Mac refresh rate bug. issues with syncing the refresh rate with the monitor

EricCreativeTech
EricCreativeTech Member Posts: 2 New User
edited March 23 in Monitors

I have two 4K Acer monitors (different models) and two Apple silicon Macs. Both have issues with syncing the refresh rate with the monitor. In order to use an Acer monitor on a Mac, to circumvent the Acer bug, when you first turn on your computer make sure the System Setting are in a different monitor that works correctly, then change the refresh rate of the Acer monitor. It doesn't matter what hz it was or what you change it too, just change it and that fixes the Acer bug.

This is my personal workaround. Acer told me over the phone when I first got my Mac Studio in 2021 that the new Acer model I bought has known issues with a Mac (not disclosed at time of purchase) and it took me a month to figure it out. Now I have the same issue with an M2 MacBook Air on a 5 year old 4K monitor in a different room.

Super annoying because Acer claims they work with Mac, and there's no reason it shouldn't, but the new models don't seem to sync refresh rate.

Maybe there's a firmware update, I can't find firmware updates the Acer website. Does anyone know if there's an experimental driver for MacOS? The list only has Windows OSs. Obviously Acer should be sending drivers to Apple so the correct drivers are in the build, but I've been waiting 2 years and I still have to manually update the refresh rate every single time the monitor starts up, and I don't understand why this is a bug for years.

Please help with any strategy to get Acer monitors to work with Apple Silicon Macs, I'm open to suggestions for other brands.

Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,880 Trailblazer

    Issues like this can sometimes be fixed by another workaround. Powering up the monitor a minute or so before booting the Mac or PC.

    Jack E/NJ

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,206 Trailblazer

    Apple is fairly well known for tweaking their display output to work best with Apple monitors and work worst with anyone else's. They do some really weird timings… :(

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • LunaR_X
    LunaR_X Member Posts: 1 New User

    I've been having the same issue for several years now, first with an M1 MacBook Air, and now an M3 MacBook Pro.

    Is this the only workaround (with another monitor) that you have found? I don't have access to my computer right now to try this, but will the built in display work for this, before plugging in my Acer monitor?

    Glad I found this post!

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,880 Trailblazer

    Maybe. Let us know one way or the other.

    Jack E/NJ

  • Masmadora
    Masmadora Member Posts: 3 New User
    edited July 22
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/702817/mac-refresh-rate-bug-issues-with-syncing-the-refresh-rate-with-the-monitor

    The same thing here. I've heard that some monitors support firmware updates, but I haven’t found any files for that. Additionally, I’m having trouble enabling full 4K resolution. Well, I can get it to work, but it becomes uncomfortable. Through experimentation, I found that 2560 x 1440 resilution scales the best for me. I don’t know why Apple set it up this way. I also got a frequency error when I connected my mac to a large TV. More precisely, at first there was no airplay at all. Then on https://setapp.com/how-to/fix-airplay-not-working I read how to fix it. But the problem with frequency remains.

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