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So I have a laptop with Intel HD Graphics 530 (integrated graphics), and I ran into a problem I hadn't run into before and I think the culprit is that the laptop is sending w.e. resolution my laptop thinks is the "best" and just scaling it to match what "I" want the resolution to be (I think this might be a feature update?). My laptop is connected via HDMI to a receiver, and the receiver is connected to a TV. I know my TV is NOT 4K capable, but my receiver is. When I connect the laptop it automatically sets the display resolution to 3840 x 2160... 4K. So it seems my laptop is detecting the receiver accepts 4k and it's sending 4k signal. But my TV does not, and so I just see a black screen (but sound works via the receiver). I tried to lower the resolution of the TV signal, but my laptop keeps insisting on sending 3820x2160 resolution by scaling w.e. it's displaying to what I want the signal to be (frustrating!). I've played with the aspect ratio settings to no success... how do I set my "Active signal resolution" manually?

I've attached a screenshot of what the display says under the windows "advanced display settings" information.

enter image description here

12 Answers 12

37

I had the same problem, and for me at least clicking on "Display adapter properties for Display 2" let me pick the right resolution. I went to Settings>System>Display>Advanced display settings>Display adapter properties for Display 2

(Settings as in the settings you get when you click the little gear icon in the start menu or start typing "Settings" in the start menu in windows 10).

Then, click "List All Modes"

List All Models,"

... And my correct active signal resolution was listed, so I picked it and clicked OK. I hit "OK", then Apply, and this fixed it for me.

I have Windows 10 and a LG 29UM68 monitor, displaying only on the monitor.

Update: If the correct resolution is already selected then select a incorrect one from list select apply ok then do the same thing for correct resolution. (Windows 10 version 20H2)

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  • Whenever I do that and select 1600x900, it changes the display resolution to 1600x900, but it changes the active signal to 1080p.
    – Mark Deven
    Jan 28, 2022 at 22:18
14

Wasted a lot of time on this till I found a general solution that works with all GPUs:

  1. go to Advanced Display Settings -> Display adapter properties for display -> List All Modes
  2. Select any lower resolution (e.g. 1680 by 1050) and apply - the active signal resolution should have changed to 1920x1080 in the Advanced Display Settings window
  3. Now select the 1920x1080 resolution again and active signal resolution remains the same

This is a lot of steps to repeat if switching between multiple display configs is needed as in my case. Tried saving and restoring monitor profile using displayfusion, actual multiple monitors and monitor profile switcher but none would restore the active resolution. Only thing that worked was WsDisplaySettings :

save:

wsds.exe -save <profile_name>

load:

wsds.exe <profile_name>

Also has a tray app but I found it to interfere with displayfusion. The free version shows an annoying message box each time it is run but can be dismissed with an Enter.

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    thanks a looooooot man. I've been having this problem for 2 months and I finally fixed it. thank you :))
    – Rahimi0151
    Jan 28, 2021 at 1:41
  • Excellent, this worked for me! Ran into this issue in work, but have been facing it 6 months at home, so am confident this will also sort that. Thank you so much! Jun 14, 2023 at 6:29
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The solution I followed is the one provided here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-other_settings/incorrect-active-signal-resolution/9ff80937-8959-42bf-acc7-cca8a3bae441

Basically make sure that in the settings for the Intel graphics, the scaling is set to "Maintain Display Scaling." For some reason when I played with this setting it didn't work the first time, but I made sure I set the correct resolution and selected that "Maintain Display Scaling," and the "Active Signal Resolution" matched the "Desktop Resolution."

Edit: This solution worked when I had my laptop display and the external display active (either on duplicate or extend); it did not work when I set my external display as the only one active (here it doesn't matter I correct the resolution when in duplicate or extend, when I switch to external display only it appears the resolution goes to the 4K resolution and I can't change it since I can't see anything.)

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  • Many thanks. Trying to get my onboard Intel iGPU configured differently than the PCI-E card, and using the "Intel Graphics Command Center" to "Maintain Display Scaling" did the trick ("Display adapter properties" and "List All Modes" did not). Oct 21, 2022 at 20:14
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What I did:

  1. Connect the computer to the second monitor.
  2. Open Intel Graphics Command Centre (search for it in the windows search).
  3. Choose display, and select the second monitor.
  4. In the resolution section, click custom, and change it to the monitor specs (example 1600 x 900 60Hz).
  5. In the scale section, change to "Maintain Display Scaling". Done!

For step 4, if the resolution is same with the monitor before you change anything, you still need to click the custom and insert the monitor resolution. If not, the "Maintain Display Scaling" will not appear.

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  • I had a slightly different problem: I had the "Maintain Display Scaling" option, but every time I tried to select it, the Command Center would just revert to whatever other scaling type had previously been selected. Creating a custom resolution as suggested by this answer worked! (Even though it's the same resolution I was already using) Apr 6, 2022 at 18:43
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Just putting it out here since I didn't exactly find this anywhere;

I have a 2-display setup. One 24 inch 1080p monitor and a 50 inch 4K-TV.

Both resolutions are set to 1080p. For my 4K-TV the active signal resolution was 3840x2160 instead of 1080p UNTIL I changed the setting in the Intel Graphics Command center (I think AMD/Nvidia have similiar settings) for the TV from 'Maintain Display Scaling' to 'Maintain Aspect Ratio'.

After I did this both resolution and active signal were 1920x1080.

0

As others have noted, this seems to be related to a recent update to Windows 10 that, in some cases, conflicts with the drivers.

Here's what worked for me: 1. In Settings - Apps - Apps & Features, uninstall "Intel Display Adapter" 2. In Device Manager, update the driver for the video adapter. 3. Then follow the instructions that Abhineet Singh posted.

0

I had the same problem and got a work around I got intel graphic settings opened, installed google remote desktop then project it to second monitor only which will just have no signal since the active signal was higher than the resolution my monitor can handle by having remote desktop i configured through my phone the settings in intel graphic settings and find the appropriate resolution and voila it works now.

0

Basically if the EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) is not supporting the video mode you are trying to set via the "Display adapter properties" for the external HDMI connection/display, Windows will change the "Desktop resolution" but not the "Active signal resolution". The permutation of the "Active signal resolution" only happens if the external display supports the new timing you are setting. What may happen is that you are trying to set the timing of your TV but the box in between your TV and computer does not support it. That is not very friendly I would agree.

Reading all the answers in general will not help as different users have different monitors. In your case I would check if there is an EDID bypass to be check-marked in the menu/configuration of the box that is between your computer and the display. In that case, the EDID from the display would be directly transmitted to your computer and you could set the proper resolution accordingly (or it would just come up in the right mode).

To get into more details I would recommend installing EDID viewer on Windows and do the reading of the EDID. It will show the standard and preferred detailed timings that can be selected that will make Windows set the proper active signal. It also will confirm which mode can actually be changed and reflected as under "Active signal resolution".

Note: EDID is a piece of information made available when the HDMI is plugged in between a source and a display, this piece of information flows from the display into the source announcing the video mode the display supports. Usually, Windows picks the "preferred mode" up which is the best possible mode supported by the display.

Hope that helps and does not bring more confusion.

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Worked for me on Radeon RX 550: Open Radeon software and create custom resolution settings for display with problems, with exact settings of display that works wellenter image description here

0

One more thing to pay attention to while trying to match "Desktop resolution" to "Active signal resolution" is the refresh rate. In my case, the option to "Maintain Display Scaling" in Intel HD Graphics Control Panel appeared as available just for 60Hz but not for 59Hz - and the same also applies to "Advanced display settings" in Windows 10 itself.

Actually, it's enough to change their 59Hz to 60Hz and the previous inconsistency in Desktop vs Active signal resolution disappears even without the involvement of something more advanced like Intel control panel (though the latter offers more clear results because of the preview option present - especially if aforementioned inconsistent resolutions also differ in aspect ratio).

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What worked for me: Open Nvidia Control Panel > Adjust desktop size and position > Perform scaling on. Choose Display.

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  • Not applicable to a question about a system using Intel Graphics Adapter. Apr 6, 2022 at 18:46
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    While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - From Review
    – Toto
    Jan 29, 2022 at 17:04

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