You need a HDMI-to-VGA adapter. Your laptop is outputting an HDMI signal which has to be converted to VGA.
Some connectors are physically different, but use identical signaling - in these cases a passive adapter is sufficient. Passive means there's no signal transformation necessary. It's just two different connectors wired together. For example, DVI-A is just repackaged VGA (aka D-Sub) and they can be passively adapted both ways. Similarly HDMI uses the same signaling as DVI-D, so you can convert between them without any electronics - just wires.
HDMI and VGA are completely incompatible, so you need an active adapter which will decode the HDMI signal and produce equivalent VGA signal.
You may be tempted to use a passive HDMI→DVI adapter and then a passive DVI→VGA adapter, but this won't work. HDMI would be converted into DVI-D, and the second adapter needs DVI-A input. DVI-D and DVI-A use physically compatible connectors, but the signal won't go through.
Note that while active adapters are directional (HDMI→VGA is completely different than VGA→HDMI), passive adapters are usually not. As long as passive adapter's plugs physically fit, it will work in both directions. So for example a HDMI→DVI adapter would work for DVI→HDMI too.
Answer from gronostaj on Stack ExchangeBuilding an HDMI-to-VGA Converter for My 720p Monitor
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What are some of the benefits of using a HDMI VGA Adapter?
One of the biggest benefits of using this type of adapter is its ability to quickly convert digital signals into analog signals so you can easily connect your HD devices to monitors and projectors with only one cable instead of having multiple cables plugged into different ports. Additionally, these adapters are often small enough so that it is easy to take them with you wherever you go.
Are there any drawbacks when using a HDMI VGA Adapter?
One potential drawback when using this type of adapter is that depending on what kind of equipment you have connected with it, there may be some lag time as it converts digital signals into analog signals before displaying them on screen. Additionally, while they are able support resolutions up to 1080p Full HD video formats, they are not able to process higher resolution 4K content as well as more advanced technologies such as 3D and HDR10+.
What is an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) VGA (Video Graphics Array) Adapter?
A HDMI VGA Adapter is an electronic device used to connect audio and video sources that use either a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) or Video Graphics Array (VGA) connection. It works by converting the digital HDMI signal into an analog VGA signal and vice versa. This allows you to easily connect your computer, laptop, tablet, or other HD device to a projector, monitor or television with a VGA port.
Videos
You need a HDMI-to-VGA adapter. Your laptop is outputting an HDMI signal which has to be converted to VGA.
Some connectors are physically different, but use identical signaling - in these cases a passive adapter is sufficient. Passive means there's no signal transformation necessary. It's just two different connectors wired together. For example, DVI-A is just repackaged VGA (aka D-Sub) and they can be passively adapted both ways. Similarly HDMI uses the same signaling as DVI-D, so you can convert between them without any electronics - just wires.
HDMI and VGA are completely incompatible, so you need an active adapter which will decode the HDMI signal and produce equivalent VGA signal.
You may be tempted to use a passive HDMI→DVI adapter and then a passive DVI→VGA adapter, but this won't work. HDMI would be converted into DVI-D, and the second adapter needs DVI-A input. DVI-D and DVI-A use physically compatible connectors, but the signal won't go through.
Note that while active adapters are directional (HDMI→VGA is completely different than VGA→HDMI), passive adapters are usually not. As long as passive adapter's plugs physically fit, it will work in both directions. So for example a HDMI→DVI adapter would work for DVI→HDMI too.
Many people get this the wrong way round.
Signals go from > to
You might think you're connecting your display to your computer, but you're not. You're connecting the computer to the display.
This means your signal goes from the computer to the display - that's an HDMI to VGA connection.
HDMI is a digital format, VGA is an analog format, so any connector you get must be an active connector.
I had an HDMI to VGA converter with me, which I used to connect my old LCD monitor to my Laptop as a second display. It used to work fine without any issues. I was fiddling with the display settings, which caused the resolution to change to 1024x768@60Hz instead of 1600x900@60hz. I couldn't revert it back at all as the resolution options in the dropdown menu changed entirely. Then a few moments later, the connection went blank and the display was not detected at all. I have tried several things, but I can't, for the love of god, get the second display to be detected:
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I tried a different VGA only monitor having the same resolution but different brand (the monitor works fine with my CCTV DVR)
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A brand new VGA cable
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A brand new HDMI to VGA converter (wasted money!!)
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Using 3 different laptops, none of them detect any external display (Lenovo Ideapad Gaming RTX 3050, Lenovo Legion GTX 1650, Lenovo Ideapad Notebook without dGPU) (is Lenovo at fault here?)
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Updating NVIDIA drivers
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Disabling the NVIDIA GPU entirely
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Re-enabling the NVIDIA GPU
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Hard powering off my laptop and display, unplugging everything, waiting for a few minutes, plugging everything back in
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Switching to Linux (Used to work on both Windows and Linux, now works on none)
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I also tried removing the 12th pin of a spare VGA cable which apparantly is related to EDID information
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The HDMI port is working without the converter with my TV (direct HDMI) so the HDMI port is fine.
What could I have done wrong? It was working well before, now nothing works at all! It's like fate itself decided that I would have to live without dual monitors!! The only thing that I haven't tried, is using an active converter with 5V DC input. I'm not sure if that is the issue but I don't want to spend more money :(
So my computer only has 1 HDMI input, and other than that it has VGA and USB A and B. My monitors has HDMI, Displayport and USB. I connect one of them using HDMi but the other one i obviously need an adapter in some sort. WOuld it be better to use VGA to HDMI or VGA to displayport? Also is there a difference between HDMI-VGA and VGA-HDMI. All adapters i found says they are for connecting a VGA monitor to a HDMI computer which is the opposite of my case.