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YEARENDSUMMARY
User level: Level 1 (24 points)

Stuck in Airplay mode on external monitor-MacBook M1 GoldenGate

I have an M1 MAx MacBook Pro, 32 GB Ram running GoldenGate 27.01 . I have 2 x 27 inch external Samsung LS27D36xg monitors which had been working fine. I direct from HDMI port, the other usb-c to HDMI cable. I removed the macbook form this setup to hook up to a Samsung 80 inch Flat Screen TV last night, via Airplay. Back to work today-Re-hooled- up and one display continues to want to be in Airplay mode- The TV is turned off and Unplugged. I have turned of "Airplay receiver" in settings. restarted several times. Unplugged/ re-plugged etc. is there something I can purge? P-Ram? My monitor - while sort of being recognized- Is not showing up in the display Preferences panel, and continues to display a black screen with the prompt " Choose to Mirror from the display menu". Im at a loss.... Any ideas?

Posted on Oct 19, 2026 7:19 AM

3 replies

kaz-k
User level: Level 9 (53,902 points)

Oct 19, 2026 8:16 AM in response to YEARENDSUMMARY

Hi,

You can fix an external monitor stuck in AirPlay mode by deleting the corrupted WindowServer display preference files and restarting your Mac.


Resetting WindowServer Preferences

A bug in newer macOS versions like Golden Gate can cause external HDMI or adapter displays to be misidentified as AirPlay mirroring targets. Clearing the cached window server configuration forces macOS to re-detect the monitor correctly.


  • Open Finder.
  • Click the Go menu at the top of the screen and select Go to Folder...
  • Paste /Library/Preferences and press Return.
  • Look for files named com.apple.windowserver.plist or com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist(and any versions containing a UUID string like com.apple.windowserver.<UUID>.plist) and move them to the Trash.
  • Go to folder again via Go to Folder... and paste ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost.
  • Delete any com.apple.windowserver.<UUID>.plist files found inside the ByHost folder.
  • Restart your MacBook


YEARENDSUMMARY Author
User level: Level 1 (24 points)

Oct 19, 2026 1:22 PM in response to YEARENDSUMMARY

ACTUALLY...That other solution did not work an dthe problem returned- so the easy fast solution is exactly as outlined above by Kaz-K. It takes but a moment and it did the trick. Thanks again Kaz-K!


From Kaz-K

Resetting WindowServer Preferences

A bug in newer macOS versions like Golden Gate can cause external HDMI or adapter displays to be misidentified as AirPlay mirroring targets. Clearing the cached window server configuration forces macOS to re-detect the monitor correctly.


  • Open Finder.
  • Click the Go menu at the top of the screen and select Go to Folder...
  • Paste /Library/Preferences and press Return.
  • Look for files named com.apple.windowserver.plist or com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist(and any versions containing a UUID string like com.apple.windowserver.<UUID>.plist) and move them to the Trash.
  • Go to folder again via Go to Folder... and paste ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost.
  • Delete any com.apple.windowserver.<UUID>.plist files found inside the ByHost folder.
  • Restart your MacBook


YEARENDSUMMARY Author
User level: Level 1 (24 points)

Oct 19, 2026 12:12 PM in response to YEARENDSUMMARY

Thanks Kaz-K- Ultimately, I found another post that added 2 more items aftre turning off "Airplay receiver" in the airplay settings under general. I also turned off Bluetooth and WiFI,then restarted, and that did the trick. Thanks for your reply- one way or the other- if someone else encounters this issue- you have some additional options.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256378975