U2719DC, mid-2013 MacBook Air, not working

For my notes, click my name and private message me the U2719DC service tag number.

Dell did not test/validate the U2719DC on the proprietary Apple hardware and operating system. We can see on the U2719DC drivers page and also in the U2719DC User's Guide that there is no mention of the proprietary Apple operating system or hardware.

The fact that the U2719DC works on the Lenovo with Windows proves that the issue is on the Apple side. You should post the issue on the Apple Forum and see what other Apple users have done as far as Apple PC troubleshooting and possible Apple proprietary cabling to purchase.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the reply.  I did some digging on the Apple forums, and this appears to be somewhat common issue.  It looks like it's an interelationship between the Apple DisplayPort output and the Dell monitor.  The solution some suggested on earlier Dell monitors was to go into the menu settings and select an earlier DisplayPort protocol.  For example, my mid-2013 MacBook was released on the DisplayPort v1.2 protocol, but the U2719DC monitor works on a DisplayPort v1.4 protocol.

Unfortunately, unlike earlier Dell monitors, I don't see any option for DisplayPort versioning in the menu of my U2719DC.  Do you know if there's any options?

As a side note, I did get the monitor to work with a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter + cable setup.  However, I'm limited to 1080p resolution.  So... I'm halfway there :)

No. I have not seen a way to back the DP 1.4 in port to DP 1.2. I am surprised that it does not do this automatically. Was the Amazon Basics cable you tested mDP to DP 1.4 like this one?

I bought this one, which I just noticed is only certified to DisplayPort 1.2.

I am using the U2719DC with a MacBook Air 13" Early 2014 and I have the exact same problem. I have already tested it with several mDP to DP cables and none of them worked. Therefore, my current compromise is a mDP to HDMI adapter, which works but only delivers 1080p. It is known, that these MacBooks are very restricted considering HDMI output. DP is supposed to work well, though.

The last suggestion in this thread was to use a DP 1.4 cable. Then nothing happened. Does it work with a DP 1.4 cable? Can someone confirm?

Else I would really appreciate if DELL would take care of this issue and at least recommend working cables.

Dell cannot, "take care of the issue.". As I stated above, Dell did not test/validate the U2719DC on the proprietary Apple hardware and operating system.
DELL-Chris M

Thank you for your fast response, Chris. You may understand that I am not happy about this answer. It is clear you cannot validate every combination. However, you should mention on the product site that you do not test Apple hardware and so do not guarantee they are going to work together. How would a customer otherwise know? 

Now I have to sacrifice a lot of time to test with several cables, whereas DELL presumably has all the hardware in house being able to just tell me which cable (type) works or whether it is simply impossible to get that running. 

Though I'm not holding my breath, I'm carefully monitoring this thread for answers, as I have the exact same issue as SimplyDanny.

I am running a MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2014) and for now only getting 1920 x 1080 displayed through mDV to HDMI, as I too got a black screen on my recent purchased Dell U2719DC, when connecting through mDP to DP. As I have returned the mDP to DP cable before checking if it was a DP 1.4 cable, I am unsure if indeed a 1.4 DP cable will make a significant difference and enabling the mDP 1.2 output from my MBA to display at the U2719DC monitor's max resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels?

As a note, my MBA's graphics card, the Intel HD Graphics 5000 is according to Apple, capable of displaying up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display at millions of colors.

BTW, my son tried to connect his 2019 MacBook Pro to the U2719DC through USB-C, but also got the black screen.

-- Please scroll down for a solution/workaround --

Firstly, I want to point out how very unsatisfactory Dell's reaction to the problems pointed out in this thread is.

I, too, have a MacBook Air from 2013 and experience the very same issues. For the record: We are talking MacBooks here. Intel CPU. Intel Graphics (HD 5000). Mini DisplayPort. Basically standard hardware and a notebook that has sold pretty well, i.e. no niche product. Moreover, the MacBook has never caused me any problem with ANY other display or projector. Incidentally, my primary display at home is a different, older Dell 27" WQHD model, also connected via an mDP to DP cable without any such problems. The logic applied by Dell that "one notebook from a different manufacturer working with our display proves it's not our fault" would thus be disproved, if one were to follow this kind of argument in the first place. Thus, the problem should at least have been thoroughly investigated. (Plus: Even if Apple is at fault, and they introduced a bug which for whatever reason never showed up before for 5 years, one could argue that it's both in Dell's interest and entirely possible for Dell to solve this issue. Otherwise, MacBook users may choose to buy products from basically any other major brand on the market which mostly seem to be better at handling these claimed peculiarities.)

Pointing out that compatibility for this DISPLAY has not explicitly been guaranteed by Dell's website is like a bad joke. What's next? "This USB mouse has only been confirmed to work with Lenovo notebooks manufactured after 2018"? 

If there were issues connecting your display to iPads via Apple's proprietary adapters, my hypothesis would be that Apple might be at fault, too. But in this case, Dell has likely messed up backwards compatibility and instead of fixing or at least EXPLORING the problem, you just send the customers - i.e. the people paying your bills - away. Because you don't care, because you don't know better, or because you have a personal problem with Apple users? Whatever is the case, the fact that Dell doesn't care at all in a case where the company itself is quite likely at fault means I'm not going to buy Dell products anymore, neither for myself nor for my employees. I'm deeply disappointed by your interpretation of a "customer first"-attitude.

-- Workaround for other users affected by the bug --

If it's too late for you to simply return the display, the following solution did work for me: There are "USB graphic adapters" available online which offer DisplayPort output. The model I'm using retails at around 40-60€ and is called "i-tec USB 3.0 4K DisplayPort Adapter" (U3DP4K). You may need to download the respective driver from displaylink.com. According to my knowledge, these adapters still receive a signal from the MacBook's internal graphic card, even though these devices are sometimes also referred to as "USB graphic cards".

I tried an array of different mDP to DP-cables (old ones which worked with my older Dell display, as well as new ones, including expensive cables which meet the newest standards as proposed here) before testing out the USB adapter, but that did not help in my case.