[SOLVED] MacBook: USB to HDMI display issue

tvsujal · 2023-08-11 10:21:14

I have a MacBook Pro (early 2015) with an Intel graphics card, single-booted with Arch and runs X. I have two Acer monitors: to one of them, I am connected via HDMI-to-HDMI and the laptop is extending its screen to it perfectly; to the other, however, I am connected via USB-to-HDMI, which is not being extended to at all.

The output of `lspci | grep VGA` is:

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Iris Graphics 6100 (rev 09)

However, `lsusb` is not even detecting that there is an HDMI device connected to it (other devices connected to the port are detected, so there's no hardware malfunction). `xrandr` thinks that the monitor is disconnected (it thinks that that monitor exists in the first place perhaps because I had tested it via HDMI-to-HDMI).

So far, I tried installing `displaylink` and configuring X as described in DisplayLink wiki.

Last edited by tvsujal (2023-08-28 22:30:41)

Leviticoh · 2023-08-24 16:25:18

hi, could you still provide the output of lsusb even if it doesn't seem useful?

also the description of this USB-to-HDMI adapter is awfully vague, does it use an usb 'type A' port (the big rectangular one) or an usb 'type C' port (the small rounded one) ?
if it's the latter then it could also be a thunderbolt display adapter, that would not show up as usb,
otherwise it's surely usb and should appear in lsusb

tvsujal · 2023-08-24 17:58:43

For now, I'm simply using a thunderbolt-to-HDMI cable for the other monitor and it's working fine. Although, it'd be nice to figure out a fix for the USB-to-HDMI issue.

Ah, the USB ports are both Type A (and USB 3.0 to be specific). The following's the output of lsusb:

Bus 002 Device 003: ID 05ac:8406 Apple, Inc. Internal Memory Card Reader
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 05ac:0273 Apple, Inc. Internal Keyboard/Trackpad (ISO)
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 05ac:8290 Apple, Inc. Bluetooth Host Controller
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Last edited by tvsujal (2023-08-24 18:01:18)

Leviticoh · 2023-08-24 19:03:15

ok, to rule out problems of the phisical port on the laptop did you try plugging some other device in the same port?
if they are detected by lsusb then i would think you got a broken hdmi adapter,
also if you got the chance you could try using the hdmi adapter on another computer to see if it works there,
if the USB-to-HDMI adapter is the only device that doesn't work on your mac, but it works on another computer, it could be a power problem,
i got similar issues on devices where the port didn't deliever enough power, if so it could be solved with one of those Y shaped usb cables that plug into 2 ports or a powered hub

i'm going to sleep soon, i'll show up again tomorrow

seth · 2023-08-24 19:50:56

Does it look like this?
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-m0AAOSw … -l1600.png
(You gotta love Apples versioning system… "early 2015")

Leviticoh wrote:

also the description of this USB-to-HDMI adapter is awfully vague

USB-A doesn't do video, what exactly is the USB/HDMI adapter (vendor/model)?
You're gonna needs sth. supporting eg. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/DisplayLink for that.

Run "dmesg -W", plug the adapter and post the output it produces.

tvsujal · 2023-08-25 01:45:58

Leviticoh: Thanks for the reply; yes, I've made sure there's no physical damage to either the port or the adapter by plugging in a thumbdrive to the port (mounts fine) and testing the adapter and cable on another machine (running, I hesitate to admit, OSX).

seth: Yes, that's the one.

seth wrote:

USB-A doesn't do video

I see.

seth wrote:

what exactly is the USB/HDMI adapter (vendor/model)? Run "dmesg -W", plug the adapter and post the output it produces.

It was a J5Create JUA254 which I returned since a while after posting this question.

Not to complicate things, but I do, however, have a Helix 12-in-1 USB-C hub connected to the laptop with some USB (male)-to-USB C (female) adapter; all but the HDMI works. Since USB-A doesn't support video, this may be useless, but here's the output of `dmesg -W` anyway:

[ 3877.311435] usb 1-1: new high-speed USB device number 43 using xhci_hcd
[ 3877.453548] usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=2109, idProduct=2817, bcdDevice=90.13
[ 3877.453554] usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 3877.453555] usb 1-1: Product: USB2.0 Hub             
[ 3877.453557] usb 1-1: Manufacturer: VIA Labs, Inc.         
[ 3877.453558] usb 1-1: SerialNumber: 000000000
[ 3877.454293] hub 1-1:1.0: USB hub found
[ 3877.454420] hub 1-1:1.0: 4 ports detected
[ 3877.581430] usb 2-1: new SuperSpeed USB device number 11 using xhci_hcd
[ 3877.626355] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=2109, idProduct=0817, bcdDevice=90.13
[ 3877.626376] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 3877.626381] usb 2-1: Product: USB3.0 Hub             
[ 3877.626386] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: VIA Labs, Inc.         
[ 3877.626390] usb 2-1: SerialNumber: 000000000
[ 3877.627997] hub 2-1:1.0: USB hub found
[ 3877.628310] hub 2-1:1.0: 4 ports detected
[ 3878.177962] usb 1-1.3: new high-speed USB device number 44 using xhci_hcd
[ 3878.319050] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=14cd, idProduct=8601, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 3878.319070] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=3, SerialNumber=0
[ 3878.319076] usb 1-1.3: Product: USB 2.0 Hub            
[ 3878.319081] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: USB Device  
[ 3878.320228] hub 1-1.3:1.0: USB hub found
[ 3878.320360] hub 1-1.3:1.0: 4 ports detected
[ 3879.114648] usb 1-1.3.1: new high-speed USB device number 46 using xhci_hcd
[ 3879.223072] usb 1-1.3.1: New USB device found, idVendor=14cd, idProduct=1212, bcdDevice= 1.00
[ 3879.223092] usb 1-1.3.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=3, SerialNumber=2
[ 3879.223098] usb 1-1.3.1: Product: Mass Storage Device
[ 3879.223103] usb 1-1.3.1: Manufacturer: Generic
[ 3879.223106] usb 1-1.3.1: SerialNumber: 121220160204
[ 3879.228077] usb-storage 1-1.3.1:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[ 3879.228456] scsi host2: usb-storage 1-1.3.1:1.0
[ 3879.299539] usb 2-1.4: new SuperSpeed USB device number 12 using xhci_hcd
[ 3879.474644] usb 1-1.3.2: new high-speed USB device number 47 using xhci_hcd
[ 3879.583702] usb 2-1.4: New USB device found, idVendor=0b95, idProduct=1790, bcdDevice= 2.00
[ 3879.583723] usb 2-1.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 3879.583729] usb 2-1.4: Product: AX88179A
[ 3879.583733] usb 2-1.4: Manufacturer: ASIX
[ 3879.583737] usb 2-1.4: SerialNumber: 00AD6934
[ 3879.799323] usb 1-1.3.2: New USB device found, idVendor=046d, idProduct=08e3, bcdDevice= 0.21
[ 3879.799343] usb 1-1.3.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=1, SerialNumber=2
[ 3879.799350] usb 1-1.3.2: Product: C505 HD Webcam
[ 3879.799354] usb 1-1.3.2: SerialNumber: 978CC190
[ 3879.804362] usb 1-1.3.2: Found UVC 1.00 device C505 HD Webcam (046d:08e3)
[ 3879.826543] cdc_ncm 2-1.4:2.0: MAC-Address: f8:e4:3b:ad:69:34
[ 3879.826549] cdc_ncm 2-1.4:2.0: setting rx_max = 16384
[ 3879.837989] cdc_ncm 2-1.4:2.0: setting tx_max = 16384
[ 3879.857696] cdc_ncm 2-1.4:2.0 eth0: register 'cdc_ncm' at usb-0000:00:14.0-1.4, CDC NCM (NO ZLP), f8:e4:3b:ad:69:34
[ 3879.888554] cdc_ncm 2-1.4:2.0 enp0s20u1u4c2: renamed from eth0
[ 3879.997893] usb 1-1.3.2: Warning! Unlikely big volume range (=6144), cval->res is probably wrong.
[ 3879.997898] usb 1-1.3.2: [5] FU [Mic Capture Volume] ch = 1, val = 1536/7680/1
[ 3880.071230] usb 1-1.3.4: new high-speed USB device number 48 using xhci_hcd
[ 3880.170245] usb 1-1.3.4: New USB device found, idVendor=05ac, idProduct=1006, bcdDevice=96.15
[ 3880.170251] usb 1-1.3.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 3880.170253] usb 1-1.3.4: Product: Keyboard Hub
[ 3880.170254] usb 1-1.3.4: Manufacturer: Apple, Inc.
[ 3880.170255] usb 1-1.3.4: SerialNumber: 000000000000
[ 3880.171381] hub 1-1.3.4:1.0: USB hub found
[ 3880.171761] hub 1-1.3.4:1.0: 3 ports detected
[ 3880.245568] scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Mass     Storage Device   1.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0 CCS
[ 3880.451325] usb 1-1.3.4.2: new low-speed USB device number 49 using xhci_hcd
[ 3880.523898] sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Media removed, stopped polling
[ 3880.524098] sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Attached SCSI removable disk
[ 3880.548072] usb 1-1.3.4.2: New USB device found, idVendor=05ac, idProduct=024f, bcdDevice= 0.74
[ 3880.548078] usb 1-1.3.4.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 3880.548079] usb 1-1.3.4.2: Product: Apple Keyboard
[ 3880.548080] usb 1-1.3.4.2: Manufacturer: Apple Inc.
[ 3880.557115] input: Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3.4/1-1.3.4.2/1-1.3.4.2:1.0/0003:05AC:024F.0025/input/input40
[ 3880.611475] apple 0003:05AC:024F.0025: input,hidraw3: USB HID v1.11 Keyboard [Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard] on usb-0000:00:14.0-1.3.4.2/input0
[ 3880.614143] apple 0003:05AC:024F.0026: Fn key not found (Apple Wireless Keyboard clone?), disabling Fn key handling
[ 3880.614182] input: Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3.4/1-1.3.4.2/1-1.3.4.2:1.1/0003:05AC:024F.0026/input/input41
[ 3880.668541] apple 0003:05AC:024F.0026: input,hidraw4: USB HID v1.11 Device [Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard] on usb-0000:00:14.0-1.3.4.2/input1
[ 3880.741131] usb 1-1.3.4.3: new full-speed USB device number 50 using xhci_hcd
[ 3880.835870] usb 1-1.3.4.3: New USB device found, idVendor=046d, idProduct=c52b, bcdDevice=24.10
[ 3880.835876] usb 1-1.3.4.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 3880.835877] usb 1-1.3.4.3: Product: USB Receiver
[ 3880.835879] usb 1-1.3.4.3: Manufacturer: Logitech
[ 3880.852840] logitech-djreceiver 0003:046D:C52B.0029: hiddev96,hidraw8: USB HID v1.11 Device [Logitech USB Receiver] on usb-0000:00:14.0-1.3.4.3/input2
[ 3880.974843] input: Logitech M510 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3.4/1-1.3.4.3/1-1.3.4.3:1.2/0003:046D:C52B.0029/0003:046D:4051.002A/input/input42
[ 3880.975037] logitech-hidpp-device 0003:046D:4051.002A: input,hidraw9: USB HID v1.11 Mouse [Logitech M510] on usb-0000:00:14.0-1.3.4.3/input2:1

seth · 2023-08-25 06:37:16

Connecting a USB-C adapter via USB-A will not get you video, no.
j5create doesn't slam the displaylink logo into your face, seems to implement a prop. protocol and ship windows/mac drivers for it (they seem to have linux drivers for some USB2 devices, though?)

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=displaylink - or use thunderbolt (edit: which will most likely get you better performance anyway)

Last edited by seth (2023-08-25 06:37:56)

tvsujal · 2023-08-26 12:40:03

Thanks. Yeah, just been using thunderbolt.

Last edited by tvsujal (2023-08-26 12:40:31)

Arch Linux

#1 2023-08-11 10:21:14

[SOLVED] MacBook: USB to HDMI display issue

#2 2023-08-24 16:25:18

Re: [SOLVED] MacBook: USB to HDMI display issue

#3 2023-08-24 17:58:43

Re: [SOLVED] MacBook: USB to HDMI display issue

#4 2023-08-24 19:03:15

Re: [SOLVED] MacBook: USB to HDMI display issue

#5 2023-08-24 19:50:56

Re: [SOLVED] MacBook: USB to HDMI display issue

#6 2023-08-25 01:45:58

Re: [SOLVED] MacBook: USB to HDMI display issue

#7 2023-08-25 06:37:16

Re: [SOLVED] MacBook: USB to HDMI display issue

#8 2023-08-26 12:40:03

Re: [SOLVED] MacBook: USB to HDMI display issue

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