How to change refresh rate?

[simonnew]

Hi, I'm wondering if there is a way to set the refresh rate on a dummy display? I have an external monitor that my m1 mac sends a 50hz signal by default(???) when i plug it in but it won't display anything unless it gets a 60hz signal. I'm hoping to create a dummy display that is 60hz and have my external monitor mirror it. Is this possible with dummy display? Thanks!!

[waydabber]

Hi, the dummy runs at 60Hz by default. Problem is, macOS will automatically switch to the default/native mode reported by the display when mirroring which in this case seems to be 50Hz. It might be a firmware issue or tha mac might interpret the EDID data erroneously (the former one is more likely). Unfortunately you can't override EDID data on M1 macs (you can do it on Intel), so you might need to get an EDID spoofer (it's about $10-$15) to fix this issue. But if you can select 60Hz for the display in the display menu's refresh rate dropdown then once you set that, the OS should remember that setting for the given display configuration.

[simonnew]

This is super helpful info. Good to know that you can't spoof the refresh rate on M1. Unfortunately I can't pick the refresh rate in the monitor's menu, so I'll try an EDID spoofer. Thanks!

[reustmd]

@simonnew any luck? I'm experiencing a similar limitation to 50hz on my AW3423DW (alienware gaming oled).

[Tythla]

Same issue here. My monitor can run natively 4k 144hz in MacOS. With BetterDisplay on, it can only run at 30hz. I see the refreah rate option in BetterDisplay menu but it does nothing when I click it.

[waydabber]

@Tythla - are you using dummy mirroring?

[xEzeit]

Hi, the solution is buying a screen with 240hz for example and get 240hz on dummy ?

[waydabber]

No, dummies are fixed at 60Hz. But if you use the native smooth scaling feature to get a scalable desktop, refresh rate is not capped, so refresh rate this is not a problem anymore for most use cases.

For more info: https://github.com/waydabber/BetterDisplay/wiki/Fully-scalable-HiDPI-desktop