Terminal command to "unplug" and replug external monitor
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I'm using an old Apple 30" Cinema Display via a series of dongles:
> https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/411391/apple-silicon-m1-mac-connecting-30-apple-cinema-display
The native resolution is
2560 x 1600
and works great.
It may require to holding Option when clicking "Scaled" to get that resolution.
Occasionally, after awaking from sleep, the monitor awakens in an ugly pixelated low resolution state. System Preferences shows 1280 x 800
as the max resolution.
At this point I unplug/replug the USB-C cable. The monitor goes back to native resolution after it reconnects.
I want to avoid digging behind my desk to unplug the USB-C / Thunderbolt cable.
Is there a Terminal command I can run to quickly "reconnect" all external displays?
I'm not interested in anything that would require me to shut down the Mac, reset the NVRAM, etc. What I want is a quick software alternative to manually unplugging the monitor.

Asked by pkamb
(9620 rep)
Sep 29, 2021, 04:50 PM
Last activity: Jun 1, 2025, 11:29 PM
Last activity: Jun 1, 2025, 11:29 PM