I went to plug my MacBook into my external Samsung monitor using an HDMI cable. A prompt popped up asking to “Allow Accessory to Connect.” Before I could even move my mouse to click “Allow,” the notification vanished. It gave me maybe a 5-second window.
Because the prompt timed out, my Mac essentially decided my connection is a malicious threat and permanently blocked it. Unplugging it and plugging it back in does nothing. Restarting does nothing. Changing the Privacy & Security settings to “Ask Every Time” or “Automatically When Unlocked” does absolutely nothing.
My husband literally works in tech, and he’s been battling this for 40 minutes trying to force the Mac to recognize the display again with zero success.
How is this acceptable UX? Why does a critical security prompt disappear into the void instead of staying in the Notification Center? And since when does an HDMI connection trigger a permanent data lockout anyway?
Has anyone else dealt with this and actually found a way to force the Mac to forget the blocked connection? I just need my second screen back so I can finish my work.
TL;DR: Missed the 5-second window to allow a monitor connection, Mac permanently blocked the HDMI output, even my tech husband can’t reverse the lockout after 40 minutes, and I’m losing my mind trying to work.
