Why it matters to you
You’ll want to be sure that your display is far enough away from your router before considering the LG UltraFine 5K display as an option.
Apple has faced some unusual challenges lately, in particular, a number of issues surrounding its 2016 MacBook Pro line announced in October. Removing legacy ports, reducing battery size, and other design decisions haven’t been welcomed by Apple fan base, and the machines have suffered from some graphics and other issues.
Apple also decided to drop its own Thunderbolt Display that served as the best display option to mate with the MacBook Pro, leading the company to recommend LG’s UltraFine 5K display as a substitute. Unfortunately, that display appears to have its own issue that, while perhaps not applicable to every user, is just another inconvenience for MacBook Pro customers, 9to5Mac reports.
More: Collaboration with LG may mean Apple is no longer making its own stand-alone displays
Apparently, the LG UltraFine 5K display has a problem functioning when it’s too close to a router. As 9to5Mac’s Zac Hall indicates, placing the monitor within six feet of his router caused it to malfunction and cause the connected MacBook Pro to lock up as well.
Hall confirmed that at least one other person had experienced the same issue with a wireless access point and had posted a similar experience in a review of the display. LG’s support staff confirmed the issue when contacted, saying, “I understand your concern and the frustration you feel right now. In this case, please check if the monitor is near on the router. This may affect the performance of the monitor. Kindly keep the monitor away from the router so we can isolate the issue.”
Subsequently, Hall moved the router to a location farther away from LG UltraFine 5K display and MabBook Pro to another room, and everything worked as expected. LG further confirmed that the issue does not affect other LG monitors, and that “2 meters” seems to be the magical distance to avoid interference.
If you are in the market for a high-res display for your MacBook Pro, then, it looks like you’ll want to avoid the LG UltraFine 5K display unless you can ensure that your router is at least two meters — and maybe more — from your router or wireless access point.