UI messed up if external monitor is disconnected on different user
Note: This seems to be the same bug as mentioned in this old thread:
Bug: External monitors with multiple user… - Apple Community
The other thread was describing the problem more technical and abstract. A commenter didn't understand the problem. That's why I'll provide a more contextual description of the bug. But please look at the description in the other thread as well.
I use my 2023 14” MacBook Pro for both personal and business purposes, with separate user accounts for each. At home, I don’t have external monitors, but at work, I connect two external monitors via a docking station. Sometimes, I need to switch users during work (e.g., for admin tasks), which means I have both accounts logged in simultaneously (with external monitors active).
Here’s the issue:
1. I switch from my business user (with external monitors connected) to my personal user, and then back again.
2. At the end of the day, I log out of my business user, disconnect the docking station, and head home.
3. When I open my MacBook at home and log in to my personal user, the UI is completely messed up, just like mentioned in the old thread.
The UI appears confined to a smaller portion of the screen (seems like a resolution issue), the menu bar is rendered outside the visible area, and it’s impossible to interact with it. Plugging the external monitors back in and disconnecting them again would fix the problem—but I don’t have access to them at home.
It seems mac os still “expects” the external monitors to be connected and doesn’t adjust the UI properly. The problem can technically be “fixed” by logging out and logging back in, but without access to the menu bar, that’s really tricky. Even if I use a shortcut to bring up the logout screen, I can’t confirm it because the dialog box might also be outside the visible area.
My workaround is to use Spotlight to open a Terminal and log out with a command, or to run an Alfred command. But A) this isn’t something most users could easily do, and B) if I have unsaved work, I’m probably screwed. With the broken UI, maybe I can’t even save open files. In the worst case, I need to brute force a shutdown (holding the power button).
Firstly, this bug obviously needs to be fixed.
But also: Is there a way to force mac os to recalculate its display layout (e.g., trigger something like a “display configuration changed” event) without external monitors?
Thank you!
Ps: Further context: the external monitors are older, and don't have higher-density (“retina”). I don't know if that is important.
Edit:
- The bug is also mentioned here: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/472767/problem-with-display-size-after-disconnecting-external-display-and-changing-user
- Restarting Finder or Dock won't fix the issue. Dock ist the most “window-server”-like software I know of on mac os.