Current setup: MacBook Air M2, MacStudio M1, MacStudio Display
I am looking for KVM that will connect both MacStudio and MacBook via USB-C to MacStudio Display.
I tried several options about half a year ago but none of them worked wondering if any new solutions appeared since then.
I did try to find some a few months ago but I don’t think it’s possible, for me, best is to remote in either of the macs instead.
Some thoughts:
Firstly, the connection needs to be Thunderbolt, not USB, as the Apple Studio Display connects only to a TB port.
Some other things to keep in mind:
— If you are using keyboard and mouse connected via Bluetooth, a KVM may not be possible as in that case, the KB and mouse would need to connect via BT to the KVM unit which then provides them to the connected and selected computer. I don’t know if that exists; will need The Google. If you don’t want to go with a wired KM and mouse, you could use a wireless combo that connects via an RF - USB dongle, eg the units from Logitech, however.
— If you have downstream connected peripherals to the USB-C ports of the Studio Display, then those will also switch computers along with the displays. That could be a desirable effect, for example if you have a scanner connected that you want to work with either computer depending on which is active on the KVM, but could be quite undesirable for example with an external hard drive/SSD, for which you would have to take care to properly dismount prior to switching the KVM and for which you might NOT want to have switching computers (eg if it were a dedicated TM or other backup drive for the Mac Studio.
One “easy,” if inelegant solution, is to connect your mouse and KB to the Studio Display (wired or RF dongle) and then just unplug the TB cable from the display from one computer and plug it in to the other. Highly inelegant, but it should work just fine.
If you are using or have a TB dock, another option is to plug everything (Display, peripherals, etc) into the dock and again switch the single dock upstream cable. Again, inelegant but functional. You could also plug the dock into the Mac Studio, put all the peripherals and the Display into separate ports on the dock, and switch just the display cable between computers, with again the KB and mouse plugged into the display - so the other peripherals stay with the Mac Studio. You can also place the dock in a location more convenient to the cable plugging and unplugging. (At one point I was using only an MBPro, which I had mounted under my desk, with a dock mounted adjacent to it. I could slide it into the mount, plug in one cable, and have my 2 Studio Displays and all peripherals connected via one cable, easier to reach to make the connection/disconnection.)
I also wonder if something like Continuity can be used to make the KB, monitor, and mouse available to the laptop. I have not played with this at all, and I don’t know if this or another software solution exists to switch the monitor.
From the hardware KVM standpoint, this: Thunderbolt 4 KVM Switch - Sabrent comes up in The Google. I have never used this and have no idea how well it works, but it does claim to work with TB monitors.
Interesting, it supports one monitor at up to 8K, but two at up to 4K each. I found that my Caldigit hub Thunderbolt 4 | USB4 | Element Hub | CalDigit – CalDigit actually supports two Studio Displays (obviously 5K each) just fine with a single TB cable to the host computer. As far as I have found, this is the only TB dock/hub to support dual 5K.
Hope this helps.
Do you definitely need a hardware KVM?
There are a variety of fairly simple ways to do this with software.
+1