@Breek A USB-C to DisplayPort or USB-C to HDMI cable only gives you a way to send a video signal out from the system to the display. It does not create a USB data path between the display and the source system. DisplayPort and HDMI input connectors cannot be used for carrying USB data. A USB-C input can receive video and create a USB data path at the same time, and also provide power to the attached system. But you're not using that input when connecting to a DP or HDMI input. When you're using the DP or HDMI input, you also need to connect a USB 3.0 cable from one of the display's "upstream" USB ports down to a USB port on your system. And then you map each upstream USB port to a corresponding video input on the display. So for example if one system is connected to HDMI and Upstream USB #1, and the other system is connected to DP and Upstream USB #2, then you would map USB #1 to HDMI and USB #2 to DP. That way when you switch the display to either the HDMI or DP input, the system will know which upstream USB port should be used at the same time.
Note that you can have one system using the USB-C port. That system will only need a single cable. You just need the other PC to run a dual cable setup, one for video and one for USB, since the display doesn't have multiple USB-C inputs.
@jphughan yes I know I have to manually switch. It’s just the monitor is not recognizing the keyboard when I switch it to the second display. It only sees the keyboard on the usb c to usb c computer
@Breek Yes, I understand the problem. And I already explained WHY you're having the problem and what to do about it. When you have a system connected to the DP or HDMI input, you are only sending a video signal to the display. You are not able to receive USB data from the display, because the DP and HDMI inputs do not support carrying USB data. So in addition to that USB-C to DP cable/adapter setup you have, you also need to connect a USB 3.0 cable from one of the upstream USB 3.0 ports on the display to one of the USB ports on your Mac. That will create a USB data path between the display and that system so that the keyboard will work. And once the display sees that USB connection, you will be able to assign that USB upstream port to the video input connector you're using with that system. The reason it's grayed out now is because your only USB data path is the one on the USB-C connector to a different system.
@Breek Building on my reply above, just to make sure you understand this, when using PBP mode, you will NOT be able to simply move the cursor across the display boundary of one system over to the other and expect the display to automatically start using the keyboard and mouse with the other system. You have to manually switch which system is using the peripherals attached to the display. If you want the ability to seamlessly move your cursor from one PC over to the other, then you'd need a solution like Logitech Flow. And in that case, your USB peripherals would physically only ever need to be connected to a single system, because whenever you moved the cursor over to the other system, the system that actually has those peripherals connected to it will start sending keyboard and mouse commands over the network to the other system. But that's of course a completely different type of solution.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
February 22nd, 2021 18:00
@Breek A USB-C to DisplayPort or USB-C to HDMI cable only gives you a way to send a video signal out from the system to the display. It does not create a USB data path between the display and the source system. DisplayPort and HDMI input connectors cannot be used for carrying USB data. A USB-C input can receive video and create a USB data path at the same time, and also provide power to the attached system. But you're not using that input when connecting to a DP or HDMI input. When you're using the DP or HDMI input, you also need to connect a USB 3.0 cable from one of the display's "upstream" USB ports down to a USB port on your system. And then you map each upstream USB port to a corresponding video input on the display. So for example if one system is connected to HDMI and Upstream USB #1, and the other system is connected to DP and Upstream USB #2, then you would map USB #1 to HDMI and USB #2 to DP. That way when you switch the display to either the HDMI or DP input, the system will know which upstream USB port should be used at the same time.
Note that you can have one system using the USB-C port. That system will only need a single cable. You just need the other PC to run a dual cable setup, one for video and one for USB, since the display doesn't have multiple USB-C inputs.
Breek
2 Posts
0
February 22nd, 2021 18:00
@jphughan yes I know I have to manually switch. It’s just the monitor is not recognizing the keyboard when I switch it to the second display. It only sees the keyboard on the usb c to usb c computer
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
February 22nd, 2021 18:00
@Breek Yes, I understand the problem. And I already explained WHY you're having the problem and what to do about it. When you have a system connected to the DP or HDMI input, you are only sending a video signal to the display. You are not able to receive USB data from the display, because the DP and HDMI inputs do not support carrying USB data. So in addition to that USB-C to DP cable/adapter setup you have, you also need to connect a USB 3.0 cable from one of the upstream USB 3.0 ports on the display to one of the USB ports on your Mac. That will create a USB data path between the display and that system so that the keyboard will work. And once the display sees that USB connection, you will be able to assign that USB upstream port to the video input connector you're using with that system. The reason it's grayed out now is because your only USB data path is the one on the USB-C connector to a different system.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
February 22nd, 2021 18:00
@Breek Building on my reply above, just to make sure you understand this, when using PBP mode, you will NOT be able to simply move the cursor across the display boundary of one system over to the other and expect the display to automatically start using the keyboard and mouse with the other system. You have to manually switch which system is using the peripherals attached to the display. If you want the ability to seamlessly move your cursor from one PC over to the other, then you'd need a solution like Logitech Flow. And in that case, your USB peripherals would physically only ever need to be connected to a single system, because whenever you moved the cursor over to the other system, the system that actually has those peripherals connected to it will start sending keyboard and mouse commands over the network to the other system. But that's of course a completely different type of solution.
Traveler2021
6 Posts
0
April 7th, 2021 19:00
I have had some success using "Barrier" [1] which is the open source fork of Synergy.
You have to use one of the two as the KM server and the other one is a client.
[1] https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/wiki