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Various I/O issues with brand new 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pro

Replaced my old 2017 MacBook Pro with a new 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pro recently, and I have been using it for work for the last 2 days. Sadly, I'm noticing some issues that are driving me crazy trying to solve. My work setup consists of the laptop, a Corsair K95 RGB keyboard, a bluetooth mouse, some speakers via a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 mk.I interface, and an external drive from time to time. All of this is/was run through a thunderbolt/USB-C hub/display adapter. I've experienced none of the following issues using this setup with my old Intel MacBook Pro.


Issue 1: Keyboard lighting seems to be dirtying the USB power delivery - When the lights are on, I notice the keyboard squeals more than usual. This keyboard has always made some noise, but what's more frustrating is that I get the same squeal amplified through my audio interface and thus my speakers. It seems like this MacBook Pro is not doing as well delivering clean power, possibly a grounding issue? This is not solved by plugging the laptop in via MagSafe 3 for added power/grounding. Fortunately, by plugging the keyboard and audio interfaces into different Thunderbolt ports using another adaptor/hub I can avoid the effect. I'm disappointed that my last MacBook Pro seemed to handle this so much better than this new one.


Issue 2: External Display screen door/grid/crawling effect - This is by far the more annoying one as I am a graphic designer and it's interfering with my work. I use an AOC G2460PQU monitor as a secondary display while working. I noticed that I get a shimmery, moving, grid-like pattern on dark- and mid-greys when connected via HDMI directly to the laptop or through the aforementioned Thunderbolt/USB-C adapters. I've tried multiple cables and can't seem to get rid of this effect. Strangely, other monitors I've tested with don't seem to have this issue, and I never noticed it with my old Intel MacBook Pro. The only thing I can find that helps correct this is which output/adapter I use. One adapter seems to reduce the effect on some shades of grey, but introduces it on others. This leads me to believe the difference here is that there is a difference in the HDMI output quality from the outlier adapter, perhaps it has a lower bandwidth and thus the issue isn't as visible. Still, the issue seems to be related to this new MacBook Pro, not the output I'm using.


Anyone have any thoughts on these issues or how I might be able to solve them? I'd really like to know if this is unexpected or if anyone else has been experiencing the same thing. If this is an issue with my unit I'd like to schedule an Apple Store appointment so I can get things fixed. I'm really quite disappointed that my upgrade has introduced these new issues in my setup and workflow. Any help is appreciated.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.1

Posted on Nov 26, 2024 4:26 PM

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3 replies

Nov 26, 2024 6:52 PM in response to Ham4Kyle

HDMI cables you want for HDMI-only Displays (higher resolutions than 720p TV sets) are marked as Certified with an anti-counterfeiting tag and are labeled:


"PREMIUM High Speed HDMI cable" or that + "with Ethernet" --OR--

“ULTRA High Speed HDMI cable" or that + "48G"


Cables with No Certification tags are good for your standard 720p TV set, and not much more.


HDMI was invented for HD TV sets. it works great at its original resolution of 720i or 720p. At higher resolutions, it quickly develops issues that are complex to solve, and the cables and adapters required to solve are NOT intuitive.

Various I/O issues with brand new 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pro

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