Troubleshoot Acer Switch 12 with a VGA monitor or projector

citizenc57

I connected my Acer Aspire Switch 12 to a VGA monitor through a micro HDMI to VGA adaptor. The Switch 12 sees the second monitor, but seems unable to push a signal through to power it up. This connection also disables my wireless and sometimes the mouse as well. I have tested the VGA monitor with my MacBook and it works perfectly.

 

For me this is a serious problem, as I bought the Switch for travelling and for giving presentations in corporate boardrooms, many of which are still equipped with legacy VGA projectors.

 

As a low power machine, is the Switch 12 inherently unable to connect to a VGA monitor/projector, or is the problem elsewhere?

billsey

If I were guessing I'd say the problem lies in powering the HDMI to VGA conversion chip in your cable. I don't know specs on the power budget for the HDMI port, but it's probably marginal for driving the conversion.

billsey

If I were guessing I'd say the problem lies in powering the HDMI to VGA conversion chip in your cable. I don't know specs on the power budget for the HDMI port, but it's probably marginal for driving the conversion.

padgett

My first thought is to try a different VGA cable. I have a pair from Amazon that are fine for VGA-VGA but fail when I put a HDMI>VGA converter in the mix.

 

BTW my Switch 12 does fine with three external monitors: two on the Targus docking station and one from the HDMI output. I usually turn the Sw12's screen off then since it is at my side.

citizenc57

I wanted to respond weeks ago, but for some reason the Acer Community wouldn't recognise my log-in.

 

Thank you!