67

MBP 2015 13, 10.12.2

I want to use an external display via HDMI and turn off my Macbook Pro's display. How can I do it?

Update

There is another question: How do I turn off laptop display when I have an external display?, but I don't think this one should be marked as duplicate.

Its 2017 now and the old question has answers from 2011-2014.

The other thing is - that the old question has also links to other answers and solutions. With this question we have answer with 2 variations of how to do it in one place.

Community
  • 1
MikroDel
  • 1,497
  • 2
    Are you using the internal keyboard and mouse at the same time with the external display or an external keyboard and mouse with the external display? If the latter, just close the lid on the MacBook as an external display, keyboard and mouse will work with the MacBook in clamshell mode. – user3439894 Jan 22 '17 at 15:01
  • 1
    @user3439894 I would use the internal keyboard and mouse if it possible – MikroDel Jan 22 '17 at 16:30
  • 1
    @MikroDel Can't you just turn down the brightness all the way then? – owlswipe Jan 22 '17 at 16:58
  • 1
    @owlswipe please update your answer with this information. It will have than both variation - I will accept it. thanks :) – MikroDel Jan 22 '17 at 17:05
  • @MikroDel Done. – owlswipe Jan 22 '17 at 17:11
  • 1
    The update needs to be edited - remove the "this isn't a dupe - that's for [meta] discussion" just make exactly clear how the current situation is materially different from the linked question (keep the link though). If the only difference is old - we strongly prefer to close as dupe and get the correct answer in the old thread. – bmike Jan 23 '17 at 00:14
  • Simply set laptop's brightness to off – avalanche1 Feb 18 '20 at 16:19
  • Some users report being able to use the SwitchResX utility to selectively turn off monitors. See this blog post and this AskDifferent answer. – Christian Long Jul 28 '21 at 14:40

1 Answers1

34

Using an external keyboard and mouse/trackpad

You can use Closed Clamshell Mode. This is a feature built in to Macbooks that allows you to use them like desktop computers, with the lid closed and using a monitor as your only screen.

You'll need:

To put your MBP into Closed Clamshell Mode:

  • Connect your keyboard and mouse/trackpad to the computer
  • Plug the computer into power
  • Connect it via HDMI or Thunderbolt to the external monitor
  • Close the lid
  • OR place a weak magnet next to your trackpad (the sensor for closed lid detection is there & magnetic) for better cooling (I use an old iPad case)

Once in Closed Clamshell Mode, the Macbook's screen will turn off and it will still be outputting picture to the monitor. Read more on Apple's support page.


[![enter image description here][1]][1]

Using the built-in keyboard and trackpad

You can dim your Macbook's screen all the way down (just press brightness down repeatedly) and then connect the Macbook to your monitor with HDMI. Your screen will be off but the keyboard and trackpad built into the Macbook will still be on and available. Optionally, you can download the free app Amphetamine to keep your Mac from sleeping.

enter image description here

undefined-is-not-null
  • 3
owlswipe
  • 5,922
  • 70
    Unfortunately, "turning down the internal monitor" is not a solution. When you dim the screen, it does not go off, you just cant see what's on it. when a window opens on this screen for example, its invisible - you can't find it. You have to keep putting the brightness up, moving the window, the putting the brightness down. We still need a way to use the keyboard and FPR and having the screen disabled. This is such a basic feature which is missing. Also, frequently when you close the lid, it's not possible to get the machine to come back on with USB keyboard and mouse. – John Little May 21 '18 at 07:12
  • @JohnLittle do any answers in the linked duplicate post fix the issue you speak of? I'm not really sure of a better way myself. – owlswipe May 21 '18 at 11:28
  • 6
    @JohnLittle is correct. Only the monitor backlight gets turned off, not the actual screen. Another solution would be preferable since keeping the screen opened helps keep the laptop cooler. – TheKarateKid May 30 '18 at 04:40
  • 3
    @JohnLittle But that's the only solution that actually works. The clamshell mode will stall my wifi speed to a few mbps (while it's 150 mbps when lid is open). – LWZ Nov 26 '18 at 19:03
  • 11
    @JohnLittle if you have one external display, you can set display to "mirror", so then when you dim the laptop screen - you don't really lose much. – Tamik Soziev Dec 23 '18 at 22:53
  • 8
    @TamikSoziev thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I have 2 x 32" external monitors, so mirroring is not an option in this case. – John Little Dec 27 '18 at 10:31
  • @JohnLittle, "you can't find it" - for this ( if you don't have a touch-bar) you can drag the brightness menu to the external display. If you have a touch bar; you can easily bring the brightness to 0 with it. Thanks! :) – Aakash Mar 07 '21 at 04:11
  • 1
    I've been going with a really silly solution that works for me. Turn on mirroring, which seems to use the larger monitor's resolution, and dim the Macbook's screen entirely. – Milosz Mar 17 '21 at 02:57
  • 3
    I think one issue now is with newer Intel-based MBPros is the thermal disadvantage of keeping the lid closed while working with external M&K + Monitor. For VM and other slightly CPU heavy tasks, the laptop runs 20c hotter with much more fan variance when closed versus open. So there is a valid use case to keep the lid open but not have the built in display active. Dimming the display doesn't disable it which also adjusts my monitor based off it's brightness sensor so there are a lot of settings to account for when working with external monitors and having the lid open. – Chase Apr 14 '21 at 18:48
  • Mirroring the screen (any screen if you have more than one) works. Then you can dim the built in screen. – Michael Brown Nov 17 '22 at 00:02
  • I set a black wallpaper on the laptop screen when I need to work with the lid open. It’s not ideal, but it’s a practical workaround to the issues @JohnLittle and @ Chase mentioned. If a window pops up, I’ll see it – but it's not distracting. The laptop also doesn’t heat up too much during CPU-intensive work. – tomekwi Apr 06 '23 at 10:34
  • I am using DisplayLink drivers for a multi-monitor setup, which can mirror to one monitor, while another monitor is extended display using the laptop keyboard and trackpad. – Shyam Verma Jul 04 '23 at 04:03