MacBook Air with multiple monitors: how many, and how I run four
By Guido Crego · Last updated:
A MacBook Air with an M4 or M5 runs two external monitors with the lid open, plus its own screen. An M1 or M2 runs one, and an M3 runs two only with the lid closed. Past that you need DisplayLink, which is how I run four monitors from a 15-inch M4 Air, with Shoji snapping windows on every one of them.
I make Shoji · window zones for Mac, and the setup on this page is the one I work on every day. The specs and limits were checked on October 9, 2026, and each one links to its source.
How many monitors each MacBook Air runs
These are the numbers without extra software, straight from Apple:
| MacBook Air | External monitors | With the lid closed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | 1, up to 6K at 60 Hz | Still 1 | Apple |
| M2 | 1, up to 6K at 60 Hz | Still 1 | Apple |
| M3 | 1, up to 6K at 60 Hz | 2 (the second up to 5K at 60 Hz) | Apple |
| M4 | 2, up to 6K at 60 Hz or 4K at 144 Hz each | Still 2 | Apple |
| M5 | 2, up to 6K at 60 Hz or 4K at 144 Hz each | Still 2 | Apple |
With a single monitor, the M4 and M5 go up to 8K at 60 Hz, 5K at 120 Hz or 4K at 240 Hz.
The M3’s second monitor comes with conditions: an external keyboard and mouse or trackpad, the Mac on power, macOS Sonoma 14.3 or later, and the lid closed. Open the lid and the second monitor goes dark (Apple).
A dock or a hub doesn’t change these numbers. Apple puts it plainly: a hub or daisy-chained displays “can enable up to 2 displays over a single Thunderbolt port, but does not increase the maximum number of displays” (Apple). Cheap USB-C hubs with two HDMI ports often rely on MST, and on a Mac, MST monitors show the same picture instead of extending the desktop (Plugable).
To go past these numbers on any MacBook Air, you need DisplayLink.
How DisplayLink adds more monitors
DisplayLink is a chip built into some docks and adapters, plus a Mac app from Synaptics called DisplayLink Manager. The app draws the extra screens in software, compresses them and sends them over USB to the chip, which turns them back into a video signal (Plugable). Because these screens don’t use the Mac’s own display outputs, Apple’s limit doesn’t apply to them. macOS counts them as virtual displays and allows up to four (DisplayLink).
So an M4 or M5 Air can run its own screen, two monitors natively and more over DisplayLink. An M1 or M2 runs one natively and the rest over DisplayLink.
Three things to expect when you set it up:
- An app. DisplayLink Manager 17.0, from September 2026, supports macOS 14 through 27 (Synaptics).
- Screen Recording permission. macOS asks for it because the app has to read the pixels it sends to the monitors. Synaptics says the app “does not send any data or pixels back to DisplayLink/Synaptics” (DisplayLink).
- Allowing the accessory. On Apple silicon laptops, macOS asks before it lets a new USB accessory connect, DisplayLink docks included (release notes).
My setup: a MacBook Air M4 with four monitors
My Mac is a 15-inch MacBook Air with the M4 and 24 GB of memory, on macOS 27. Everything plugs into a Satechi Thunderbolt 4 dock that has a DisplayLink chip inside, and one Thunderbolt cable goes from the dock to the Air. These are the four monitors, as macOS reports them:
| Monitor | Resolution | Refresh | How it connects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung CRG9, 49-inch, 32:9 | 5120 × 1440 | 120 Hz | Native, through the dock’s Thunderbolt ports |
| LG UltraWide | 2560 × 1080 | 75 Hz | Native, through the dock’s Thunderbolt ports |
| 15-inch portable monitor | 1920 × 1080 | 60 Hz | DisplayLink, the dock’s HDMI ports |
| 15-inch portable monitor | 1920 × 1080 | 60 Hz | DisplayLink, the dock’s HDMI ports |
The two big monitors use the M4’s two native slots. With two monitors, Apple allows each one up to 4K at 144 Hz, and 5120 × 1440 has fewer pixels than 4K, so the Samsung gets its full 120 Hz. The two portables only exist because of DisplayLink: macOS lists them as “HDMI” displays. With the lid open, the Air’s own screen would make five, since closing the lid on an M4 adds nothing.
In System Settings → Displays, the 49-inch is on top and the other three sit in a row under it: a portable, the LG, a portable. The 49-inch has the same 5120 × 1440 as the Odyssey G9, so its G9 page covers the cable and scaling questions.
The layout on each screen
- Samsung CRG9. A quarter, a half and a quarter, with the right quarter split into two stacked windows. On top of the middle sits a smaller zone I called Focus, about 1350 × 640 points, for one window I want centered and not too wide. Zones can overlap in Shoji, and the smallest one under the pointer wins.
- LG UltraWide. Two halves of 1280 × 1080, and a second layout with four columns that I can switch to from the menu bar.
- Each portable. Two halves of 960 × 1080.
More layouts for wide screens are in ultrawide monitors on a Mac.
What DisplayLink is good and bad at
Good at:
- More screens than the chip allows. On my Air, the two native slots are taken. The two portables wouldn’t run at all without DisplayLink.
- One cable. Four monitors, and a single Thunderbolt cable into the laptop.
- Rotation. On macOS 13 or later with a recent DisplayLink Manager, you rotate a DisplayLink monitor in System Settings → Displays like any other (Plugable). macOS lists rotation as supported on both of my portables.
Bad at:
- Streaming video. With a DisplayLink screen connected, protected video from Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime and others may stay black while the sound plays, and on every screen, not only the DisplayLink one. The workarounds are unplugging the DisplayLink screens, trying another browser, or turning off hardware acceleration in the browser (DisplayLink).
- High refresh rates. Plan on 60 Hz. Plugable, which sells DisplayLink docks, gives 60 Hz as the cap (Plugable), and Satechi rates my dock’s HDMI ports at 4K and 60 Hz.
- Games and heavy graphics. The compression runs on the Mac’s processor, and lag can show in games, CAD and video editing. Plugable’s advice is to keep documents and mail on DisplayLink screens and games or CAD on monitors wired to the Mac’s own outputs (Plugable).
- Retina modes. Some HiDPI resolutions may be missing on Apple silicon Macs, a known issue in the current release (release notes).
- The startup login screen. With FileVault on, DisplayLink screens stay dark at the login screen when the Mac starts (DisplayLink).
Window management across four monitors
Four monitors of three different shapes each want a different layout. Shoji gives every screen its own:
- Each screen keeps its own zones. Columns on the 49-inch, halves on a portable. You draw them once per screen.
- DisplayLink screens work like the rest. The two portables on my desk are DisplayLink screens, and Shoji snaps windows on them the same as on the native ones: hold fn, drag a window, the zones of the screen under the pointer light up, and the window snaps into the one you drop it on.
- Monitors are recognized by their hardware. Not by the order macOS lists them in. When I unplug the dock and plug it back in, every screen gets its own layouts back.
- Windows move between screens. Drag one from a portable up to the 49-inch and it snaps into the 49-inch’s zones.
- Edge snap stays off the shared borders. If you turn it on, dragging to an outer edge snaps a window to a half or a quarter, but never on a border between two screens. With four monitors, there are a lot of those.
One limit: Shoji brings back the zones, not the windows. After a reconnect, I drag the windows back into their zones.
Shoji only asks for Accessibility, to move and resize other apps’ windows. The Screen Recording prompt you see with a DisplayLink dock comes from DisplayLink Manager, not from Shoji.
macOS’s own tiling (macOS 15 and later) uses the same halves and quarters on every display, with no settings per display. That’s fine on a laptop screen and wasteful on a 49-inch. More on this in a layout per monitor.
Set it up
- Check the table above for how many monitors your Air runs on its own, and connect those first, straight to the Mac or through a Thunderbolt dock.
- For more monitors, use a dock or adapter with DisplayLink, and install DisplayLink Manager from Synaptics.
- Allow Screen Recording for DisplayLink Manager, and allow the accessory when macOS asks.
- In System Settings → Displays, drag the screens into the order they sit on your desk.
- Open Shoji and allow Accessibility. From the Shoji menu in the menu bar, choose Edit Zones, pick a screen, and start from a quick start (Halves, Thirds, Center + sides) or draw your own zones. Save, and do the next screen.
- Hold fn while you drag any window, on any screen, and let go over a zone.
Questions
How many monitors can a MacBook Air support?
On its own: one external monitor on an M1 or M2, one on an M3 with the lid open or two with it closed, and two on an M4 or M5 with the lid open. With DisplayLink, more on any of them.
Can a MacBook Air run 3 monitors?
An M4 or M5 runs its own screen plus two monitors, which is three screens. Three external monitors take DisplayLink on any MacBook Air.
Can a MacBook Air run 4 monitors?
Yes, with DisplayLink. Mine does: a MacBook Air M4 with two monitors on its native outputs and two over DisplayLink.
Does an M4 MacBook Air support two external monitors with the lid open?
Yes. The M4 and M5 run two with the lid open. The M3 needs the lid closed for the second one, and the M1 and M2 run only one without DisplayLink.
Does DisplayLink work on an M1, M2 or M3 MacBook Air?
Yes. DisplayLink Manager runs on macOS 14 through 27. Satechi says its DisplayLink dock runs up to four monitors on an M3 Air with the lid closed (Satechi), and Macworld’s review of it got three on M1 and M2 Macs (Macworld). Plugable has tested its DisplayLink docks on the M5 Air (Plugable).
Why aren’t my MacBook Air’s monitors working?
The usual reasons: your Air has hit its native limit (see the table), a USB-C hub with two HDMI ports is using MST and mirroring, DisplayLink Manager isn’t installed or doesn’t have Screen Recording permission, or, on an M3, the second monitor needs the lid closed, an external keyboard and mouse, and power.
Can I watch Netflix on a DisplayLink monitor?
Usually not. Protected video stays black while a DisplayLink screen is connected, on every screen. Unplug the DisplayLink screens, or try another browser.
Does Shoji work with DisplayLink monitors?
Yes. I use it every day on two DisplayLink monitors next to two native ones. Each keeps its own layouts.
How much is Shoji?
US$4.99 once, for one Mac, with a 14-day refund. It needs macOS 15 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.
Shoji · window zones for Mac
Draw zones on each monitor, drag a window over one, and it snaps in. $4.99 once; if it isn't for you, your money back within 14 days.
$4.99 once · one Mac · macOS 15 or later