Your display’s refresh rate defines how often the contents of your screen are updated. On supported Macs, you can change this refresh rate for both built-in as well as external displays.
We’ll show you how to modify your display’s refresh using a system option in macOS. If you don’t like the new refresh rate, you can always revert to the previous one.
Modify Your Display’s Refresh Rate on macOS
macOS has a built-in option to change the refresh rate for your displays, so you don’t need a third-party app to do this.
When you’re ready, follow these steps to modify your Mac’s refresh rate:
- Click the Apple logo at the top-left corner of your Mac.
- Select System Preferences from the Apple menu.
- Click Displays on the following screen.
- Press and hold down the Option key on your keyboard and click the Scaled button on your screen.
- A new dropdown menu saying Refresh Rate should appear. Click this menu and choose a new refresh rate for your display.
- You can use this same menu to change the refresh rate for your external displays as well.
You’ll immediately notice the difference in how smoothly items move on your screen. This is all the magic of the screen’s refresh rate.
How to Reset Your Display’s Refresh Rate on macOS
You can quickly go back to the default refresh rate in macOS, in case you don’t like the new refresh rate.
To do this:
- Select the Apple logo at the top-left corner of your screen and click System Preferences.
- Select Displays on the following screen.
- Press and hold down the Option key, and select Scaled.
- Choose the original refresh rate from the Refresh Rate dropdown menu.
Troubleshooting Issues Related to Refresh Rate in macOS
Sometimes, you’ll experience issues changing the refresh rate on your Mac. In this case, depending on the issue type, use one of the following fixes to troubleshoot your problem.
macOS Doesn’t Show the Refresh Rate Menu
If there’s no Refresh Rate option in System Preferences > Displays on your Mac, that means your Mac doesn’t support changing refresh rates.
That doesn’t mean there’s something wrong; not all Macs support changing the refresh rate. You can still change your Mac’s screen resolution though, if you want.
macOS Doesn’t Show an External Display
Your external display must appear in the Displays menu for you to change its refresh rate. If you don’t see your display there, you need to fix that issue first.
macOS has a built-in option to help you find connected displays. On the Displays screen in System Preferences, hold down the Option key and click the Detect Displays option.
macOS will start looking for attached displays, and then show them on your screen. See our troubleshooting tips for using multiple monitors on a Mac if you still have issues.
The Refresh Rate Dropdown Menu Is Grayed Out
If the Refresh Rate option is available but it’s grayed out, that’s probably because you aren’t using a compatible cable. The cable that you use to connect your display to your Mac must support a higher refresh rate.
You can fix this in most cases by using an alternative cable. If HDMI isn’t working and your monitor supports DisplayPort, try that.
Make Your Mac’s Screen Work Smoother
When you’ve enabled a higher refresh rate on your Mac, your display updates the on-screen content more frequently. This results in a smoother visual appearance of the display.
Use the method above to go for the highest possible refresh rate for your Mac’s display. When you’re done using a higher refresh rate, Apple suggests that you go back to the default refresh rate to run macOS as steadily as possible.