Monitor will not wake after the Mac locks

#1

Hi, I bought a new Anker USB-C TB3 13-in-1 dock to connect my M1 MacBook Air to a desktop monitor, ethernet and USB keyboard recently. Trackpad connects to the laptop directly over bluetooth. I am noticing regularly that the external monitor (Samsung U28R550UQU) goes around searching for the source HDMI2, DisplayPort when the dock is connected to HDMI1. If I wait for a minute or more, occasionally, it connects automotically but mostly not. I am forced to open the lid of my Mac, login there, and start working on the Mac. After a few resolution shifts on the Mac screen, the HDMI1 display is detected again and comes back online.

But it happens frequently and that is a huge pain.

I expected that a keyboard input or trackpad touch should wake my monitor as well. The light on the Anker dock immediately turns blue when I type or touch my trackpad - but the monitor seems to struggle to wake.

Can you please help?

MacBook Air (M1, 2020), Anker Docking Station (PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock for USB-C Laptops, 85W Charging for Laptop, 18W Charging for Phone, 4K HDMI, 1Gbps Ethernet, Audio, USB-A Gen 1, USB-C Gen 2, SD 4.0), Samsung U28R550UQU, Official Apple Keyboard with number pad, Official Apple trackpad.

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#2

Read through This and try some of their suggestions. It could just be that you don’t want to let your mac go to sleep, but more so hibernate so to speak

#3

Hello Tank, thanks for that input. All of the details there have been taken care of. My issue is not with the basic set up itself. The issue is about ‘regular use case’. You move away from your desk. The full set up goes to sleep. You come back, press a key, I EXPECT the full set up to come back to life seamlessly. Only that it doesn’t seem to! Not immediately anyway. I wanted to know if someone has faced this and solved it! Hoping so. I cannot be the only one suffering from this issue.

#4

Hi @himan8pd,
Thanks for your detailed post! Could you try this setting to see if it makes a difference?
Apple menu > System Preferences > Battery > Power Adapter (left side) > and check “Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off”

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#5

Thanks @TechnicallyWell, I have updated the setting as suggested. I’ll let you know if that helps. Appreciate the tip! :slight_smile:

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#6

I’m experiencing a similar, albeit different issue with the PowerExpand 12-in-1 PD Media Dock and a MacBook Pro (M1). I have to power cycle the dock each time I connect my MacBook Pro to the dock. I do not believe this is a problem with the MacBook or my monitors (I’ve tested with an HP 23CW and a Samsung S24D390HL).

I have an Anker USB-C to HDMI adapter (Model A8312) which works flawlessly between powerups, screensaver, sleep, etc.

It seems like Anker’s media docks don’t want to play nice with the M1 chip MacBooks. Perhaps Anker Support could do some investigating on this one.

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#7

Seeing the exact same problem, but it’s not consistent - sometimes it will wake up the external screen and sometimes it won’t.
Regardless of whether it woke up the external screen it gives the macbook pro the indication that the screen is on and connected while it is in sleep mode.

#8
  • Make sure you’re using a high-quality HDMI cable to connect your dock to the monitor. A low-quality cable could cause connectivity issues.
  • Check that the monitor is set to the correct input source (HDMI1 in your case). You can do this using the monitor’s settings or physical buttons.
  • Try resetting your Anker dock by unplugging it from power and your MacBook Air for a minute, then reconnecting everything.
  • Check if there are any firmware updates available for your Anker dock. Updating the firmware might solve any compatibility issues with your MacBook Air.
#9

I’m having same issue with Anker 577 docking station. when open my windows laptop from sleep mode, it would keep re-reconnecting to the monitor.
I have to power cycle monitor to resolve this problem