Monterey, CalDigit TS3, 3 Monitors not working

[rwillett]

Hi

<TL;DR 19/4/22>

If using Monterey on an M1 Mac Mini with the option of a CalDigit TS3 port, put the DisplayLink port on the Mac M1 Mini rather than the TS3.

</TL;DR>

Long version

I’m having problems with the DisplayLink software after upgrading to Monterey, 12.3.1.

Big Sur worked very well for me with the following system:

• M1 Mac mini
• Caldigit TS3 Dock - Firmware version is the latest, 44.1
• One 24” Dell monitor on HDMI on Mac Mini
• One Dell 22” HD monitor on USB C to DisplayPort (long story…) This is connected to the USB C port on the Mac mini
• One Dell 22” HD Monitor on StarTech DisplayPort adaptor (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1). This was connected to the USB3 port on the Caldigit TS3 dock. It is sold as DisplayLink compatible and indeed has a sticker on it saying so.

This has been in use with Big Sur since July last year, indeed I know it worked well as I produced a video showing it all working for work colleagues with the three monitors. A number of people went out and brought identical hardware as I proved it worked. I cannot recall the DisplayLink software in use but suspect it was 1.5.x.

Fast forward to now and I have taken the plunge to upgrade to Monterey. I have a backup of the system from Big Sur using Carbon Copy Cloner so can roll back but that's a bit of a fag, but if need be, I can.

After upgrading to Monterey, I then uninstalled the DisplayLink software and reinstalled with V1.6.1. However no matter what I do, I can’t seem to keep the monitor connected to the StarTech device working. Sometimes the display appears to be working, but has the video frozen, the DisplayLink software states that no monitor is connected.

Screenshot 2022-04-15 at 20.35.39.jpg

If I unplug the Startech adaptor then sometimes the display comes back and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes the display works for no reason I can determine.

If I unplug the power to the Caldigit dock and restart it, sometimes the display comes back and mostly it doesn’t.

Unplugging the Caldigit TS3 USB C cable to the Mac mini seems to make no difference.

Stopping and starting the DisplayLink software can sometimes make it work, see below as the monitor is now detected. However other times when I restart it, the monitor is not detected, so its unreliable.

Login screen extension status.jpg

After a while (no determined time) the display will freeze and I end up back with two monitors.

This is driving me up the wall, nobody else seems to have the same issue as me, which surprises me as the Caldigit TS3 is a popular choice (or I thought it was). The monitor has now disconnected after approx 2-3 mins of me writing this,

The Mac M1 Mini is powered from it’s own PSU as is the CalDigit TS3 box.

As this was working perfectly well under Big Sur, I can only conclude that the move to Monterey is the issue. I will be delighted to be proven wrong,

I have searched the forum but my searches have proven fruitless.

Thanks

Rob

[rwillett]

Whilst it's considered bad form to reply to one's own post, in this case I'll make an exception.

Move the StarTech DisplayLink adaptor off the TS3 and onto the USB A port on the Mac Mini. Before it was plugged into the TS3 USB port.

I did this earlier today (Sat) and so far (around five hours) I've not had any problems with the DisplayLink based monitor.

We'll see if this continues to work. I wonder if there is a timeout issue of similar on the TS3 under Monterey?

Thanks

Rob

[rwillett]

After leaving the DisplayLink on the Mac M1 Mini for the long weekend as opposed to the CalDigit TS3 Dock, I haven't had any problems.

I know it ran for circa 6-7 months very well on the TS3 under Big Sur, but clearly something about Monterey AND/OR TS3 AND/OR the DisplayLink software doesn't work together. I'm not about to splurge on a new TS4 dock and Monterery works for me now, so I'm going to consider this closed.

TL;DR

If using Monterey on an M1 Mac Mini with the option of a CalDigit TS3 port, put the DisplayLink port on the Mac M1 Mini rather than the TS3.

Thanks

Rob