Can't get High Resolution using Dell u4919dw Ultrawide on 2018 Mac Mini?

[2MuchMark]

Hi Everyone! I just purchased a Dell Ultrawide U4919DW and a 2018 Mac Mini and for some reason the best resolution I can get is is 3840x1080.  I should be able to get 5120x1440 native resolution as both the Monitor and the Mac Mini support this. 

 

I have tried connecting by the included Dell-included USB-C Cable and the Dell-included HDMI Cable,  but there's no improvement.  In fact,  I think the HDMI cable may provide a lower refresh rate but I can't really tell.

 

I tried connecting the Monitor to my 3 year old PC Via Display Port cable and I get the high res 5120x1440 mode - Just not on the Mac Mini. 

 

The Mac Mini Display Properties does NOT show a resolution setting to me.  Instead my choice is "default" and "scaled".  If I hold down the option key and click scaled I can see that the resolution only goes as high as 3840x1080.  

 

I talked to Apple support and they have opened a case for me.  They were very nice and spent about 25 minutes testing a few things.  They were great.  I called Dell and, well, lets just say it wasn't the best tech support call I've ever had... 

 

Anyway, if anyone has a similar setup and knows what I need to get this working right I'd love some advice. Thanks in advance! 

 

 

[SupaKomputa]

Use SwitchResX to assign custom resolution.

The native resolution doesn't support resolution higher than default, so this app may help.

[Brooksie359]

From what I can tell on dells webpage they say you need to have HDMI 2.0a while the mac mini only has HDMI 2.0. I am unsure if this is an issue because from my knowledge usually HDMI 2.0 is enough for 4k 60 but not HDR and using 2.0 usually still works but HDR just won't function. 5120x1440 is less pixels than 4k by a slight amount so I would assume the same would apply. Anyways bottom line is that HDMI 2.0a is required based on sells website while the mac mini only has HDMI 2.0

[2MuchMark]

Hi Supa - 

Thanks for the suggestion,  but does using this method impede performance such as reduce the refresh rate? 

 

Hi Brooksie359, 

Thanks I will try this too,  though I would think that the HDMI cable provided by Dell with the monitor would be HDMI2.0a would it not? I can't imagine anyone selling a monitor with lots of bells and whistles, but not including a proper cable to support it. 

[2MuchMark]

 

By the way, I came up with a temporary fix.  A DUMB temporary fix, but it is what it is. 

 

The Dell U4919DW monitor can actually function as 2 separate monitors,  and the Mac Mini supports multiple monitors.  So check this out: I connected both a USB-C Cable AND and the HDMI cable, from the Mac Mini to the Dell Monitor.  And after a couple of minutes of messing around, I actually got it to work. 

 

The Mac Mini is in dual monitor / extended desktop mode. Essentially, it is running as dual 2560x1440 monitors! 

 

This is kinda cool, and kinda frustrating at the same time.   

[HonzaPov]

Hi, have you been able to fix this issue? I just bought this monitor and I am having the same problem. It only shows 3840x1080. 

[das_hans]

On 1/12/2019 at 6:11 AM, SupaKomputa said:

Use SwitchResX to assign custom resolution.

The native resolution doesn't support resolution higher than default, so this app may help.

I've been trying this fro a bit now. The app allows you to create custom as well as scaled resolutions. However I can't seem to get the image to a point where everything is sharp. So while the size seems to be 5120x1440 the overall resolution of text and images is not. there has to be someone out there who understands what settings I am missing here. Thank you in advance. (Im using a 2018 Mac mini and am outputting the image though Mini DP by way of a thunderbolt 2 dock with a thunderbolt 3 dongle. Ive tried direct thunderbolt 3 but it does not seem to support resolutions above 1080p and the website says the same. Ive also tried the HDMI2.0 which did little. The Displayport solution seems to work with the higher resolutions but as I said the image is not sharp, I think that this might be due to the settings I am using with SwitchResX. Before you ask, yes Ive tried it with just the wide screen but It changes little. please help?) 

[SupaKomputa]

6 hours ago, das_hans said:

I've been trying this fro a bit now. The app allows you to create custom as well as scaled resolutions. However I can't seem to get the image to a point where everything is sharp. So while the size seems to be 5120x1440 the overall resolution of text and images is not. there has to be someone out there who understands what settings I am missing here. Thank you in advance. (Im using a 2018 Mac mini and am outputting the image though Mini DP by way of a thunderbolt 2 dock with a thunderbolt 3 dongle. Ive tried direct thunderbolt 3 but it does not seem to support resolutions above 1080p and the website says the same. Ive also tried the HDMI2.0 which did little. The Displayport solution seems to work with the higher resolutions but as I said the image is not sharp, I think that this might be due to the settings I am using with SwitchResX. Before you ask, yes Ive tried it with just the wide screen but It changes little. please help?) 

I do not have the same monitor so cannot comment further. If its not working, you can try OP solution which is using the monitor as a dual 2560x1440.

You can also try to tweak the resolution by -/+ 1pixel until you get the desired sharpness.

If 5120 not sharp maybe 5119 will get it right.

I suggest not touching the rest of the options, or you can ask the software developer for some assistance.

 

On 1/12/2019 at 12:45 PM, 2MuchMark said:

 

By the way, I came up with a temporary fix.  A DUMB temporary fix, but it is what it is. 

 

The Dell U4919DW monitor can actually function as 2 separate monitors,  and the Mac Mini supports multiple monitors.  So check this out: I connected both a USB-C Cable AND and the HDMI cable, from the Mac Mini to the Dell Monitor.  And after a couple of minutes of messing around, I actually got it to work. 

 

The Mac Mini is in dual monitor / extended desktop mode. Essentially, it is running as dual 2560x1440 monitors! 

 

This is kinda cool, and kinda frustrating at the same time.   

 

[MrMartin]

Hi!

 

I got the exact same problem. I got the Mac mini 2018 and Dell U4919DW, I also tested with the macbook 2018 that I got and its same issue.

 

Tested using SwitchResX and ended up with same issue, the resolution is ok but its not very sharp.

Did you figure out how to get it sharper @das_hans?

[AMM]

Hi 2MuchMark,  I have just bough the same setup.  DellU4919DW and Mac mini 2018.  Also, only getting option for 3840x1080, connected via Thunderbolt cable.  Did adding the additional HDMI cable to your setup work for you?  If yes, can you please provide some info on how you setup the Mac in dual monitor mode etc.?   Would be greatly appreciated.  Cheers!

[das_hans]

On 2/21/2019 at 8:58 PM, MrMartin said:

Hi!

 

I got the exact same problem. I got the Mac mini 2018 and Dell U4919DW, I also tested with the macbook 2018 that I got and its same issue.

 

Tested using SwitchResX and ended up with same issue, the resolution is ok but its not very sharp.

Did you figure out how to get it sharper @das_hans?

Hi. So I sort of "resolved" the issue. After trying basically everything I could think of I caved and got an eGPU. There is still no native option to scale to 5120x1440 BUT, with the help of SwitchResX I was able to get the resolution sorted. Can't say I am happy about this since the Intel graphics did not seem to have any issue with two regular 1440p Screens coming coming from the same port, but oh well. Since I needed the added graphics anyway, this was a decent solution for me but still quite annoying. 

 

So in summary, it seems that you will need dedicated Graphics to run this screen, but when it does, it is a pretty sweet monitor. 

 

(I'm using a Radeon 580 pro on thunderbolt eGPU. FYI)

[2MuchMark]

Hi HonzaPov,  Hi das_hans, 

 

No to this day, I still do not have the issue resolved,  Apple has acknowledged the issue but since there have been a few OS updates since then I doubt it will ever be resolved. 

 

But then again even if it was resolved, I do not think I would use it.  Having the Dell 49" monitor act as 2 different "virtual" monitors is actually perfect.  When using Skype's screen capture and similar software,  it accurately sees 1 virtual monitor or the other, making them super easy to use.  For all regular applications I can move each around between both monitors as you normally would.  Programs like Magnet also see things perfectly.  Photoshop and Video editing also works exactly as I would expect.  

 

Even Apple Mission Control and Dock placement work properly.  I can think of no reason at all to have my setup work as 1 single monitor instead of 2 virtual monitors.  I'm sure there are probably some applications out there but none that I can think of. 

 

Also: It has been 8 months since I have been using this setup and I'm really happy with the purchase. My only complaints, and these are minor, are :

 

- The connectors in the back of the monitor are impossible to get to and impossible to see unless I get on my hands and knees to loop up at it.  

- The dual monitor issue in this thread requires that 2 cables be used to drive it instead of just 1, making for slightly messier cable management.

- The Mac mini seems to "forget" one of the 2 monitors when waking up from sleep mode sometimes, though this has not happened since the latest OS update. 

 

Other than that the monitor is razor sharp, runs nice and cold, and looks drop-dead sexy on my desk.  Very much worth the money.

 

 

[Sega Tupac]

I was able to resolve this issue by connecting my Mac to an external GPU enclosure with a compatible graphics card and a Thunderbolt 3 cable. The solution works with my 2019 iMac, 2019 MacBook Pro 13" & 2018 MacBook Air.