Roon cannot survive reconnecting laptop to external display

Support
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Core Machine (Operating system/System info/Roon build number)

MacBook Pro 15" 2017 running Catalina (10.15.4)
Apple Thunderbolt Display
Roon v1.7 build 537

Description Of Issue

The Roon software UI goes all jaggy, or simply blacks out, when re-connecting to the Thunderbolt Display. Roon must be restarted to work.

I generally use Roon full time during WFH, playing to connected AudioEngine 2+ speakers (and running other endpoints, as well). When on the Display I keep the MBP closed. I will then unplug from the Display after work, and use the laptop elsewhere in the house, opened up. I do not stop Roon during this transition. When I next connect to the Display (MBP again closed; Roon left running), the Roon UI fails–it usually flashes, colors in weird displays, but sometimes just going black.

To use Roon after a reconnect, then, I have to quit and then launch again.

3

Hi @Gregory_Wold,

Can you please record a short video of this behavior and upload it to Dropbox / Google Drive / Your preferred upload service and post a link here?

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Link shared in PM.

This time, the screen was flashing rapidly between solid red and solid black–about 5 quick swaps, then a pause, five more quick flashes & a pause, rinse, repeat.

I did find that by going full-screen, the behavior stopped and the UI worked again, while full-screen and also continued just fine when I reverted from full-screen.

5

Hello @Gregory_Wold,

Thanks for sharing that video! Can you please let me know - how is your display configured? Is it set as an extended desktop or do you use it in mirror mode? If you try the other mode which you don’t usually use (extended or mirror), does the same behavior occur in both of these modes?

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@noris,

As noted in my original posting, while I’m using the external monitor my laptop is closed. So the process has been:
a) laptop closed, external monitor connected: Launch Roon
b) disconnect laptop from monitor, open laptop: Roon continues running, just fine.
c) close laptop, connect to monitor: Roon can’t handle the switch; quit and re-launch Roon.

The desk where I use the external monitor during work-from-home is too small for both it and the laptop, for testing the mirror/extended modes. However, I did use this same monitor, in extended desktop mode, in my office prior to WFH, and had no trouble with Roon that I recall in that configuration. At that time I would regularly end each day closing my laptop & unplugging the monitor; reopening the laptop later at home; closing it for the evening; and in the morning plugging it back into the monitor & immediately re-opening it (so as to keep the extended desktop mode).

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Hi @Gregory_Wold,

I appreciate your patience until I had a chance to consult with QA and thanks for the additional information.

As for next steps, I would like to see if diagnostics from your Core can provide some more context here.

Can I please ask that you reproduce this issue using your A/B/C steps above and note the exact local time + date you perform each step?

Once I have this information I can enable diagnostics mode for your account to see if there are further clues in logs.

If you can also provide a picture or screenshot of what you see when this issue occurs, that would be very helpful.

Thanks!

8

Noris,

I have not seen the issue repeat itself in the last 10 days. During that time MacOS has been updated, and I believe also Roon Core updated.

Greg

1 Like
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Hi @Gregory_Wold,

Thanks for the update here! I’m going to go ahead and close this case since it sounds like the updates helped, but if it re-occurs, please do feel free to reach out once more and reference this thread and we can open it again, thanks!

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