhavesh
03/24/2017 at 11:11 pm
Hey I am using macbook pro with 13.3″ display. I want to use external monitor with VGA port on my macbook. Is there any way I can do this?
Robin Frazier
04/22/2017 at 10:17 am
Thank you Craig,
This was a terrific tutorial. Very educational.
You are awesome!!!
Sue sipila
04/26/2017 at 8:09 am
I have an older 2008 MacBook which has lost the screen. An easy solution was to attach an external monitor. I used this successfully up until last week. Now when I use this MacBook, if I need to open the book, I loose the monitors signal. Is there an easy solution? Other than buying an external keyboard? When I read the above instructions, I do not have a arrangement title between the display and color. This is a OS 10.7.5. I also just replaced the attaching cord from the electrical plug to the power source. The MacBook appears to have full function when the lid is closed, but as soon as you open it to access the keyboard the screen goes to the picture, loosing all info.
Sensual Girls
06/21/2017 at 11:25 am
Howdy! Quick question that’s entirely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
My weblog looks weird whedn viewing from my iphone
4. I’m rying to find a theme or plugin that might
be avle too fix this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share.
Thank you!
Matt Lara
01/11/2019 at 1:49 pm
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016, I don’t have an arrangement tab in my dislplays setting. Someone please help, Im trying to use photoshop on my monitor.
Dogging Action
10/03/2019 at 8:06 am
I’ve never owned a Macbook I’ve always had Windows.