OT: Thunder Bolt Display is not recognized by MacBook Pro

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by kppolich

Want to check out System Preferences->Network and see if there are any wonky Thudnerbolt bridge's setup?

Do you have anything else plugged into the Display?

I also thought about having you try to turn up the brightness on the MBP as I hear USB-C lets your control the TBD brightness as well. But since it isnt showing up at all under System Report I doubt that would do anything at all.

Screen Shot 2020-03-24 at 7.40.32 PM by Houston Joost, on Flickr

System prefs says the thunderbolt bridge is not connected.

There is nothing else plugged into the computer.

brightness is working on the TBD

[kppolich]

You can try deleting the thunderbolt bridge (-) icon below. You can always add a new one back in.

Were you running the display as a standalone monitor or a second monitor with the MBP open as well?
Do you have an older mac in the house with regular thunderbolt to test with?

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by kppolich

You can try deleting the thunderbolt bridge (-) icon below. You can always add a new one back in.

Were you running the display as a standalone monitor or a second monitor with the MBP open as well?

I always used it as a stand-alone but Right now the MBP screen is open bc I cannot see anything on the TBD.

[kppolich]

Originally Posted by joosttx

I always used it as a stand-alone but Right now the MBP screen is open bc I cannot see anything on the TBD.

Betting the SMC reset will do the trick.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by kppolich

Betting the SMC reset will do the trick.

I wish you were right. It was one of the things I tried and along with the rest of the other protocols you listed and they didnt work. I have tried it again several times and no dice. I really appreciate you troubleshooting this.

[kppolich]

Originally Posted by joosttx

I wish you were right. It was one of the things I tried and along with the rest of the other protocols you listed and they didnt work. I have tried it again several times and no dice. I really appreciate you troubleshooting this.

Dang, was the TBD plugged into the computer when you did the reset(s)?
Do you have an older mac in the house with regular thunderbolt to test with? Trying to narrow it down to display issue vs. computer issue.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by kppolich

Dang, was the TBD plugged into the computer when you did the reset(s)?
Do you have an older mac in the house with regular thunderbolt to test with? Trying to narrow it down to display issue vs. computer issue.

Plugged unplugged. I have tried it all.

[kppolich]

Originally Posted by joosttx

Plugged unplugged. I have tried it all.

Dang tough draw. I see Catalina 10.15.4 was released today. Are you on that? Maybe it's a bug and you can revert to 10.15.3 to resolve it.

[sfscott]

Silly question, but does the external display fire up if you close the Mac lid?

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by sfscott

Silly question, but does the external display fire up if you close the Mac lid?

No. Unfortunately it doesn’t. But it usually does especially when I tap on the external BT mouse of keyboard.

[kppolich]

Well. I plugged my computer in today and my TBD didn't respond. Hate a moment of terror then restarted my computer while plugged into the TBD and it responded. Good Luck!

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by kppolich

Well. I plugged my computer in today and my TBD didn't respond. Hate a moment of terror then restarted my computer while plugged into the TBD and it responded. Good Luck!

Go ahead flaunt your bad self!

[Bostic]

If you have already tried another Mac laptop that uses the Thunderbolt 2 and it does not power on, the power supply in the display might have gone. I used to bring these displays to the Valley Fair or Los Gatos Apple store a fair amount to get fixed a couple of years back. The company I worked for had a bunch of them and I had to keep the fleet operational.

The power supply ran around $250 for parts and labor. If it was just the all-in-one cable (Thunderbolt and mag safe 1 charger) that was around $178. This was with a Business Account so the price might be something different.

One last thing you could try is Command+R recovery partition boot up and see if it powers up there.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by Bostic

If you have already tried another Mac laptop that uses the Thunderbolt 2 and it does not power on, the power supply in the display might have gone. I used to bring these displays to the Valley Fair or Los Gatos Apple store a fair amount to get fixed a couple of years back. The company I worked for had a bunch of them and I had to keep the fleet operational.

The power supply ran around $250 for parts and labor. If it was just the all-in-one cable (Thunderbolt and mag safe 1 charger) that was around $178. This was with a Business Account so the price might be something different.

One last thing you could try is Command+R recovery partition boot up and see if it powers up there.

when do you press command+R? at Startup?

[kppolich]

Originally Posted by joosttx

when do you press command+R? at Startup?

Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold these two keys: Command (⌘) and R. Need help?
Release the keys when you see an Apple logo, spinning globe, or other startup screen.
You might be prompted to enter a password, such as a firmware password or the password of a user who is an administrator of this Mac. Enter the requested password to continue.

from:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314