U3818DW, no official Apple hardware/software support

Question

Hi,

I am searching for an Ultra Wide Monitor from Dell that is compatible with the MacBook Pro 2016 that has USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 as output. I find the U3818DW very interesting. However in another post here in this forum I read that the are compatibility issues. I have a few questions that I hope you can help me out with:

1. The brightness and volume control do not work on the keyboard on from the MacBook (is the issue that was reported here in the forum). My plan would be to buy a mac keyboard that I either connect to the monitor or to my MacBook (depending on what works best but if possible connecting it to the screen would be nicer so that I only need to connect the MacBook to the monitor every time.

2. More importantly, one user reported that Nightshift Mode would not work. Does this also apply to the application called Flux (also available for Windows)? Nightshift Mode or Flux I find very important. This really needs to work for me.

3. Has this issue 1 been resolved maybe and if not: Does Dell generally work on improving the compability with Mac OS? I was always happy with Dell but if Dell would simply ignore MacOS that would be a bummer to be honest.

4. What are the future developments of Dell in this area? Will there soon come a new widescreen (maybe with 4k?

DELL-Chris M · Answer

Unfortunately, we cannot answer these Apple hardware or software questions. The U3818DW was only tested/validated by Dell for Windows 7/8/8.1/10. The U3818DW User's Guide makes no mention of Apple or Mac. You would be best suited to ask the Apple users on their Forum.

MacHenrik · Answer

Hey Chris,

It is difficult to understand this for me. I mean how can Dell not know if their monitors work well with Mac OS? Dont they know this for Linux neither? I dont think that so many people will have this monitor as it is very expensive and I already googled a lot to find information regarding Mac OS an the wide screen monitors from Dell. I am not a fan of ordering and then returning as this costs time and energy of many people involved...

I would really appreciate if Dell would put some effort to check out compability for a potential customer. I mean, we are talking about roughly 1300 Euros I would pay Dell...

Kind regards,

Henrik

DELL-Chris M · Answer

I mean how can Dell not know if their monitors work well with Mac OS?* Because we are not going to buy their products and test them for this model. We tested/validated this model on Dell computers. Don't they know this for Linux neither?* No. If you go to the U3818DW driver page and check the only driver we offer, neither Linux nor Apple are shown = I would really appreciate if Dell would put some effort to check out compatibility for a potential customer.No. As I already stated, you should discuss this with the Apple customers on the Apple Forum.

Mishos · Answer

Hi, This reply is (obviously) very late to the party. However, now that I own this Dell monitor, I may be able to help future MacBook Pro users with some answers.

1) Volume control: I can confirm that you CANNOT control the external display's volume from an external keyboard or your laptop. I have tried this with a USB wired keyboard plugged into my MB with an adapter and plugged into the display.

2) I have not been able get Night Shift to work on the Dell. One user posted that this may be due to the MB treating the display as a TV. Night Shift will work on my MB.

3) There are no Mac drivers or any software support for this monitor and it has been on sale for a few years now. You can safely assume that there will never be any.

4) The USB-C cable that came with the monitor works well and charges my MB. BUT, and this is a problem, it only charges when the monitor is on and MB is not sleeping. After a period of inactivity (as long as your MB is set to be able to sleep) and your MB goes to sleep, the monitor attempts to sleep. When this happens, the charge from the USB-C must get interrupted because the MB wakes up temporarily, which wakes up the monitor, which then powers the USB-C again, which triggers sleep mode on the MB and the whole cycle repeats. All night long.

These things aside, the monitor is great. But, I would like to return it for one which is compatible with my MB.

Hope this helps any future MB person thinking about which awesomely large display to get.

Monitors

U3818DW, no official Apple hardware/software support

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