MacBook Air 2022 menu bar won't move to main display after OS 27.0.1 update

To designate the main display on macOS with multiple displays connected, follow these steps:

Change Main Display Assignment

• Go to System Settings ➔ Displays
• Select your Built-in display icon, then click the drop-down menu next to Use as and select Main
• Alternatively, click the Arrange button, then drag the white menu bar in the Arrangement from your external monitor to your laptop screen icon to designate it as primary

More info from Apple: Displays settings on Mac - Apple Support

Note that with an extended display, you should be seeing the menu bar on both displays. On the active display (the one in which you are currently working), it should be 'normal' and on the other display (without an active app), it should be 'dimmed' but still visible.

If you are not seeing that behavior, then you may need to take additional troubleshooting steps. Have you rebooted your Mac? If not, that's the first step. If that does not help, then see if the problem is present when you boot in safe mode. That process performs some system cleanup and clears caches, and also disables 3rd party extensions that may cause problems.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

If that does not correct the issue, test in a new user account. A newly-created user account will have all settings at default, and if the issue does not occur in that new account then it provides guidance on what may need to be changed to correct the issue.

Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support

Once the testing is complete, the new account can easily be deleted.

Delete a user or group on Mac – Apple Support

Those steps will help to isolate the problem.

Go to  >> System Settings >> Displays >> Arrange. 

You should see your MacBook's built-in display and the external display. 

Look for the white menu-bar area at the top of the external display and drag it to the top of your MacBook's display. 

Apple identifies Arrange as the place to reposition displays and move the menu bar. Apple — Displays settings on Mac

You can also select your MacBook's display under Displays and look at Use as. 

If Main Display is available, select it. This tells macOS to use the MacBook display as the main display.

If you've already tried both of these and the menu bar still stays on the external display, let us know what happens when you try to drag the white menu-bar area: doesn't move at all, or does it move and then return to the external display?

That will help narrow down what to try next.

On your MacBook Air, go to Apple menu  >> System Settings >> Displays and select the external display. 

Apple provides a Use as setting that lets you choose which display is the main display. 

You can also select Arrange and relocate the menu bar to the MacBook's built-in display. 

Apple describes both options here: Displays settings on Mac – Apple Support and Extend or mirror your Mac desktop across multiple displays – Apple Support. (Apple Support)

If changing the main display has no effect, disconnect the external display, restart the Mac, and reconnect it. Apple notes that display arrangements are retained in macOS, so reconnecting the display can also help determine whether the saved display configuration is involved. (Apple Support)

If the problem remains, your 2022 MacBook Air has Apple silicon. Apple recommends Safe Mode as a diagnostic method for determining whether software that loads during startup is contributing to a problem. Shut down the Mac, hold the power button until Loading startup options appears, select your startup volume, hold Shift, and choose Continue in Safe Mode. Then check whether you can make the MacBook display the main display. Start up your Mac in safe mode – Apple Support (Apple Support)

If the problem also occurs in Safe Mode, I would next check the external display's cable, adapter, or dock and, if possible, test the Mac with another display connection. 

Apple provides additional guidance for connecting and configuring external displays here: Connect displays to your Mac – Apple Support.

I would not assume from the timing alone that macOS 27.0.1 caused the problem. 

The steps above first establish whether the issue is with the display assignment, the connection, or software loaded during normal startup.

On an Apple-silicon Mac running macOS 27, Safe Mode is not an option on the screen you get by clicking “Options.”

Apple describes it as a hidden action associated with the Macintosh HD startup volume. 

From the exact screen you described:

1. Shut the Mac down completely.
2. Press and hold the power button until you see Macintosh HD and Options.
3. Click Macintosh HD once so that it is selected.
4. Keep holding the Shift key.
5. While continuing to hold Shift, look for the button that normally says Continue. Apple says it should change to “Continue in Safe Mode.”
6. Click Continue in Safe Mode while still holding Shift. The Mac should restart.
7. At the login window, Apple says you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar. 

The important distinction is that you should not click Options. Options takes you into macOS Recovery, which is why you are seeing:

• Restore from Time Machine
• Reinstall macOS 27 Golden Gate
• Web Browser
• Disk Utility

That is Recovery, not Safe Mode. 

As noted, the menu bar ought to appear in all displays, unless either:

a) you have "Displays have separate Spaces" turned OFF in System Settings->Desktop & Dock

or

b) you have an application in Full Screen;

or

c) you have set the menu bar to autohide "always" or some other option other than "never" (in System Settings->Menu Bar)

Note that if you are in case a), the instructions to designate the main display, as given by Owl-53 and neuroanatomist, ought to work. But I'd recommend keeping "Displays have separate Spaces" always ON.

The only reason one might want that off is if you'd want the same window to spread over more than one display.

NotAnExile wrote:

Thank you, but these instructions (Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support) do not correspond to what I see when I try to start my Macbook Air with Apple Silicon in Safe Mode. Could you tell me which steps I need to take in order to enter Safe Mode?

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > Shut Down.
2. Wait for your Mac to shut down completely. A Mac is completely shut down when the screen is black and any lights are off.
3. Press and hold the power button on your Mac until “Loading startup options” appears.
4. Select a volume (your internal drive)
5. Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.
6. The computer restarts automatically. When the login window appears, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.

Those are the steps, and they should work. What happens when you follow those steps?

NotAnExile wrote:

Wait! What?? I need to use a can of soup? What kind of soup?

I'm kidding! Your point was made. Thank you for the explanation.

This is why I explained what I was doing in detail - to see what I was doing wrong.

I did what you said, and was taken to my home screen, with the words "safe boot" in red in the upper right corner of the screen. I had to enter my password to continue and when I did, the regular environment opened, not Safe Mode.

Now what? More soup? 🤔

with the words "safe boot" in red

This shows that you DID boot into Safe Mode.

I don't know what you were expecting Safe Mode to be.

For all intents and purposes, it looks exactly like a normal boot - except that any third party daemons or agents that would have been launched in normal mode are NOT launched in Safe Mode.

The purpose is to test if the cause of your problems may be due to some of that third party software.

If things work correctly in Safe Mode, and not when booted normally, there you have it.

Now on to a different thought!

We are all trying to help you work with the MENU BAR, but your last post seems to indicate we are perhaps misunderstanding. When you say it moved with a display when you changed the arrangement, I am thinking that maybe all this confusion is because while you WROTE "menu bar" you may have meant DOCK... so a screenshot showing what you mean may clarify this once and for all.

NotAnExile wrote:

Not on my MacBook. As I described, I hold down Shift and click on Continue and it takes me to the regular opening, not Safe Mode.

Are you using the internal keyboard? If not, disconnect the MacBook Air from all peripherals and try again with a built-in Shift key.

NotAnExile wrote:

I'm still not able to enter Safe Mode.

I find that concerning. If you are following the instructions carefully and still cannot boot in safe mode, that suggests the possibility of corrupted system files. To check, boot in Recovery Mode, use Disk Utility to run First Aid on your internal drive.

How to start up from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

Oh, and I bought a Display to HDMI cable to replace my Display to USB-C cable but when I connect it to the HDMI port on a hub, it doesn't work. The display thinks there's no cable installed.

Have you been using the hub all along? If so, what happens when you connect the Mac directly to the external display?

NotAnExile wrote:

I did what you said, and was taken to my home screen, with the words "safe boot" in red in the upper right corner of the screen. I had to enter my password to continue and when I did, the regular environment opened, not Safe Mode.

If you saw Safe Boot, then you booted into safe mode. If you want to confirm that, hold the option key and click the Apple menu, click System Information (the top item), then click on Software in the sidebar and look at Boot mode.

To exit safe mode, just restart normally.

But...the question is, in safe mode do you have the issue you initially reported?

The solution was to drag the dock to the other display, but it was complicated by the fact that I wanted the dock to be on the left side of the external display which is on the right side of my MacBook.

I just used an AI prompt like "On a MacBook running MacOS 27, how do I move the Dock to an external display."

Thank you, but these instructions (Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support) do not correspond to what I see when I try to start my Macbook Air with Apple Silicon in Safe Mode. Could you tell me which steps I need to take in order to enter Safe Mode?

NotAnExile wrote:

On my Mac it shows the white bar in the main display, but in the actual monitors, the menu bar is on the extended display.

It should be showing up on both displays. Drag an app to the Mac's internal display, does the menu bar follow?

This is not what I see.

I hold down the power button and then I see my "Macintosh HD" and a gear that says "Options". If I click on the HD, even with the Shift button held down, then my Macbook starts normally. If I click on Options, with the shift button held down, I'm taken to a screen with these options:

Restore from Time Machine

Reinstall macOS 27 Golden Gate

Web Browser

Disk Utility

Nothing is said anywhere about Safe Mode.

NotAnExile wrote:

I wish these comments and replies were place in this site where they should be! Replies should be shown directly after the comments they're a reply to!!

Absolutely!

It is insane that comments are shown out of chronological order.

You can change that by clicking on "Sort By" and choosing "Oldest" - but even that "Sort By" can be difficult to spot, as it shows after the highlighted answer.

What I have done is to go into my profile and set my preferred order to "Oldest"; this way, provided that I am logged in, messages do appear in order.

NotAnExile wrote:

This is not what I see.

I hold down the power button and then I see my "Macintosh HD" and a gear that says "Options". If I click on the HD, even with the Shift button held down, then my Macbook starts normally. If I click on Options, with the shift button held down, I'm taken to a screen with these options:

Restore from Time Machine

Reinstall macOS 27 Golden Gate

Web Browser

Disk Utility

Nothing is said anywhere about Safe Mode.

If you click on your drive while keeping the Shift key down, at some point the words "Safe Boot" ought to appear near the top right of your screen. I am not sure how long you need to hold down Shift, maybe you need to keep holding a little bit until after you have clicked.

If you click on your drive while keeping the Shift key down, at some point the words "Safe Boot" ought to appear near the top right of your screen. I am not sure how long you need to hold down Shift, maybe you need to keep holding a little bit until after you have clicked.

No. I hold down the Shift key from before when I click on my HD until I see it boot my Macbook into the regular mode. I have no way of entering Safe Mode.

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions. I'm going to enjoy my Saturday evening and take this up again on Monday. If you have any ideas between now and then, I'll be grateful. I hope you have a nice weekend.

NotAnExile wrote:

You can change that by clicking on "Sort By"

Where?

Here, but what I think you're really asking for is a 'threaded' view, and these forums do not offer that as an option. I use Newest.

NotAnExile wrote:

You can change that by clicking on "Sort By"

Where?

In you open, for example, this one discussion, you see the original post at the top, followed by a "Top ranking reply".

Just below this "Top ranking reply", and on the right side, you will see this (yours will say "Rank", but you should choose "Oldest"):

Follow Owl-53's advice:

• select your hard drive and you'll see the word "Continue";
• hold down Shift and "Continue" becomes "Continue in Safe Mode".
• keep holding Shift and click "Continue in Safe Mode"

I have an update. I still can't move the menu bar to the display I want (I move the white bar in Arrange) to the other display, but the menu bar stays where it is.

But I did find out that if I move the internal display to the left of the external one and change this in Arrange, the menu bar goes there. In other words, the menu bar always stays on the monitor that's on the left side.

Strange? I thought so!

Any further suggestions. I'm still not able to enter Safe Mode.

Oh, and I bought a Display to HDMI cable to replace my Display to USB-C cable but when I connect it to the HDMI port on a hub, it doesn't work. The display thinks there's no cable installed.

Thank you, neuranatomist,, for this information.

I'll wait to do the First Aid on my hard disk until the end of my day since it says it can take hours to complete.

As for the display not working when connected to the USB hub, I did a little research (thank you AI) and found something I didn't know: that not all USB hubs are built to handle video. Most are just for data. So "live and learn". For now I'm fine with the Display to USB-C cable I have, I just wanted to see if this problem with the menu bar would be solved with a different connection. Also, the cable doesn't seem to connect well to my MacBook's USB-C port. Again, this is livable.

I'll do the First Aid this evening and post the results here tomorrow.

Well, I ran First Aid and it took less than 10 seconds. I didn't see any error messages.

Then I tried to start in Safe Mode again but was taken to the regular mode. (I turned off my MacBook, then held down the start button until I saw the screen that included my hard drive. I held down the Shift button on my MacBook (not the external keyboard), clicked on the hard drive icon, then on continue, holding down the Shift button the whole time.)

My bet is that this is a glitch with MacOS 27, but then again who knows?

NotAnExile wrote:

Then I tried to start in Safe Mode again but was taken to the regular mode. ... My bet is that this is a glitch with MacOS 27, but then again who knows?

Based on your post, my bet is user error.

You need to follow the instructions carefully and in the stated order. For example:

1. Open the can of soup
2. Pour the soup into the bowl
3. Put the bowl in the microwave and heat it

If you do step 3 before step 2, you will not get hot soup.

What you said:

1. held down the start button until I saw the screen that included my hard drive. 2. held down the Shift button 3. clicked on the hard drive icon 4. then on continue

What the instructions say:

1. Press and hold the power button on your Mac until “Loading startup options” appears. 2. Select a volume [@me adding: you click on it to select it] 3. Press and hold the Shift key 4. then click Continue in Safe Mode.

In other words, you said that you pressed the Shift key then selected the drive and clicked continue, but the instructions say to select the drive then press the Shift key then click continue. Order matters. You keep doing step 3 before step 2, and you keep getting cold soup.

Wait! What?? I need to use a can of soup? What kind of soup?

I'm kidding! Your point was made. Thank you for the explanation.

This is why I explained what I was doing in detail - to see what I was doing wrong.

I did what you said, and was taken to my home screen, with the words "safe boot" in red in the upper right corner of the screen. I had to enter my password to continue and when I did, the regular environment opened, not Safe Mode.

Now what? More soup? 🤔

OK, now I understand. I was in Safe Mode. But I was told long ago in this discussion that I should check to see if the dock can be moved while in Safe Mode. But while I'm in Safe Mode, there is no dock and no way to get to System Settings.

You can always access System Settings via the Apple menu:

But the bigger issue is the one raised by Luis Sequeira1...in your original post you mentioned the Menu Bar, and several pages of responses were predicated on that. Now, you are talking about moving the Dock. They are not the same thing. Which are you talking about?

Maybe you should start with the basics:

Get to know your desktop, menu bar, and Dock - Apple Support

If there's an Apple Store near you, they offer introductory sessions:

https://www.apple.com/today/event/get-started-mac/7511556904595062784/?sn=R155

NotAnExile wrote:

OK, now I understand. I was in Safe Mode. But I was told long ago in this discussion that I should check to see if the dock can be moved while in Safe Mode. But while I'm in Safe Mode, there is no dock and no way to get to System Settings.

That is wildly mistaken.

1) In Safe Mode, you access System Settings exactly the same way: (Apple menu)->System Settings...

and

2) The Dock DOES work in Safe Mode. In fact, it will use the same settings that you have, because Safe Mode does not affect the functionality of built-in system tools, like the Dock; it only keeps out third party modifications.

You see a login screen? Then you need to log in with your password. Of course you are not going to see the Dock or System Settings, or anything else, until you actually log into your Mac.

To repeat:

If there's an Apple Store near you, they offer introductory sessions:

Get Started: Mac - Apple

Sorry to sound harsh, but based on your posts it really seems like you need some education on the basics of using a Mac. It will be very difficult to troubleshoot any issue you may have without that basic knowledge. The Apple Store will also be able to help you sort out specific problems if you make a Genius Bar appointment.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

To both of you: I’ve already stated that when I log in to my account it takes me to the regular environment, out of Safe Mode.

Thanks for the suggestion, but the problem here isn’t with my knowledge of Macs, it’s with following the thread of comments.

NotAnExile wrote:

To both of you: I’ve already stated that when I log in to my account it takes me to the regular environment, out of Safe Mode.

What makes you think that after you enter your password on the login screen showing Safe Boot in red, that you aren't in safe mode?

As Luis stated: "For all intents and purposes, it looks exactly like a normal boot - except that any third party daemons or agents that would have been launched in normal mode are NOT launched in Safe Mode."

I also provided a way to confirm: hold the option key and click the Apple menu, click System Information (the top item), then click on Software in the sidebar and look at Boot mode.

The red-highlighted line will read Boot Mode: Safe if you are in safe mode. If you saw Safe Boot on the login screen, logged in and did not reboot your Mac, then you are in safe mode. Maybe you were expecting it to keep showing Safe Boot or Safe Mode in the menu bar (at the top of the screen). It doesn't. That was Luis' point.

I understand now. I thought Safe Mode would look different. I was in Safe Mode after logging in and kept working without seeing anything different. That's what confused me.

I see now that this was all a problem of my using the wrong term. I meant the Dock, but said Menu Bar. I apologize for that. In the meantime I found the solution.

Thank you all for your help and apologies for the frustration I caused. Words matter!

NotAnExile wrote:

I understand now. I thought Safe Mode would look different. I was in Safe Mode after logging in and kept working without seeing anything different. That's what confused me.

I see now that this was all a problem of my using the wrong term. I meant the Dock, but said Menu Bar. I apologize for that. In the meantime I found the solution.

Thank you all for your help and apologies for the frustration I caused. Words matter!

It would be nice to share what the solution was.

Yes Owl-53 and neuroanatomist, thank you, I've tried this. On my Mac it shows the white bar in the main display, but in the actual monitors, the menu bar is on the extended display.

I wish these comments and replies were place in this site where they should be! Replies should be shown directly after the comments they're a reply to!!

I can move the white menu bar area back and forth between displays in Arrange, but nothing changes on the monitors.

You can change that by clicking on "Sort By"

Where?

Not on my MacBook. As I described, I hold down Shift and click on Continue and it takes me to the regular opening, not Safe Mode.

Thanks but I did not click Options, only Shift.

Yes, I used the internal keyboard.

The Dock

Not on my computer. This is what I see when I enter Safe Mode:

You have to log in to your account, of course!!! 🤦