No More Text Neck—How to Set Up Stacked Dual Monitors for Laptop
2023/03/06 ｜By G Editor
Most people sit incorrectly when using laptops and mobile phones for a long period of time. Shoulder and neck stiffness and pelvic tilt have almost become a national disease. It is not difficult to improve your laptop posture. You can elevate the external monitor and set up a stacked dual-monitor environment, keeping you work at horizontal sight level for most working time and greatly reducing the stress on your neck and spine.
Read more：
How to Install Stacked Dual Monitors
The traditional way of erecting stacked dual monitors is to install a stacked dual monitor arm on the desk. Although the stability of stacked monitor arm is good, the installation is cumbersome and takes up more space on the desktop. It is usually suitable for medium and large external monitors.
For laptop users with high mobility demand, we recommend to choose a small desktop stand - M1S4 stand, together with M161H portable monitor with quick release design. You can set up a flexible and space-saving dual-monitor environment.
Install M1S4 Stand
Step 1 Take out the base mental plate
Step 2 Insert the rod onto the base plate
Step 3 Use 3 screws to secure the rod and base
Step 4 Insert M161H monitor on the stand
① Connect by USB-C：one USB-C cable to connect to laptop
Step 5-1 Insert USB-C cable to USB-C port on monitor
Step 6-1 Insert USB-C cable to USB-C port on laptop
② Connect via HDMI：one power cable and one HDMI cable to connect to laptop
Step 5-2 Insert USB power cable to DC-IN port on monitor
Step 6-2 Insert power cable to 5V 2A adapter
Step 7-2 Insert HDMI cable to HDMI port
Step 8-2 Insert HDMI cable to HDMI port on laptop
Adjust the height of M1S4 Stand
Adjust the height by turning the knob and pulling up the inner rod.
Adjust for a proper tilt angle
Advantages
⭐Low cost: no need to purchase external keyboard or docking station
⭐Small footprint for the desktop: the depth of the M1S4 stand with a 14-inch laptop is less than 40cm
⭐Easy to be taken away at any time: M161H comes with a quick-release stand, which can be used for horizontal display and be disassembled in a second, allowing dual-screen to be used anywhere in the office or at home
🚨 Attention
Please keep a proper viewing distance from the monitor. In order to type easily, the laptop screen should be kept one cubit (about 35-45cm) from the body. At this viewing distance, monitors over 17 inches can cause eye strain. If your external screen is larger than 17 inches, it is recommended to install it with a screen arm, extend the viewing distance to more than 60cm, and use an external keyboard to protect your eyesight.
Display settings of Stacked Dual Monitors in Windows 11/10
① Right click on the desktop to initial the quick menu, click "Display Settings"
② When the external monitor is connected, monitors 1 and 2 will appear. Drag monitor 2 directly above monitor 1 and click "Apply".
③ Set appropriate display ratios for the two monitors. For 1920x1080 resolution, the display ratio can be set to 150%. For high-resolution panels such as Surface Pro or MacBook, it is recommended to adjust the display ratio to 175% for comfortable reading.
Select Monitor 1 or Monitor 2 >> Select from the menu of "Scale"
Under the ratio of 150% and 175%, if the fonts on two screens are different, you can also customize the screen ratio to keep the font size consistent.
④ Since the notification area on the right side of the Windows 11/10 taskbar can only be displayed on the main display, select monitor 2, and check "Make it the main monitor" in multiple monitors. All notifications, inputs, auxiliary software are moved to monitor 2, which avoids looking downwards and keeps horizontal viewing angles spontaneously.
🧙🏻Tip 1
This is a new feature available in Windows 11. Remember to check the "Remember window locations based on monitor connection" so that when the monitor is reconnected, the application window will automatically appear in the previous display location.
🧙🏻Tip 2
Remember to check the "Show my taskbar on all displays" box in Windows 11 Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar > Taskbar Actions. The taskbar is displayed on both displays, making it easy to launch/switch between applications quickly.
Settings of Stacked Dual Monitors in macOS Ventura 13
① In macOS Ventura 13, click the "Apple" menu → select "System Settings" → click "Displays" in the sidebar to initial the display setting window.
② After the MacBook is connected to the external monitor, click to select M161H monitor icon. The default setting shall be extension desktop, if not, click the “Use as” menu and set M161H as “Extended display”. After clicking “Arrange” button, drag the M161H icon to the top of the main screen. (The one with a white horizontal bar above is the main screen). Then click “Apply”.
③ If the resolution of the MacBook is too high, click "Built-in Display" and select the "Larger Text" option to make the text of the two displays similar.
④ If the menu bar only appears on the primary display, click "Desktop and Dock" in the sidebar of "System Settings", drag to the bottom "Mission Control" in the right column, and enable the "Displays have separate spaces" option. After restarting, the menu bar appears on both monitors.
⑤ For many mac users, Dock is very convenient and indispensable, but unlike the menu bar, which appears on multiple displays, Dock only appears on the primary display by default. Click "Desktop and Dock" in "System Settings" and set the Dock position to "Bottom". Since the extended desktop is set, Dock will be visible at the bottom of MacBook below.
We can use a cursor gesture to call the Dock on the upper monitor. Move the mouse cursor to the bottom of the M161H screen, and pull the mouse down slightly, Dock will move and appear at the bottom of the M161H monitor. This switching method is only valid when the Dock position is set as “bottom”, invalid for “left” or “right”.
