[MacTUG] FYI: Apple’s latest macOS update incompatible with DisplayLink and other display adapters.

[Glenn Anderson]

When Apple’s latest macOS update blanked external screens, third party hardware vendors scrambled to warn customers and caused Mac users to call each other names.

MacOS 10.13.4, which Apple released 29 March and immediately began pushing to users, has crippled DisplayLink, the technology from the same-named company that allows multiple monitors to be connected to one PC, often through a hardware dock, via USB, Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Companies relying on DisplayLink include Dell, HP and Kensington.

When Mac users saw blank displays, they took to Apple’s support discussion forum to complain. Many work in corporate offices that had equipped staff with docks and multiple monitors that no longer showed anything.

“I’ve got a very large number of Macs that I cannot permit this upgrade to be deployed to in my enterprise as it will cause enormous support issues,” reported BradSP<https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8339158> on 30 March, who caught on to the problem before he rolled out 10.13.4.

“I have been using a plugable dock for 6 months with 3 monitors with NO issues. EVERYTHING worked fine before this upgrade,” said JPyre on the same thread. (‘Plugable’ refers to a line of docks.)

Some writing on Apple’s support forum said that they had rolled back to 10.13.3 from backups, but were unsure how to proceed, since failing to install 10.13.4 – and updates after that – meant leaving security vulnerabilities unpatched.

DisplayLink’s response failed to inspire confidence.

“We are aware that installing macOS release Version 10.13.4 will cause DisplayLink connected displays to go blank after the OS upgrade, with the current DisplayLink driver [4.1] installed,” reported someone identified as ‘Wim’ and a product manager at DisplayLink. “Functionality such as Ethernet and audio, where implemented, is unaffected. We have alerted Apple to this issue and are working hard to find a resolution. These features continue to work as expected in 10.13.3.”

As a partial solution, DisplayLink released a preview version of its latest software driver, labeled ‘4.3,’ for macOS. That driver only allows for clone mode – where the external display duplicates the Mac’s primary screen, sans controls, such as resolution – but leaves the most popular extended and mirror modes broken. In macOS, extended mode assembles multiple monitors into a single virtual display.

“If you require mirror or extended mode displays, we recommend that you stay on macOS 10.13.3 or earlier at this time,” DisplayLink’s Wim added.


Read more:  http://www.techcentral.ie/dqZL2#ixzz5CCm9OpFY
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