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My Monitors Occasionally Swap Positions on macOS. How Do I Fix This? (BetterDisplay)

Last Update: October 5th, 2026
Article ID: 3257509

Applicable To

  • Apple Silicon Mac, macOS, Identical External Displays, Native Display Connections, BetterDisplay

macOS may occasionally restore identical external displays in the wrong arrangement after the Mac wakes from sleep or the displays reconnect. This can happen when macOS has difficulty distinguishing between two displays of the same model.

BetterDisplay is a third-party application that may help macOS distinguish between identical displays and maintain the correct display arrangement.

Troubleshooting Steps

  1. Download BetterDisplay from the developer's website: https://github.com/waydabber/BetterDisplay
  2. Select Download app for macOS and follow the installation instructions.
  1. Open BetterDisplay when macOS prompts you to confirm that you want to open an application downloaded from the internet.

 

  1. Open BetterDisplay from the Applications folder, Launchpad, or Spotlight.

 

  1. Confirm that the displays are arranged correctly in macOS before changing the BetterDisplay settings.
  1. Select one of the affected displays in BetterDisplay.
  1. Open Additional settings under the display's general settings.
  1. Locate the Display identification method setting.
  1. Select an identification method that uses additional hardware identifiers to help BetterDisplay distinguish between the two identical displays.

Depending on the version of BetterDisplay, the available identification methods and their names may differ from the screenshot below.

 

Expected Result

BetterDisplay should be better able to distinguish between the identical displays, helping macOS maintain their correct positions after sleep or display reconnection.

This is a workaround for macOS display-identification behavior and may not resolve the issue in every configuration.

If the Issue Persists

BetterDisplay is a third-party application and is not developed or officially supported by Plugable. If you experience issues with the application or the available settings differ from those shown above, refer to the BetterDisplay documentation:

https://github.com/waydabber/BetterDisplay

This workaround is primarily intended for displays connected through the Mac's native display connections. DisplayLink-connected displays are presented differently to macOS, so the same identification method may not resolve display-position swapping in a DisplayLink configuration.

If the display arrangement issue continues with a Plugable docking station or adapter, contact Plugable Support at support@plugable.com.