Guides for your old iMac.
Facts first, sources linked.
How to use an old iMac as a monitor for a new Mac, written by the team behind Encore.
Use an old iMac as a monitor for a MacBook (M1 to M4)
What works with an Apple silicon MacBook, by iMac year, and which cable to buy.
Target Display Mode alternatives for Apple silicon Macs
Command-F2 stops at Macs from 2019. What replaces it, sorted by iMac year.
Use a 5K iMac as a monitor: 2014 to 2020 models
No Target Display Mode on any of them. What drives every pixel, and what doesn't.
27-inch iMac 2009 to 2011 as a monitor: what still works
Target Display Mode limits, the Mini DisplayPort reports, and what to do today.
iMac as a monitor: which cable actually works
Why HDMI and charging cables fail, Mini DisplayPort vs Thunderbolt, and what to buy.
Wi-Fi or cable for a second screen: what changes
Picture quality, what only works over a cable, and when Wi-Fi is enough.
What to do with an old iMac: 8 options that still work
A screen, a clock, Linux, a backup machine, or the recycler, with the catches.
Turn an old iMac into a clock or smart display
Encore's StandBy, browser dashboards, what runs on which iMac, and the power cost.
Which old iMac can be a second screen?
One table for every Intel iMac, from the white 2007 model to the last 27-inch 5K, with what works with a Mac you buy today.
Target Display Mode explained, and why it died
Who can still use Command-F2, in Apple's own words, and what to do with a Mac from 2020 or later.
Every way to use an old iMac as a monitor, compared
Apple's options, five apps and two hardware routes, with prices and sources. Written by us, so our own limits come first.
The 27 dB problem: why second-screen text looks soft
Coloured text on a streamed screen goes soft, and more bitrate never fixes it. We measured why, and what does.
Give your old iMac a new life.
Free during the public beta, if you report what goes wrong.